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2006 Press Releases

Secretaries Rice and Chertoff Announce New Strategy to Welcome Visitors to the United States

January 18, 2006

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced January 17 in Washington a broad strategy for welcoming foreign students, businesspersons and other travelers into the United States while ensuring border security.

"We seek to use new information technology to renew America's welcome, making it as easy as possible for foreign visitors to travel to the United States and to do so securely and safely," Secretary Rice said.

U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Rodolphe Vallee echoed the Secretary's remarks. "We want Slovaks to visit the United States," he said. "Besides the economic benefits provided by trade and tourism, and the academic and professional benefits that come from exchange programs, it's the best way for people to get to know each other."

Ambassador Vallee stressed that the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava is doing everything it can to make the visa application process as easy, transparent and customer-friendly as possible. People can fill out their visa applications on the internet and request their visa interview times on-line. If someone has an emergency or needs to travel to the US on short notice for business or study, he or she can get an expedited interview.

He said that it is a myth that it is difficult for Slovak travelers to obtain U.S. visas, noting that more than four out of five Slovaks who apply for a visa are granted one, and the rate has been increasing over the past several years.

Among the improvements announced in Washington:

  • Students will be able to get their student visas up to 120 days in advance, compared to 90 days under current regulations. They will be allowed to enter the U.S. 45 days before their studies start, compared to 30 days currently.
  • To create a more welcoming entry process for all visitors, a pilot "model airport" program will be launched that will include video messages with practical information, improved screening and efficient movement of people through the border entry process, and assistance for foreign travelers once they have been admitted to the United States. The program will be started first at Dulles Airport (near Washington) and Houston (Texas) Airport.
  • American embassies and consulates have established procedures to expedite the processing of business visas and are working closely with the local American Chambers of Commerce.
  • The Departments of State and Homeland Security will create an advisory board to seek the views of the private sector - including the travel, business and academic communities.
  • The two departments will establish a "one stop" process to help travelers fix any mistakes that might be made in the screening process.
  • There will also be a number of other steps taken to solve problems with data sharing among various U.S. government agencies that have slowed and complicated the visa and entry process.
  • The United States will also transition to an e-passport by 2007, a travel document carrying a computer chip, which will bear biometric and biographic information. Officials say this document will strengthen security for the entire international traveling public by ensuring the document is authentic and that the person carrying the passport is the actual person to whom it was issued.

Further information about the announcement is available on the website http://usinfo.state.gov.