Latin Business Traveler
Weekly Latin American business travel news  
July 11, 2013  

  

 

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In This Week's Issue:
The U.S. Visa Problem

Visa requirements can be a major obstacle to business travel the United States. How the country is addressing the issue, and what more needs to be done.


By Mark Chesnut and Rochelle Broder-Singer

 

Getting a visa to enter the United States is often the most difficult part of doing business in that country. Unless you're traveling from one of the few countries the U.S. has in its Visa Waiver Program, the process can be cumbersome and time-consuming. In fact, hospitality industry professionals in that nation cite the visa process as the biggest impediment to growing business travel.

 

The U.S. government is listening to the industry's concerns, says Patricia Rojas-Ung�r, vice president of government relations at the U.S. Travel Association. For instance, B-1 temporary business visas (and B-2 tourism visas) are now valid for 10 years - twice as long as previously. In addition, the time it takes for Brazilians and Mexicans to receive U.S. visas has been significantly reduced by increasing consular staffing and making small changes to the visa application process. In Brazil, the average wait time has dropped to five days, from 100.

 

Throughout Latin America, the U.S. government has hired more consular officers and examined ways to make the visa application experience more welcoming. "In fact, in Brazil, the state department actually worked with Disney, whose job is to make people feel comfortable," Rojas-Ung�r says. "Disney was helpful in redesigning the queuing experience in Sao Paulo and Rio." For Colombia, the free trade agreement with the U.S. has helped smooth the visa application process for travel between those two countries, says Mar�a Oriani, the Bogota-based general manager at travel website Despegar.com. 

 

Anything that makes the visa process either unnecessary or easier will likely mean more travel to the U.S. from Latin America, explains Andr� Carvalhal, regional general manager for Latin America & president for Brazil at Carlson Wagonlit Travel. "Historically, it's been a bit of a challenge for corporate and leisure travelers to visit the United States due to the visa requirements, but some changes are making this a bit easier," he says. "The interview process for those who still require a visa for entry into the United States has also become less complicated and less stressful, as facilities are upgraded in major embassies across the region."

 

Overall, wait times for visa processing are down in many parts of Latin America, even as the number of applications has risen, Rojas-Ung�r says.

 

Expanding the Visa Waiver Program into Latin America

Still, "Visas are a barrier," to travel into the U.S., Oriani says. "At Despegar.com this was proved with the case of the visa [requirements] imposed in Mexico for travel to Canada. Demand immediately fell 40%."

 

Cecilia Victoria Beltrame, American Express Travel's director of global supplier relations LAC, notes that the U.S. visa process is inconsistent. It "varies in each country and could have different levels of complexity and requirements," she says. She recommends that nation implement an express program for travel agencies to manage the visa process for their clients.

 

Business travelers say the U.S. needs to expand the Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens of participating countries to travel to the United States without a visa for stays of 90 days or less, when they meet certain requirements. In Latin America, all eyes are on Chile, which is in line to become the first nation in Latin America or the Caribbean to join the program in 2014.

 

Adrian Turner, who serves as the Chile chapter president of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), predicts that the Visa Waiver will result in a surge in travel from Chile to the United States and vice versa, since it will likely also result in the removal of the reciprocal visa charge for U.S. travelers arriving in Chile. The U.S. is also considering adding Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay into the Visa Waiver Program.

 

Keeping Up With Growth

Simplified visa programs, faster application processes and more visa waivers will make business travel to the U.S. easier. However, U.S. immigration and customs processing needs to keep up with the increasing number of international travelers entering that country. "With the demand going up, we are hearing specific comments about people having to wait too long at our ports of entry," Rojas-Ung�r says. "So that's something we want to tackle, because the last thing we want is to have someone get off a 10-hour flight and have to wait another three hours." 

 

The U.S. Visa Application Process:

Most citizens of Latin American countries traveling to the U.S. must apply for a B-1 temporary business visa, or a B-2 tourism visa (spouses or family members accompanying a business traveler require a B-2 visa). Although the process varies, most people will complete the following steps:

The U.S. Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro
  • Complete an online application
  • Make an appointment to have fingerprints and your photo collected at an Applicant Service Center
  • Make an appointment for a visa interview at the closest U.S. embassy or consulate
  • After attending both appointments, if visa is granted, pick up the visa or have it delivered to you
  • Wait times between completing appointments and issuance of visa vary

Photos: U.S. Consulate in Rio-Guilherme B Alves, via Wikimedia Commons; Visa-�iStock/tanaka_fer

 

News from our Partners
(Click the headlines to read full stories)

 

  Delta

Delta Air Lines launches new service to San Jose and Liberia, Costa Rica - marks 15 years of uninterrupted service to that nation: Daily Los Angeles, California-San Jose, Costa Rica flights began July 1. 

 

U.S. Department of Transportation tentatively awards Delta Air Lines additional daily non-stop Atlanta - S�o Paulo flight; flight awaits final government approval and could start as early as Oct. 1. Second Detroit - S�o Paulo flight also awarded.

