US visa delays ‘a frightening prospect’

The United States has reportedly warned that travellers face delays in getting visitor visas, adding that the situation is a “frightening prospect”. As reported by News From Abroad, travellers from many countries including the UK will lose the right to visit the United States for up to three months if they do not hold a visa. As from 26 October, any new passports for people wanting to visit the country will have to contain biometric information on a special computer chip; those that do not will have to apply for a visa. But the UK has predicted that it will not be ready to start issuing such passports until next spring at the earliest – which means tens of thousands of visitors – at least – could have to apply for visas. According to the BBC News website, US authorities are expecting twice as many travellers to apply for visas next year, but there will be no extra staff to deal with applications. The website reports that US state department officials, who aware that the same situation exists in many countries other than the UK, are describing the prospect as “frightening”. Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad