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)