Laura Bashraheel Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The US Consulate General has processed 25,000 visas since the beginning of 2012. Anne Casper, the Consul General, said the consulate in Jeddah has never before reached this number at this time of the year. “Today we are here to celebrate our 25,000th visa, which reflects the partnership we have with Saudis and we are looking to ensure travel, business and student visas are facilitated as easily as possible," she said. Giving a breakdown of visa issuance in the fiscal year 2011, she said 93.7 percent of Saudi visa applications were approved and 75 percent of them processed in one week. Over 109,000 Saudis, 26 percent of them students, applied for US visas in 2011, which is a 25 percent increase over the previous year. The US Consulate General in Jeddah issued 6,487 student visas in 2011. Also, wait times for interviews currently vary from one week to one day, and increases to a maximum of three weeks during peak demand periods (April/June). Kaweem Koshan, consul for visas and American citizen services, said the whole process of visas could take up to 120 minutes. “On an average we are doing 180 interviews a day. Last year we interviewed 26,000 applicants. By the end of this year, we would have interviewed 33,000 people, which is ahead of last year's numbers," he said. In an attempt to improve visa processing, there are more consular offices working at the US Consulate in Jeddah than ever before. The wait time for a visa interview appointment here currently is four business days. People who wish to travel to the US are required to apply for visa at least three months before the planned travel date. Almost all applicants who comply with this requirement get their visas on time. Koshan said the leading causes for the delay are inadequate preparations by the applicants for their interview and incomplete documentation. Some applicants pay an interpreter or a vendor to complete the visa application and submit it without reviewing the entries. The consulate advised all visa applicants to go through each question with the help of the interpreter or vendor as incorrect answers may lead to visa denials or processing delays. The US Embassy in Riyadh holds weekly forums on both Facebook and Twitter (@USEmbassyRiyadh) to answer questions related to visa issuance. The consulate in Jeddah holds a similar forum on its Facebook page every two weeks.
