Letters

Over 1 million visas

The US-China relationship has undergone a remarkable deepening in recent years. More and more Chinese and Americans are doing business together, attending universities and enrolling in study abroad programs in each country, and enhancing mutual understanding through civil society exchanges and tourism. Chinese are now traveling to the United States in record numbers, a prospect that we support and welcome.

In the one-year period from October 2010 to September 2011, United States consular officers adjudicated a record-breaking 1 million visas in China - an increase of more than 34 percent compared to last year, and double the number of visas adjudicated just five years ago. During the last year, over 160,000 student visas were issued to Chinese citizens to study at US colleges and universities, and today 18 percent of all foreign students in the US are from China. Nearly 90 percent of all Chinese nationals who apply for a visa are issued upon application.