WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET: JOB GROWTH THROUGH U.S./CHINA VISA VALIDITY

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
November 10, 2014

FACT SHEET: Supporting American Job Growth And Strengthening Ties By Extending U.S./China Visa Validity for Tourists, Business Travelers, and Students

Today, President Obama announced that the United States and the People’s Republic of China are concluding a reciprocal visa validity arrangement during his visit that will strengthen our ever-broadening economic and people-to-people ties.  Both countries have agreed to increase the validity of short-term tourist and business visas issued to each other’s citizens from one to ten years – the longest validity possible under U.S. law – and increase the validity of student and exchange visas from one to five years.  The United States will begin issuing visas in accordance with the new reciprocal agreement on November 12, 2014.

This arrangement will improve trade, investment, and business ties by facilitating travel and offering easier access to both economies.  Extended validity visas for students and exchange visitors will boost the bonds between our two peoples and facilitate travel for outstanding students from around the world who attend U.S. institutions of higher education.  As a result of this arrangement, the United States hopes to welcome a growing share of eligible Chinese travelers, inject billions in the U.S. economy and create enough demand to support hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. jobs.  Travelers will continue to be subject to all the same legal and security reviews that currently apply to visa applicants.

Welcoming a Growing Share of Chinese Travelers.

China is the fastest-growing outbound tourism market in the world, and in 2013, 1.8 million Chinese travelers visited the United States, contributing $21.1 billion to the U.S. economy and supporting more than 109,000 American jobs.
Chinese travelers consistently rank the United States as their most-desired travel destination, yet less than 2 percent of total Chinese travelers come to the United States.
Chinese travelers cite ease of visa policies as the second most important factor in deciding where to travel, behind only cost.
A competitive visa policy will help us meet projections that suggest as many as 7.3 million Chinese travelers will come to the United States by 2021, contributing nearly $85 billion a year to the economy and supporting up to 440,000 U.S. jobs.
Strengthening Bonds Between Chinese and American Students.
28 percent of all foreign students and exchange visitors in the United States originate from China.
Chinese students in the United States spent $8 billion in 2013, an increase of nearly 24 percent over the previous year.
Today’s arrangement will allow American and Chinese students to more easily travel back and forth, making foreign study a more attractive option, increasing opportunities for people-to-people ties, and boosting mutual understanding.
Extending Visa Validity to Increase the Number of Chinese Travelers Coming to the United States and Support American Jobs

Today, the President is taking action to welcome more Chinese visitors to the United States, in order to support America’s most important and largest services export – tourism.  Chinese travelers persistently rank the United States as their top desired travel destination, but only slightly more than 1.8 percent of total outbound travelers go to the United States.  Chinese travelers cite ease of visa policies as the second most important factor in deciding where to travel, behind only cost.  A competitive visa policy is needed to secure our place as the chosen destination for millions of Chinese travelers.

Travel and tourism is a major driver of the U.S. economy and we have made significant progress in improving our visa processing.  In 2013, nearly 70 million international travelers visited the United States, experiencing all that America has to offer from our cities to our many national parks. Those visits support nearly 1.1 million American jobs – including thousands at local and small businesses.  Growth in international visitors has created roughly 260,000 American jobs over the past five years alone. The Administration has taken steps to support this impressive growth, including improving visa processing waiting periods in important markets like China where they have dropped from as high as several months to less than five days on average. In total, the State Department issued 9.2 million visas worldwide in 2013, up 42 percent since 2010.
Global growth of outbound travel from China represents an unprecedented opportunity to foster job creation across the country.  China is the fastest growing outbound tourism market in the world, and Chinese visitors have accounted for 20 percent of the growth in overseas travel to the United States since 2008.  In 2013, 1.8 million Chinese travelers visited the United States, contributing $21.1 billion to the U.S. economy and supporting more than 109,000 U.S. jobs.  As incomes in China continue to rise, the number of Chinese citizens able to afford international travel and tourism is projected to more than double over the next few years, reaching the hundreds of millions.  Close to 7.3 million Chinese are projected to travel to the United States by 2021, contributing nearly $85 billion a year to the economy and supporting 440,000 jobs. But if our visa policy were allowed to fall behind other countries, we might miss out on much of this additional economic activity.

The United States must continue to maintain a competitive advantage in the global business arena. Extending visa validity will bring the United States into line or surpass other destinations that have already eased visa restrictions for Chinese travelers such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan.  The European Commission, France, Germany, and Italy are also taking steps to extend visa validity to Chinese travelers.  Today’s announcement will allow more Chinese to make the United States their destination of choice.

