Solving the Visa In person Interview Problem
In 2006 the then Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff proposed the use of videoconferencing visa interviews to solve the interview location barrier. The U.S. State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs opposed this initiative and continues to be opposed reportedly due to security concerns.
Videoconferencing interviews actually increase security
- Recorded interviews enable more effective evaluations and improved performance
- Recorded interviews can be used to train new officers
- Existing government procedures for maintaining security for IP-based videoconferencing can be leveraged to achieve desired security
- Visa applicant data can be secured and privacy protected
- State Department approved GSS vendors can manage offsite process in accordance with State specifications.
Staffing the consulate to handle video calls from videoconferencing visa applicants is not a budget problem
The State Department has already approved and implemented the use of Limited Non-career Appointment (LNA) consular officers. Adding new LNA’s to meet increase visa applicant demand, fortunately, is not a funding problem. LNA’s are totally self-funding. In fact each LNA represents a significant new source of State Department fee revenue.
LNA economics:
- Each LNA can conduct about 20 visa interviews per hour in a 6 hour work shift or 100 to 120 interviews per day
- Assume an average of 112 interviews per shift X 225 workdays = 25,200 visa interviews per year per LNA
- Each visa applicant pays a $160 visa application fee X 25, 200 applicants = $4 million in application fee revenue per LNA each year
- Assuming LNA overhead of $120,000 per year for deployment and compensation the net contribution to the Bureau of Consular Affairs per LNA = $3.88 million.
