Dear Editor,
In reference to letter ‘Refused US visa’ (SN, Jul 10), my research on US visa issuance leads to the inevitable conclusion that the application for US visas is a lucrative business for America. Although a visa fee was not intended to be a business to enrich America or to generate funds to run the State Department, that has been the end result. The poor (developing) countries have been subsidizing the US State Department transferring huge amounts of money when their nationals apply for a visa. It is time that the fee structure be revisited.
To wit, here are some illustrations of funds generated from the fees: 1. The US reported that some one million Chinese were granted visitors’ visas last year. Everyone who applied for a visa must pay a fee that is approximately US$150. It is not known how many applications were made for visitors’ visas in China but it is estimated to be over two million. That would generate some US$300M for the State Department. 2. The US reported that some 500,000 visitors’ visas were issued to Indians last year. The number of applications for visitors’ visas were estimated at 1.5 million. That would generate some US$300 M. 3. In other Asian countries like Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc, millions apply annually for visas that would also have generated some US$300M annually. 4. In our neighbouring country, some 300 individuals apply daily for visitors’ visas. The visa rejection rate is estimated at 65% (based on people I interviewed, but seems very high for a high income country like Trinidad). At US$150 per visa application, the embassy collects some US$45,000 daily or some US$225,000 weekly almost or approximately US$13M annually. 5. There was a report in an American paper that some 50,000 visas were issued to Guyanese last year (seems very high) generating a similar amount of funds for the embassy as in Trinidad. 6. Millions of individuals from other countries also apply for visitors’ visas to enter America. Such applications would result in fees being paid to the tune of billions of US dollars annually. It is noted that besides applications for visitors’ visas, there are applications for a host of other types of visas that also require a fee. A US green card application fee, for example, exceeds US$300 and some one million green cards are issued.
Overall, the US collects several billions of dollars a year from these poor countries (from relatively poor people desiring to have a glimpse of or experience of America). And this has been going on for several years. In effect, through the transference of funds the poor countries have been aiding America. It is noted that people from the wealthy countries (so called visa waiver countries – most of Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, etc) who can afford a fee for a visa are not charged a for visiting America. Since America began requiring a fee for the issuance of a visitors’ visas, other countries like the UK, Canada, Australia, etc, have followed suit, although they don’t collect as large an amounts of revenue as the US because fewer people apply for visas to visit these countries.
The fee structure for visas needs to be changed. It was not intended to generate a surplus but to help offset the expenses associated with the cost of issuing a visa. Instead huge amounts of money are being generated. Very little of it is plowed back into the economy of the country that generated the fees for the US Embassy.
Given that so much money has been collected that may be over and beyond the expenses to run the embassy, the US should consider reconsider reducing the fee or getting rid of it altogether, or investing some of it as grants to poor communities. The poor or middle class desiring to visit the US should not be subsidizing the expenses of visitors associated with their arrival in America or even aiding the US economy as seems to be the ultimate outcome of the visa fees.
The fee policy should be reconsidered by the State Department (the embassy merely implements the policy). A fee should be required only if a visa is granted. Guyanese Americans and other Americans should petition their Members of Congress and complain to the US Secretary of State about the high fee paid for applying for a visa.
It is noted that not too long ago, a visitor’s visa was issued for free. Almost all countries had this policy, but the policy changed over time.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram