The Department of State (DOS) announces that visa processing from Brazil and China has increased by more than 50 percent in the first quarter of FY 2012, as compared to the same time period in FY 2011. At the same time, DOS notes, wait times for visa interviews have decreased in both countries. Wait times for interviews in China are down to just two days at any of the Department’s five visa processing posts. In Brazil, wait times are down to 15 days in Rio de Janeiro and 6 days in Brasilia.
In order to meet growing demands for visas in China and Brazil, the Department is deploying additional personnel and expanding visa sections in those areas. In China, officers adjudicated over 250,000 visas in the first quarter of FY 2012. In Brazil, nearly 280,000 visas were adjudicated in that same time period. Every 65 additional international visitors to the U.S. supports one travel and tourism-related job; an increase in visitors from these two nations translates directly into an improved economic outlook for that industry.
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