American Ambassador Gary Locke Presents 1 Millionth Visa

Number of visas to America processed in the mainland reaches 1 million, Gary Locke personally presents visas

December 14th, at the United States Embassy in Beijing, American Ambassador Gary Locke (first on right) issues visas to visa-applicant Mr. Yu and his family of three. That day, the American Embassy Consulate announced that as of last week, the number of visa applications Mission China has processed this year reached 1 million, an increase of 34% from last year. To celebrate this special occasion, the embassy held a special visa issuing ceremony where American Ambassador to China Gary Locke personally handed visas to several Chinese applicants.

December 14th, at the United States Embassy in Beijing, American Ambassador to China Gary Locke (first on right) interviews American visa applicant Mr. Yu’s and his family, the couple planning to take their child to Disneyland in the United States. Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs Charles Bennett says that China currently makes up 11% of the total visa workload for the United States around the world, and that this year Mission China has issued visas to 90% of visa applications.

December 14th, at the United States Embassy in Beijing, American Ambassador to China Gary Lock (fourth from left) and six Chinese citizens who received visas to America take a group photo.

From Chinanews.com:

December 14th, the number of Chinese citizens who have applied for a visa to the United States has reached 1 million, for which the US Embassy held a special visa issuing ceremony. US Ambassador Gary Locke personally presented American visas to 6 applicants.

According to Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs Charles Bennett, from October 2010 to September 2011, the US embassy and consulates in China have already received 1 million visa applications. Compared to statistics last year, the number of applications has increased by 34%. Compared with statistics five years ago, the number has doubled.

“China now makes up about 11 percent of the total visa workload for the United States around the world. I think that’s a real significant number because it really does show the strength of our social and economic ties,” he said.

He also said that the visa approval rate is also very high, that of these 1 million applicants, 90% have successfully obtained visas.

Gary Locke said that the US embassy is making efforts to shorten the time to get visa interview appointments to one week. The embassy will also increase the number of visa officers, increase working hours, and add more windows for visa interviews. Moreover, he also hoped to extend the duration of visas for all Chinese people from 1 year to 5 years.

Comments from NetEase:

我喜欢陈绮贞 [网易广东省深圳市网友]：

Hehe, 1 million applicants~~~ In 5 years, all the rich people will have left~~~ Those left will continue struggling.

yf631540 [网易湖北省孝感市网友]：

Why doesn’t the Chinese Embassy also hold a visa issuing ceremony and get on the news?

我真二啊 [网易内蒙古网友]：

Envious, jealous, and hateful!
Hope everyone can get a visa soon.

山姆猫大叔 [网易广西网友]：

I’m thinking there will again be a lot of people who will say “take me with you!”

5毛等于太监 [网易加拿大网友]：

I still remember the moment I got my Canadian immigration visa.
I felt very happy/blessed.
I knew from that moment on that certain groups/cliques could no longer disgust me.
You aren’t my savior. Without you, my life is even better!!!

maryzhang71 [网易上海市网友]：