Visas & Advice Detail
Visa process for researchers streamlined
Educational and scientific organisations have succeeded in their drive to reform the visa application process for foreign graduates and post-doctoral researchers.
A US State Department spokesman announced earlier this month that applications from such individuals caught in the current backlog will be made a priority, after facing months of complaints to speed up the American visa application process.
"I am not sure when we will get all of them cleared up," the spokesman said, but suggested extra staff would be utilised and procedures would be streamlined to get applications processed faster.
The New York Times had said that many researchers were being put off applying for US visas due to the long waits for applications to be processed, leaving important research opportunities unfilled.
The announcement was welcomed by American universities, which rely upon foreign science and engineering graduates, as well as doctors, to fuel scientific and technical research projects.
Dr John P Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, commented that it was important that America did not drive away valuable research opportunities because of red-tape issues. "It is more important than ever that we remove unnecessary impediments to collaborative innovation and technical advancement," he said.