December 6, 2005

The President of the United States of America

The White House

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

As you know from the spring meeting of the President’s Export Council, the U.S. visa-acquisition process remains a major concern for the American business community and a problem that requires your timely leadership.

The membership of the PEC represents the diversity of the American economy; however we all have a common interest in how the U.S. visa system affects businesses and exports. We see that easy and reliable movement of goods and people – always with due regard for national security and public safety – is essential to our ability to compete, grow and deliver gains for the U.S. economy and its citizens. The race to attract human capital is intensifying as the global economy becomes more interdependent. We must improve the visa acquisition process to effectively compete for the same finite talent pool, something that other nations have targeted for pursuit at the national level.

In the PEC letter of September 24, 2004, we outlined several examples of international meetings and conventions slated for the United States that were held elsewhere because of the difficulty and unpredictability in securing a U.S. visa in time to attend scheduled events. These costs to our economy continue. An in-person interview has been required of virtually all visa applicants since August 2003, which has added to excessive wait times in many locations. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a good example: it takes upwards of 100 days to be scheduled for the mandatory interview. Though just smaller than the United States in size, Brazil has only four locations to apply for a visa. While we appreciate the opening of new Business Visa Centers in certain consular locations, this program should be implemented in all consulates so they have the resources and flexibility to establish business windows at posts, set aside time-blocks for business visas, and permit group appointments. Further, leveraging 21^st century technology to improve the visa process seems to be the next logical step in reducing wait times, minimizing travel to secure a visa, and improving the efficiency of the visa acquisition process.

We continue to believe that more needs to be done to create a system that provides an avenue for American companies to meet certain standards and establish the bona fides of sponsored visa applicants so these visitors are not subject to needless bureaucratic delays, excessive investigations, arbitrary denials or the unpredictability of local consular interviewers. Your Administration, in working with different industry sectors and other stakeholders, has developed and adopted a system whereby a truck trailer or container can be loaded, closed and sealed offshore while utilizing the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) program to ensure speedy customs or border clearance in entering the United States without compromising security. This same approach – using technology, input by stakeholders and common sense – should be adapted to process the arrival of business visitors, students and tourists. Our country benefits greatly from bringing legitimate travelers into the United States, and we should continue to embrace international visitors’ contributions to our economy.

American visa policy should not deter the continued flow of innovative brain power that has historically been the core of our economic engine, as well as tourists who visit with disproportionately higher spend rates. The economy’s future greatly depends on the relative reservoir of brain power and the strength of its bedrock foundation vis-à-vis other nations who are vying for these very same individual workers, some of whom will eventually become key innovators driving the economy’s continued growth. Furthermore, individuals who are actively contributing to the U.S. economy are unduly subject to long processing periods for their labor certification, for their priority number to become current, and for the necessary adjustment to be made to their visa status. In order to attract foreign workers with exceptional abilities, it is imperative that their spouses with visas be allowed to work, should they desire to do so. Further, legal resident immigrants are often unable to bring their parents as tourists into the U.S., even on short six-month visitor visas. Increasingly, such parents who are often prime tourist candidates, due to the denial of their visas are choosing to holiday in more visa-friendly destinations. Of late, visa acquisition hurdles by parents are causing some of the brightest immigrants to relocate to their country of birth so as to avoid this problem. Allowing spouses to work and parents to visit are incentives that would serve as a bulwark against competitor nations’ who are specifically targeting the very same individuals who are equally central to the competitiveness of the United States.

Clearly, customer service and taking better care of the needs of resident immigrants will go a long way in attracting more workers and tourists. The men and women in the Consular Corps and those securing our borders are in a unique position as the “first face” of America. We urge the Departments of State and Homeland Security to put greater emphasis on the value that customer service can have, whether at our consular offices around the globe or at our own border, in fostering a positive U.S. image abroad.

We appreciate the attention that has been paid to this issue, including the meeting several PEC members had on August 24 with members of your Administration. There is, however, room for still more improvement. The PEC pledges to aid your efforts in working with Congress to find ways that the congressional directive requiring in-person interviews might be modified to better facilitate the free flow of goods and people. With growing overseas markets and non-stop competition, we risk exposing our economy to irreparable damage from a visa application and approval process that desperately requires modernization. We fervently hope that you will direct your Administration to act expeditiously, to work cooperatively with private sector experts and to devote the attention and resources this matter immediately deserves.

Respectfully,

J.W. Marriott, Jr.

Chairman