ARDA Inside Look - Issue 41

Last week, we had our annual legislative planning meeting with Legislative Policy Council (LPC) members to discuss our advocacy objectives for the coming year. It was a great discussion with many goals and objectives identified. We will use that information over the next few weeks to create a well-structured and coordinated advocacy plan for 2024.

On the federal side, we are working with our allies in the travel community to help address impediments regarding international travel to the United States. One of the largest impediments for international visitors has been the incredibly long visa processing wait times, which in many cases have averaged hundreds of days to receive a visa for travel to the US. Just before Congress left for their August recess, US Senators Klobuchar (D-MN) and Moran (R-KS) introduced the Visa Processing Improvement Act (S.2632). ARDA strongly supports this legislation as it would establish a sense of Congress that at least 80% of visa applicants be interviewed within three weeks. Additionally, the bill would give the State Department permanent authority to waive in-person interviews for certain previously vetted and low-risk nonimmigrant visa applicants and allow videoconferencing interviews by Consular Fellows, which would considerably help speed up the process. First-time visa applicants eligible for an interview waiver would also be able to pay a fee for expedited processing, entitling the applicant to a remote interview within 14 days. The funds from the expedited fee would help the State Department pay for expanded consular fellows. ARDA welcomes the introduction of this legislation and will work closely with its travel champions in Congress to continue removing the barriers to international travel.

For more information on the LPC or how to get involved in legislative advocacy, please visit the ARDA website or contact any team member.