U.S. and China Reach New Visa Agreement

Posted on 13 November 2014. 

President Barack Obama announced a new reciprocal agreement between the United States and China regarding travel visas. Read more!

Under a new agreement between the United States and China, student and exchange visas will be extended to five years and business and tourist visas will be extended to 10 years. This change in policy went into affect November 12.

President Obama made the announcement on November 10 during his stay in Beijing for the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

More than 1.95 million non-immigrant visas were processed for Chinese nationals during the 2014 fiscal year, according to the U.S. Department of State. Chinese students make up the majority of international students in the United States.

Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama’s senior advisors announced that the new visa policy will bring $85 billion per year to the U.S. economy and support 440,000 U.S. jobs.