US-China Increase Validity Of Short-term Visas To Students, Travelers and Business People

From November 12^th, US and China have decided to mutually increase the validity of tourist and short-term business visas to 10 years and the maximum validity of student and exchange visas from 1 to 5 years. This is perhaps the longest ever under American laws being issued to citizens of either countries.

This announcement brings cheer and optimism to the business community of both the countries. This is a boost to the economy, a shot-in-the-arm to tourism in both the countries, a boost to the job market of both the countries and most importantly for business opportunities.

A news release from the White House says that the Chinese were hitherto squirming to go through the visa process for visiting US, every year. But with the new extension in the tenure of the visa, America expects to see more Chinese just as China expects to see more Americans in its country.

According to the release, with the extension of visas to ten years, America could see a whopping $85 billion dollars of revenue, which translates to 4 lakhs 40,000 jobs  for Americans in a year!

Senator Mazie K Hirono applauded the positive development taken by both the countries and said, “The longer visas for Chinese travelers is a game-changer for Hawaii’s visitor industry and something I’ve pushed for a long time. China is the fastest growing tourism market in the world. With this change, Hawaii can expect more new and repeat visitors from China. Chinese visitors are Hawaii’s highest spending visitor group, which means a stronger economy and more local jobs.”

Chamber of Commerce Hawaii President Sherry Menor-McNamara remarked, “This agreement also bodes well for our manufacturing in Hawaii initiative through which we are working to increase our state’s export opportunities to reach the 1.3 billion market that China represents, as well as increase supplier opportunities for products manufactured in Hawaii.”

News Source: Chamber of Commerce Hawaii

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