Obama Issues Executive Order to Promote Foreign Visitors

On January 19, President Obama issued an executive order entitled, “Establishing Visa and Foreign Visitor Processing Goals and the Task Force on Travel and Competitiveness.”  The order recognizes the importance of the U.S. travel and tourism industry and a recent downturn in international traveler spending in the U.S. “Given the importance of the travel and tourism industry to the U.S. economy and job creation, a coordinated policy, consistent with protecting our national security, is needed to support a prosperous and secure travel and tourism industry in the United States.”  The order sets a 60 day deadline for the development of a plan that would expedite visa issuance and foster more international travel into the U.S.  Specifically, the goals are:

- Increase nonimmigrant visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by 40 percent over the coming year;

- Ensure that 80 percent of nonimmigrant visa applicants are interviewed within 3 weeks of receipt of application, with exceptions;

- Increase efforts to expand the Visa Waiver Program and travel by nationals of Visa Waiver Program participants; and

- Expand reciprocal recognition programs for expedited travel, such as the Global Entry program.

The order dictates that the Secretary of Commerce “establish and maintain a publicly available website that provides updated metrics from across the Federal Government to assist industry and travelers in understanding the current status of the industry and its relevance to the economy, statistics on visa processes in key travel and tourism markets, and entry times into the United States.”

The order also sets up a Task Force on Travel and Competitiveness to develop the strategy laid out in the order. The Task Force will be made up of the heads of the following executive departments and agencies (agencies), or senior level officials designated by them: Department of State, Department of the Treasury, Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, Army Corps of Engineers, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Export-Import Bank, and other agencies invited to participate by the Task Force Co-Chairs.

Among the aims of the task force is the goal of increasing the United States market share of worldwide travel, including obtaining a greater share of long-haul travel from Brazil, China, and India. Recommendations of the Task Force “shall include, among other things, strategies to promote visits to the United States public lands, waters, shores, monuments, and other iconic American destinations, thereby expanding job creation in the United States.”