Consular officers issued about 6.2 million nonimmigrant visas in 1996—an increase of approximately 16 percent over the number issued in 1992. The total budget for consular relations activities has also increased significantly in recent years. The budget grew from about $259 million in fiscal year 1992 to an estimated $470 million in fiscal year 1998. The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs Program Plan for fiscal years 1998-99 (an annually updated planning document containing strategies for executing the Bureau’s mission) notes that the greatest demand for visas is in advanced developing countries such as Brazil and South Korea, among others. Table 1 shows the numbers of nonimmigrant visas issued at the top five nonimmigrant visa-issuing posts in fiscal year 1996. Foreign visitors traveling to the United States are a significant source of revenue for U.S. businesses. According to the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration Tourism Industries Office, foreign visitors spent close to $70 billion in the United States in 1996. The office’s figures indicate that Brazilian visitors spent over $2.6 billion in the United States, or more than $2,900 per visit, during the same period. In order to safeguard U.S. borders and control the entry of foreign visitors into the country, U.S. immigration laws require foreign visitors from most countries to have a visa to enter the United States. However, the United States currently waives the requirement for visitor visas for citizens of 26 countries considered to pose little risk for immigration and security purposes. According to a consular official, Brazil does not currently qualify for visa waivers primarily because the refusal rate for Brazilian visa applications exceeds the allowable limit of less than 2.5 percent in each of the previous 2 years and less than a 2 percent average over the previous 2 years. The Department of State has primary responsibility abroad for administering U.S. immigration laws. Consular officers at overseas posts are responsible for providing expeditious visa processing for qualified applicants while preventing the entry of those that are a danger to U.S. security interests or are likely to remain in the United States illegally. State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs develops policies and manages programs needed to administer and support visa-processing operations at overseas posts and has direct responsibility for U.S.-based consular personnel. State’s geographic bureaus, which are organized along regional lines (such as the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs), have direct responsibility for the staffing and funding of overseas consular positions. The process for handling nonimmigrant visas varies among overseas posts. Among the methods used to serve visa applicants, posts (1) receive applicants on a “first-come, first-served” basis, (2) operate appointment systems to schedule specific dates and times for applying, (3) employ travel agencies to act as intermediaries between applicants and the consulate, and (4) use “drop boxes” for collecting certain types of visa applications. Individual posts may use one or various combinations of these approaches. In addition to submitting a written application and supporting documentation, an applicant must be interviewed by a consular officer, unless the interview is waived. Consular officers may request additional documentation to validate the applicant’s intention to return home or confirm that sufficient financial resources are available for the trip. Consular officers are also responsible for deterring the entry of aliens who may have links to terrorism, narcotics trafficking, or organized crime. Nine of the 26 consulates we reviewed, including the one in Sao Paulo, experienced backlogs in processing nonimmigrant visas to the United States in fiscal year 1997. The backlogs ranged from 8 to 52 days and occurred primarily during peak travel seasons for tourists. State does not systematically compile information on visa processing turnaround times at overseas posts nor has it established a time standard for processing visas. However, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services indicated that a maximum wait of 1 week (5 business days) for an appointment to apply for a nonimmigrant visa is desirable. She also told us that an additional 1 or 2 days are generally needed to process the visa after the appointment occurs. Thus, we concluded that a maximum desirable total turnaround time for appointment system cases would generally be 7 business days. Since the total turnaround times for other processing methods are generally shorter than for appointment systems, we used 7 business days as a cutoff point beyond which we considered a backlog to exist for all processing methods. Although consulates often manage to process nonimmigrant visa applications within 7 business days during periods of low demand, turnaround times lengthen significantly at some consulates when demand is high. Peak periods generally occur during the summer months or winter holiday season. Of the nine posts that had peak-season backlogs exceeding 7 business days, four had turnaround times that were less than 15 business days and five had turnaround times that were 15 business days or more. These figures represent the highest turnaround times that posts reported