U.S. Visas: The Waiting Game

Imagine for a moment that you live in Brazil and want to attend a meeting in the United States.

Brazil – and many other countries whose citizens have an interest in traveling to the U.S. – isn't a part of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens from 27 approved countries to visit without obtaining visas if their stay is for 90 days or less and they meet other conditions.

So, you apply for a visa. Then you travel to one of three U.S. consulates in Brazil (Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro or Recife) for an interview. As of press time, the average wait for an interview for a visitor visa from Brazil to the U.S. was 76 days – and still there isn't any guarantee the visa will be approved.

Scenarios that play out in just that way are what the Travel Industry Assn. and its partners, including meeting industry organizations Meeting Professionals Intl. and the Professional Convention Management Assn., are trying to prevent with initiatives that make it easier for foreign visitors to enter the U.S. without compromising the level of security at the borders.

“Policy makers are realizing that there is a better balance to be had between security and travel,” said Geoffrey Freeman, TIA's senior vice president of public affairs.

Already, the U.S. Congress has opened the door for more countries to apply for the VWP, and it expanded the Model Ports Program to make 20 of the nation's top in-bound airports more welcoming to visitors. Congress also approved funding to hire 200 new U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.

Bob Gilbert, senior vice president of HelmsBriscoe's Intl. Division, said he hoped that these efforts would ease travel for foreign visitors in the future.

“I think that Congress is beginning to get it and has now appropriated funds for a national tourism office,” he added.

The U.S. had 2 million fewer overseas visitors in 2007 than 2000, an 8-percent decline, said Cathy Keefe, spokeswoman for TIA.

“Clearly, the weak dollar is not enough to solve that problem,” she added.

Unlike other meeting planners Tradeshow Week spoke to, ConferenceDirect President, CEO and Co-founder Brian Stevens said he hadn't seen a drop-off in international attendees.

“What's helped our attendance has been the favorable exchange of the euro and the dollar,” he added. “In fact, we've had an international expansion.”

There may be another reason for Stevens' reaction.

He said the majority of his attendees come from Canada and Mexico to the U.S. – countries that have fewer restrictions than others – with a few from Asia, Europe, South America and the Middle East.

But for HelmsBriscoe, a global meeting planning company headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Gilbert said, the challenges of U.S. entry have caused more foreign visitors to seek international locales for their meetings, rather than hold them in the U.S.

“While we applaud the efforts to keep the bad guys out of our country, the effect that it has had has turned some people off,” he added. “We have seen a drop in business of people coming to the United States despite the (weak dollar). ... There are other countries that don't have the challenges.”

Plus, HelmsBriscoe associates have seen many instances of visas being denied purely because of the visitor's country of origin – not the potential visitor him or herself.

“That would deter them,” Gilbert said.

And Brazil – with its long wait time for visa interviews – is a key market for HelmsBriscoe.

TIA hasn't stopped making efforts to combat the problems and entice overseas travelers to the U.S. The Electronic System for Travel Authorization, which allows people from countries in the waiver program to apply for advanced authorization to travel to the U.S., started Aug. 1. Beginning Jan. 12, ESTA will be mandatory for travelers from VWP countries.

“We have a long way to go,” Freeman said, but added there are clear signs that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is taking steps in the right direction.

“Many (attendees) simply can't get their visas in time,” he said. “I think these changes are critical to welcoming more attendees to meetings and events.”

As of press time, cities in a few countries had longer wait times than Brazil: Havana, Cuba, 769 days; Caracas, Venezuela, 200; Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 131; Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 100; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 85.

Despite the challenges for meeting planners, Gilbert said he remains optimistic.

“I think we're doing the right thing, and we're in a better position than we've ever been before,” he added.