 

 

University of Miami School of Business Administration  

Am�rica Economia ranks the University of Miami's MBA program No. 10 in the U.S. for Latin Americans; school's executive education program ranked No. 2 in U.S. for Latin America 

 

 

Back to Top 

Travel News

 

Flight Delays

The Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico has been spewing steam, gas and

Popocatepetl in February
ash again, disrupting dozens of flights within, into and out of Mexico last week. The volcano, located between Mexico City and Puebla, has calmed for now, but remains just one alert level below evacuation.

 

Thunderstorms in the eastern U.S. backed up flights at more than two-dozen of that nation's airports on Wednesday, following similar delays earlier in the week. Nearly 400 flights were cancelled and thousands delayed at airports including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Georgia), Boston Logan (Massachusetts), Chicago O'Hare and Detroit Metropolitan Airport (Michigan). Several airlines have been waiving change fees for passengers in the affected areas.

 

In the western U.S., the airport in San Francisco, California continues to experience long flight delays and cancellations in the wake of the crash landing of an Asiana Airlines plane on Saturday. One of the airport's runways was still closed as of Wednesday, and the airport issued a Twitter statement that it expects the runway to remain closed for the immediate future. Travelers should try to fly into other California airports.

 

 

New Airline Routes and Route Changes

XL Airways France launched three-times-per-week non-stop service between Miami, Florida (U.S.) and Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport.

 

LACSA, part of Avianca Group, has changed the schedule on its San Jose, Costa Rica - Miami, Florida (U.S.) route. The San Jose departure moved to the morning (from night-time) and the Miami departure moved to the afternoon (from morning). 


Airline Alliance News

U.S.-based Alaska Airlines added Aeromexico as a partner in its Mileage Plan loyalty program. Aeromexico's Club Premier members can accrue miles on Alaska Air flights, and Mileage Plan members can accrue miles on Aeromexico flights. Aeromexico flight miles will count towards qualification in Alaska's MVP elite-level program. The partnership is an extension of the two airlines' codeshare partnership.

 

Virgin Australia and Delta Air Lines expanded their codeshare to cover seven routes into Mexico from the U.S. cities of Atlanta (Georgia) to Los Angeles (California).

 

Other Airline News

European carrier EasyJet has expanded the use of digital boarding passes (via mobile app) to 38 airports in Europe, including Paris, Rome and Berlin.

 

U.S. carrier Southwest Airlines now offers free access to DISH satellite television for travelers within the U.S., who can use Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices to view DISH's live and on-demand TV programming.

 

Airport News

Dufry opened the first duty free stores in S�o Paulo's Campinas-Viracopos International Airport. Located in International Arrivals and Departures, the two stores stock imported liquor, perfumes, cosmetics, food, electronics, watches and other items from well-known international brands. The Departures store has no limit on purchases, but the arrivals store has a quote equivalent to US$500.

 

Hotel News

The 134-room Four Points by Sheraton Miraflores opened in Lima, Peru's Miraflores business district. The property includes free Wi-Fi in public areas, 3,000 square feet of meeting space in eight rooms, a full-service restaurant and a lobby bar that serves food.

 

The 172-room Sheraton San Jose has opened in the Costa Rican capital's Escazu business district. Designed to meet AAA's Five Diamond rating criteria, it includes a full-service restaurant, specialty bar restaurant, caf�, 6,000 square feet of flexible meeting space in four rooms and an outdoor terrace with capacity for 180 people.

 

Best Western is offering its Rewards members a 1,000-point bonus for every completed stay booked through the company's new mobile app.

 

Hotel Pipeline

Mexico-based Fibra Inn purchased the Marriott Real Puebla Hotel and plans to add 100 rooms to the 192-room property by the end of 2014.

 

Apple Leisure Group's AMRresorts division plans to invest in six new resorts around Mexico by the end of 2015. It will build a total of 2,800 rooms in Cancun, the Riviera Maya, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta.

 

The Courtyard by Marriott Isla Verde Beach Resort in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will begin a $32-million renovation this month, set for completion in November. The property will remain open during the renovations to its 260 guestrooms, ballroom, public spaces and casino.

 

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants will manage a 263-room hotel on Grand Cayman's Seven Mile Beach, which is scheduled to open in 2016. The hotel, owned by Dart Realty, will be on the site of a former Courtyard by Marriott. 

 

Car Rental Services

Silvercar, a new U.S. car-rental company which only rents silver Audi A4s, is offering free rental cars in the U.S. cities of Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, Texas, through August 15. Virgin Elevate members arriving in either city on Virgin America can reserve one of the limited supply of free two-day rentals in advance, using booking codes VXDFWFREE or VXAUSFREE.


Photos: Popocatepetl-Cvmontuy, via Wikimedia Commons; Asiana flight-NTSB, via Wikimedia Commons; Dufry-Edis Cruz/Aeroportos Brasil Viracopos

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