among the various application methods that they use. Table 2 lists the total turnaround times for processing visas during peak periods at the five posts that had backlogs that were 15 business days or more in fiscal year 1997. At the consulate in Sao Paulo, Brazil, turnaround times varied depending on the visa processing method involved. In fiscal year 1997, about 63 percent of the consulate’s nonimmigrant visa applications were submitted through travel agents, and about 27 percent were handled through the consulate’s appointment system. The remaining 10 percent were processed using other methods such as a “drop box.” Visa applications submitted through travel agents were subject to a total turnaround period of 10 business days during periods of high demand and less than 5 business days during periods of low demand. Turnaround times for those who requested an appointment to apply for a visa reached as long as 20 days during busy periods—twice the length we noted in our 1992 report on visa-processing backlogs. In nonpeak periods, the turnaround time for those who requested appointments was 9 business days. For fiscal year 1997, approximately 86,000 applicants used the consulate’s appointment system. Consulate officials told us that the turnaround time for applications received through the “drop-box” method is generally kept within 5 business days during both peak and nonpeak periods. State pointed out that, while the Sao Paulo consulate’s turnaround times have increased since 1992, the volume of nonimmigrant visa applications processed in Sao Paulo has also increased from 150,088 in fiscal year 1992 to 319,341 in fiscal year 1997. State reported that the Sao Paulo consulate processed an average of 1,250 nonimmigrant visas per day in fiscal year 1997. During the same period, the number of consular section foreign service officer positions increased from four to seven. In 1995, the Sao Paulo consulate established an appointment system to alleviate long lines outside the consulate that were causing complaints from neighbors and negative reports in the local press. The consulate also began employing appointment delays as a disincentive to applying in person and to encourage applicants to apply for visas through the consulate’s travel agency program—a technique that it considered to be more efficient. As part of this approach, the consulate initiated a practice of not scheduling any appointments on Wednesdays, so that consular officers could concentrate on processing travel agency cases that day. Sao Paulo consular officials told us that this approach had been successful in reducing the length of applicant lines, increasing the use of the consulate’s travel agency program, and improving productivity. On the other hand, the total turnaround time increased for those applying for visas in person through the appointment system. According to the Consul General in Brasilia, the Sao Paulo consulate’s appointment system and its practice of closing to the public on Wednesdays unfairly penalizes applicants that apply in person. He said that the consulate should develop an approach that enables it to provide high levels of service for all application methods. Officials in State’s Bureau of Inter-American Affairs told us that the Brazil Desk received an average of one complaint per week from U.S. companies concerning difficulties that their Brazilian business associates were having in obtaining visas in Sao Paulo. The Consul General in Brasilia said that as many as 10 visa applicants from the Sao Paulo consular district underwent the inconvenience of traveling to and applying for visas in Brasilia each day rather than in Sao Paulo because they had encountered delays and other difficulties in Sao Paulo. He added that an additional unknown number travel to the consulate in Rio de Janeiro each day or simply elect not to travel to the United States at all. Representatives of the travel industry in Brazil told us that, while there have been substantial improvements in reducing visa backlogs and long lines at the Sao Paulo consulate in recent years, they still receive complaints about the length of time that it takes to obtain a U.S. visa in Sao Paulo. A representative of the American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil agreed that there had been improvements in recent years but said that the process remains particularly troublesome for Brazilian business executives who sometimes need to obtain visas on an emergency basis for unexpected business trips to the United States. Consular officers face a number of obstacles to providing expeditious service in processing visas. Inadequate consular staffing at overseas posts and other staffing-related issues were identified as barriers to timely processing of visas by the majority of posts that we reviewed. Other impediments to efficient processing include inadequate computer systems, equipment, and consular facilities. Increased attention devoted to preventing suspect applicants from entering the United States has also led to delays. Similar to what we reported in 1992, consular personnel cited staffing problems as some of the most persistent barriers to processing visas efficiently. Nineteen of the 26 consulates we reviewed reported staffing problems, such as staffing gaps due to transfers of foreign service officers during peak periods or inadequate permanent staffing positions.