On November 10. 2014, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the United States and the People’s Republic of China agreed to extend visa validity times for business, tourist, and student visas for both countries. Under the agreement, which the U.S. put into effect today, November 12, 2014, both countries will extend the terms of multiple entry short-term tourist and business visas to 10 years from one year, and student visas will be extended to five years from one year. A White House spokesman stated that “as a result of this arrangement, the United States hopes to welcome a growing share of eligible Chinese travelers, inject billions of dollars in the U.S. economy and create enough demand to support hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. jobs.” A senior White House official stated that it is “estimated that the United States could gain 440,000 jobs by 2021 and receive an $85 billion annual infusion into the American economy as a result of the new policy.”

Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Air Lines, commented that the new policy “will provide a significant economic boost to the U.S., and is expected to create hundreds of thousands of jobs nationwide.” According to the White House, last year, 1.8 million Chinese visitors came to the U.S., contributing $21 billion to the economy and created 100,000 jobs. The visa extension is expected to more than quadruple those numbers.  The visa agreement would allow companies in the United States such as Delta “to tap into the fast-growing market of Chinese tourists traveling abroad. The United States now attracts only 2 percent of Chinese tourism.” The new visa arrangement is also likely to help boost the US property market where Chinese buyers have shown an increasing interest. Simon Chan, a partner at the international law firm, Dorsey and Whitney’s Hong Kong office, told China Daily that “the new US visa procedure will likely drive up Chinese private-equity investments in the US on the personal and institutional level.”

The new policy will increase international trade, foster economic growth and development, and spur job creation in the United States. We look forward to more immigration policy changes in the near future that will have a positive impact on the U.S. economy and job growth.

Contact Subhan Law Office, LLC, today to learn more about short term and long term visa strategies that can help you and or your business at 414-223-5718.

For more information on the new policy click here.

For more information on President Obama’s visit to China click here.