Due to “cattle tourism”, visa applications to travel to the United States have exploded: they post positions for March 2022

From the moment the Florida State eliminated the residency requirement to be vaccinated against coronavirus, Argentina mainly travels Miami, a tourist destination par excellence, has increased significantly.

This in the context of Argentina, where the stock of doses is growing more slowly than expected, has led to the accumulation of a greater number of requests for obtain or renew visas go to United States. A situation which, added to the delays already caused by the restrictions due to the pandemic, resulted in the allocation of work shifts just for February and until March Next year.

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The fury of inoculation in Miami and also in several other parts of the North American country, such as the city of new York, has opened more than one question to Argentines who have economic possibilities of travel in a short time.

Although the requirements for applying any of the doses available here include only the up-to-date passport and fill out a form with personal data, to enter the territory, Argentines must have a visa granted by the United States Embassy.

Each case is specific and access authorizations are varied, tourism, for study, permanent residence, for investors and even an emergency request can be made for matters that require it (for “urgent trips related to life or death or any other emergency of the applicant and / or a close family member ”, as indicated on the official website of the agency).

The process, in the pre-pandemic era, did not require great difficulty. The tour could be requested to initiate the corresponding procedure and it took a few days. “In normal times, the embassy usually gives dates until From one day to another. They came to assist thousand people per day and the 90% was for tourist reasons», He explained to TN.com.ar Alejandro Montaldo, which is part of a company dedicated to providing advice on the matter.

Although the case depends, in general, these travel permits, for Argentine citizens, are usually issued with valid for 10 years. At the time of expiration, you have one year to begin renewal; But now it has spread to four, because of the difficulties caused by the pandemic.

Pandemic, restrictions and increased demand

What is happening now is that, since the start of the epidemic in Argentina, in March 2020Due to restrictions, the embassy did not receive applicants in person for several months. Therefore, there were delays and subsequent changes in the teams, in accordance with the restrictive measures, both for the renewal and for the first visa application. Added to this situation is the recent mega request driven by “cattle tourism”.

“Normally, the processing time for the request is five to seven working days, but now they are in between one month and two months lateMontaldo pointed out.

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The request consists of a first instance of order and online registration, which is done on the official website. There you must also make the payment of a fee, which is approximately 160 dollars. “The visa is not paid, but the consular law, that is to say so that the authority receives the case and assesses it, ”said Montaldo. Then, depending on the case and the type of order, certain supporting documents will be requested and later, if necessary, it remains to plan a personal interview.

Now, the shifts to start the process are allocated for 2022, between February and March. At the end of April, the social networks of the American embassy reported that the requests were treatment in a “very gradual and limited” manner.

Even according to the testimonies of travelers and users who channel their claims in the agency’s publications, many of them are canceled and postponed those attributed for May or June of this year. “Are they still canceling appointments a month before?” The user asked. Facebook Ana Maria Vivas Linares Two weeks ago. “This is the fourth time they’ve canceled my round of renewal,” he complained. Ana Belic, through the same social network.

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Increased demand for tickets

Hand in hand with the Miami vaccination fury, there are no tickets left for the rest of the month. For this reason and in line with the strong demand recorded in recent weeks, Argentine airlines began exploring the possibility of adding frequencies in June. The idea would be to add three to six additional weekly flights, to the six frequencies you have now.

Last week’s flights left with a 74% occupancy, while in April the average was 62%. Beyond the fury of Miami, given the high demand, many have also started to consider new options in the United States, including destinations such as Dallas, Houston, New York State, in the possibilities of health tourism.