Increasing business travel will support the President’s goal of increasing exports. Increasing visa validity for U.S. citizens traveling to China makes it easier to respond to market and commercial opportunities in China, helping to boost U.S. exports, foster increased trade ties, and improve commercial linkages between U.S. and Chinese firms.  In the near term, extending visa validity for Chinese business travelers will also help meet the President’s SelectUSA goal of boosting inward investment into the United States as the U.S. travel and tourism industry commits to making upfront investments in new hotels and other infrastructure in anticipation of a rise in Chinese inbound travel.

Strengthening Tourism and Education Opportunities by Enhancing Student Visas

Chinese student and exchange visitors represent 30 percent of all such visas issued worldwide, with Chinese nationals comprising the largest group of foreign students in the United States.  Students, exchange visitors, and their dependents may now receive multiple-entry visas valid for up to five years, depending on their program.  This will allow American and Chinese students to more easily travel back and forth, making foreign study a more attractive option, increasing opportunities for people-to-people ties, and boosting mutual understanding.

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S WEEKLY ADDRESS FOR MAY 17, 2014

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Weekly Address: Working When Congress Won’t Act

WASHINGTON, DC – In this week’s address, the President discussed actions to expand opportunity for more Americans, with or without the help of Republicans in Congress, including his Administration’s efforts to cut red tape for major transportation infrastructure projects. In the coming days, the President will meet with business leaders to highlight the importance of bringing jobs back to America and will also discuss the economic benefits of making it easier for tourists to visit and spend money at attractions in the U.S., which in turn helps local businesses and grows the economy for everyone. The President has called 2014 a year of action, and he will continue to do whatever he can to continue to strengthen our economy, create jobs and restore opportunity for all.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
May 17, 2014

Hi, everybody. 

At a time when our businesses have created 9.2 million new jobs in just over four years, and more companies are considering bringing jobs back from overseas, we have a choice to make.  We can make it easier for businesses to invest in America – or we can make it harder. 

I want to work with Congress to create jobs and opportunity for more Americans.  But where Congress won’t act, I will.  And I want to talk about three things we’re doing right now.

First, we’re helping more businesses bring jobs to America from overseas.  Three years ago, my Administration created SelectUSA – a team of people in embassies abroad and agencies here at home focused on insourcing instead of outsourcing.  Today, they’re helping a Belgian company create jobs in Oklahoma. They’re helping a Canadian company create jobs in Kansas.  In my State of the Union Address, I asked more businesses to do their part.  And this week, business leaders from across the country are coming here to the White House to discuss new investments that will create even more jobs.

Second, on Thursday, I’ll be heading to Cooperstown, New York – home of the Baseball Hall of Fame – to talk about tourism.  Because believe it or not, tourism is an export.  And if we make it easier for more foreign visitors to visit and spend money at America’s attractions and unparalleled national parks, that helps local businesses and grows the economy for everyone. 

Finally, we know that investing in first-class infrastructure attracts first-class jobs.  And I want to spend a minute on this, because it’s very important this year.

We know business owners don’t seek out crumbling roads and bridges and backed-up supply chains.  They set up shop where the newest, fastest transportation and communications networks let them invent and sell goods Made in America to the rest of the world as fast as possible.

Here’s the problem: If Congress doesn’t act by the end of this summer, federal funding for transportation projects will run out.  States might have to put some of their projects on hold.  In fact, some already are, because they’re worried Congress won’t clear up its own gridlock.  And if Congress fails to act, nearly 700,000 jobs would be at risk over the next year.

That’s why I put forward a plan to rebuild our transportation infrastructure in a more responsible way.  It would support millions of jobs across the country.  And we’d pay for it without adding to the deficit by closing wasteful tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas.

Now, the Republicans in Congress seem to have very different priorities.  Not only have they neglected to prevent this funding from running out, their proposal would actually cut by 80% a job-creating grant program that has funded high-priority transportation projects in all 50 states. And they can’t say it’s to save money, because at the very same time, they voted for trillions of dollars in new tax cuts, weighted towards those at the very top. 

Think about that.  Instead of putting people to work on projects that would grow the economy for everyone, they voted to give a huge tax cut to households making more than $1 million a year.

So while Congress decides what it’s going to do, I’ll keep doing what I can on my own.

On Wednesday, I was in New York where workers are building the area’s first large new bridge in 50 years.  And they’re doing it ahead of schedule.  Three years ago, I took action without Congress to fast-track the permitting process for major projects.  Normally, it would have taken three to five years to permit that bridge.  We did it in a year and a half.  And I announced a new plan to cut red tape and speed up the process for even more projects across the country.

All these steps will make it easier for businesses to invest in America and create more good jobs.  All of them can be done without Congress.  But we could do a lot more if Congress was willing to help.  In the meantime, I’ll do whatever I can – not just to make America a better place to do business, but to make sure hard work pays off, and opportunity is open to all.

Thanks, and have a great weekend.