U.S. Travel Association Lauds Legislation to Improve Visitor Processing

The U.S. Travel Association has praised the U.S. House of Representatives for passing legislation that will help welcome more international travelers to the United States.

H.R. 2410, the “Foreign Relations Authorization Act, FY 2010-2011,” includes a provision that authorizes the Secretary of State to conduct a two-year pilot program to use secure, remote video-conferencing technology to conduct tourist visa interviews. The travel industry introduced this idea to the government in its 2007 Blueprint to Discover America.

In geographically large countries such as India, China and Brazil, a lack of access to U.S. consular offices has meant that entire tour groups or families must travel hundreds of miles to the nearest U.S. consulate just to apply for a visa.

For example, although China has 450 cities with more than one-half million people, only three cities have a U.S. consulate that offers tour group visa interviews. In Brazil and India, with a total land area equal to or greater than the United States, there are only four consulates in the entire country.

Secure, remote videoconferencing technology will enable U.S. consulates around the world to expand access to visa services without the cost of opening additional offices and without reducing the level of security for interviews.

America’s travel community will promote final enactment of this important measure as the bill moves to the Senate for consideration and with the State Department to ensure smooth implementation.