Politics
U.S. mayors ask DHS to lower visitor visa interview wait times
Travelers from top markets applying for first-time visas have to wait an average of 400 days to get an interview with the embassy or consulate
February 14, 2023 6:27am
Updated: February 14, 2023 8:45am
Over 40 U.S. mayors sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday asking the State Department to reduce visa interview wait times for foreign visitors, reported USA Today.
The letter, coordinated by the U.S. Travel Association, was signed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Nashville Mayor John Cooper, among others.
"Due to the lack of prioritization of visitor visa categories, cities, and counties are missing out on the opportunity to compete for millions of international visitors due to U.S. visa processing delays," the letter said.
"Local economies lose because international business and leisure travelers spend more money on their trips to the United States than domestic travelers. And it's a loss for people in our communities whose loved ones can't attend important life events because they are being forced to wait close to a year or more to obtain visas," the letter continued.
Travelers from top markets applying for first-time visas have to wait an average of 400 days to get an interview with the embassy or consulate, according to the U.S. Travel Association. In some places, such as Mexico, the weight time is an average of 517 days, according to the State Department website.
Through the letter, the mayors are asking the department to lower the wait times to 21 days for “the top countries for inbound travel” by April and to less than 21 days for 80% of nonimmigrant visa applicants by the end of September.
The letter blames the long wait times on the “severe backlog in processing” that remains from the height of the Coronavirus pandemic when several restrictions were set in place for foreign visitors and the staff members for the embassies returned home.
A State Department spokesperson responded to the letter by claiming that the agency was “quickly lowering visa interview wait times worldwide." Embassies and consulates have processed 90% of their “pre-pandemic 2019 nonimmigrant visa volume,” he added.
