U.S. visa applications on rise during vacation
U.S. visa applications on rise during vacation
JAKARTA (JP): The United States Embassy is processing between
400 and 600 visa applications daily during the school vacation.
Counselor for Consular Affairs at the embassy, William
Barkell, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the peak season for
visa applications runs from May through August.
"Usually the embassy only serves around 200 to 300 applicants
on a daily basis," he said.
Judging by the number of visa applicants, the U.S. is a highly
favored destination among holiday-makers.
According to Barkell, the number of U.S. visa applicants is
gradually increasing. In the 1994 fiscal year there were 54,000
applicants. In the 1995 fiscal year there were 57,000.
"We predict there will be a total of 60,000 by the end of this
fiscal year," Barkell added.
Last week an ad of Northwest Airlines, cooperating with
several local travel agents, offered round trips to the U.S. with
price ranging between US$799 to Honolulu to $999 to the East
coast.
A source at the company told the Post that flights from
Jakarta to the U.S. between July 3 and July 18 have been fully
booked since April. Northwest had no direct flights from Jakarta
to the U.S. before July 3.
Flights to the East Coast of the U.S. cost $1,300, and $1,100
to the West coast.
A woman queuing at the embassy said yesterday her children
have been nagging her for a long time, saying their family should
go to the U.S. for a vacation.
"They wanted to go to places they have been seeing in movies,"
she said, citing the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State
Building in New York and the Mount Rushmore national monument in
South Dakota.
Applicants are often seen queuing at the embassy on Jl.
Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta, as early as 5 a.m. even though
embassy staff do not start work until 7:30.
Service hours for visa applicants are from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00.
If visa's are approved, applicants may pick up their passports
the following day at 3 p.m.
Apparently, many applicants feel more secure if they go to the
embassy early. They believe the process will be smoother and
their turn assured.
Adi planned to travel around the West Coast with his family
for three weeks beginning the end of June. He said he wanted to
settle his application within a day.
"If it's early the officers aren't cranky yet, and we have a
greater chance for passing the interview compared to if we came
later in the day," Adi said.
A brief interview with embassy staff is a standard procedure
for first-time applicants applying for U.S. visas.
Interviews are conducted to determine applicants' eligibility
to enter the U.S., Barkell said.
"Questions asked are determined by evidence submitted by
applicants, as long as they can prove that they would return to
Indonesia after their stated purpose, we would grant them non-
immigrant visas," he explained.
According to Barkell, the embassy does not have a daily quota
for processing visa applications.
"As long as they are able to convince us that they have
sufficient terms and close family ties to return to Indonesia, we
would grant them the visa," he said. (14)