Foreign nationals who wish to come to the United States on a temporary basis and are not citizens of countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program must generally obtain an NIV. U.S. law provides for the temporary admission of various categories of foreign nationals, who are known as nonimmigrants. Nonimmigrants include a wide range of visitors, such as tourists, foreign students, diplomats, and temporary workers who are admitted for a designated period of time and a specific purpose. There are dozens of specific types of NIVs that nonimmigrants can obtain for tourism, business, student, temporary worker, and other purposes. State manages the application process for these visas, as well as the consular officer corps and its functions, at over 220 visa-issuing posts overseas. The process for determining who will be issued or refused a visa contains several steps, including documentation reviews; collection of biometrics (fingerprints and full-face photographs); cross-referencing an applicant’s name and biometrics against multiple databases maintained by the U.S. government; and in-person interviews. Personal interviews with consular officers are required by law for most foreign nationals seeking NIVs. For an overview of the visa process, see figure 1. DHS sets visa policy, in consultation with State, and Commerce oversees the creation and implementation of strategies to promote tourism in the United States, such as the National Travel and Tourism Strategy called for in E.O. 13597. We have previously reported on visa delays at overseas posts: In April 2006, we testified that, of nine posts with wait times in excess of 90 days in February 2006, six were in Brazil, India, and Mexico. In July 2007, we reported that 20 posts said they experienced maximum monthly wait times in excess of 90 days at least once over the past year. More recently, State has reported long interview wait times in Brazil and China. For example, in June 2010, NIV interview wait times reached 100 days at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, and in August 2011, interview wait times reached 143 days at the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Following the rise of interview wait times at many posts, and especially in Brazil and China, President Obama issued E.O. 13597 in January 2012 to improve visa processing and travel promotion while continuing to protect U.S. national security. E.O. 13597 contained multiple goals for State and DHS for processing visitors to the United States, including the following: Ensure that 80 percent of NIV applicants worldwide are interviewed within 3 weeks of receipt of application. Increase NIV processing capacity in Brazil and China by 40 percent over the next year. In March 2012, State and DHS released an implementation plan for E.O. 13597 that outlined the measures each agency planned to undertake to meet the goals of the Executive Order. Subsequently, in August 2012, State and DHS issued a progress report on E.O. 13597 stating the progress made in meeting the goals of the Executive Order and the plans for continued efforts to improve a foreign visitor’s experience in traveling to the United States. State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, as well as consular management officials and consular officers at the four posts we visited, reported that increased staffing levels, policy changes, and organizational reforms implemented since 2012 have all contributed to increasing NIV processing capacity, reducing NIV interview wait times worldwide. For calculating NIV interview wait times, we used data from State on applications for visas for tourism and business purposes (B visas) and did not include other NIV categories. According to State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, the past hiring of additional staff through various authorities and temporary assignments of consular officers during periods of high NIV demand contributed to meeting E.O. 13597’s goals of expanding NIV processing capacity and reducing worldwide wait times, particularly at U.S. posts in Brazil, China, India, and Mexico. Increase in consular officers: According to State officials, from fiscal year 2012 through 2014, State “surged” the number of consular officers deployed worldwide from 1,636 to 1,883 to help address increasing demand for NIVs, an increase of 15 percent over 3 years. In response to E.O. 13597, State increased the number of deployed consular officers between January 19, 2012 (the date of E.O. 13597), and January 19, 2013, from 50 to 111 in Brazil, and 103 to 150 in China, a 122 and 46 percent increase, respectively (see fig. 2 for additional information on consular staffing increases in Brazil and China). As a result, State met its goal of increasing its NIV processing capacity in Brazil and China by 40 percent within a year of the issuance of E.O. 13597. Limited noncareer appointments: In fiscal year 2012, State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs launched the limited noncareer appointment (LNA) pilot program to quickly deploy language-qualified staff to posts facing an increase in NIV demand and workload. The first cohort of LNAs—who are hired on a temporary basis for up to 5 years for specific, time-bound purposes—included 19 Portuguese speakers for Brazil and 24 Mandarin speakers for China who were part of the increased number of consular officers deployed to posts noted above. In fiscal year 2013, State expanded the LNA program to include Spanish speakers. As of August 2015, State had hired 95 LNAs for Brazil, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Mexico. Temporary assignment of consular officers: State utilizes the temporary redeployment of Foreign Service officers and LNAs to address staffing gaps and increases in NIV demand. Between October 2011 and July 2012, State assigned, on temporary duty, 220 consular officers to Brazil and 48 consular officers to China as part of its effort to reallocate resources to posts experiencing high NIV demand. State continues to use this method to respond to increases in NIV demand. For example, during the first quarter of fiscal year 2015, India experienced a surge in NIV demand that pushed NIV interview wait times over 21 days at three posts. To alleviate the situation, consular managers in India sent officers to the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai, which was experiencing higher wait times, from other posts, allowing the U.S. Mission in India to reduce average wait times to approximately 10 days by the end of December 2014. According to State officials, policy changes have also helped to reduce NIV interview wait times at posts, including the expansion of the Interview Waiver Program (IWP) for NIVs and extending the validity of some NIVs. Expansion of interview waiver program: The IWP allows posts to waive the in-person NIV interview requirements for defined categories of “low-risk” applicants or applicants renewing an NIV for some visa categories. In 2012, the IWP for the U.S. Mission in Brazil was expanded to include first time applicants under the age of 16 or over the age of 66. This expansion allowed the U.S. Mission in Brazil to conduct additional walk-in NIV interviews by diverting first-time NIV applicants that State considers to be low-risk and renewals from presenting themselves at post for an interview. According to State officials, discussions with DHS are underway to further expand the IWP. Extending the validity period of visas: In accordance with federal law, State has extended the validity period of some visas in some countries, reducing the frequency with which a holder of a U.S. NIV would be required to apply for a renewal. (The visa validity period is the length of time the holder of a U.S. NIV is permitted to travel to a port of entry in the United States.) In November 2014, the United States and the People’s Republic of China reciprocally increased the validity periods of multiple-entry business and tourist visas issued to each other’s citizens for up to 10 years. The change in policy was intended to support improved trade, investment, and business by facilitating travel between the two countries. Furthermore, the extension of visa validity periods, according to State officials, is also expected to reduce the number of visas requiring adjudication over the long term at posts in China. State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has adopted several organizational reforms to improve its NIV processing efficiency. These include contracting out some administrative support duties, establishing leadership and management practices to better guide consular officers, and opening additional consulates to expand NIV processing capacity in certain countries and redesigning consular sections at post. Contracting for administrative support duties: The use of a worldwide support services contract has enabled posts to outsource certain administrative activities related to visa processing that would otherwise be handled by consular personnel. This effort, according to State officials, allows consular officers more time to focus on visa adjudication and therefore improves their productivity. The contract provides support services for visa operations at U.S. embassies and consulates, including NIV interview appointment scheduling and fee collection services. Contractors have opened 29 off-site locations in six countries to collect biometric data of NIV applicants, which are then forwarded to the post for processing and security screening prior to an applicant’s scheduled interview. Before the implementation of the contract in fiscal year 2011, biometric information could be collected at the post only when the applicant appeared for his or her interview. Consular officials we spoke with in Brazil and India stated that off-site biometric collection has added additional efficiencies to the NIV process. Leadership and management changes: In 2012, State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs launched the 1CA office to help further develop a culture of leadership, management, and innovation under budget austerity and increasing NIV demand.