Wait for US visas set to grow if severe budget cuts kick in
Queues for visas at already swamped US embassies are likely to get longer if major budget cuts kick in at the State Department. Faced with ballooning demand, the State Department had started recruiting more consular officers to deal with the rising volume of traffic, deputy acting spokesman Patrick Ventrell said this week.
Queues for visas at already swamped US embassies are likely to get longer if major budget cuts kick in at the State Department.
But if the "sequester order" took effect, the department would be forced to cut back its programmes, including consular services, he warned.
In Hong Kong, Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council, called on Washington to grant visa-free assess to SAR passport holders to help resolve any delay if there were budget cuts.
"Hong Kong provides visa-free access for US residents and I don't see why their government can't offer us the same treatment, which would save them a lot of manpower in issuing visas," Tung said.
According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department, 147 territories do allow visa-free access for SAR passport holders, including the UK.