The Consumer's Foundation yesterday urged the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to improve its treatment of visa applicants by shortening the amount of time they have to wait in line for interviews and offering them seats.
Applications for US visas usually peak between May and August and long queues are often seen outside AIT, which is located on the Taipei's Hsinyi Road.
Line up outside
"Rain or shine, these people have to wait outdoors," said Terry Huang (
According to AIT statistics, it has issued more than 190,000 non-immigrant visas in Taiwan from last April until now.
"Applicants pay NT$3,200 to get a visa but are not treated properly," Huang said at a press conference.
Huang suggested that AIT hire more staff to direct the crowds waiting outside the office. The queues are so long that the applicants often have to wait on the sidewalks near AIT, he said.
AIT should provide places for people to sit indoors as they wait their turn for an interview, he said. Huang said that AIT could consider exempting people who are above the age of 65 from interviews.
Currently, applicants under the age of 14 or over 80 years old do not have to appear for personal interviews.
In response, AIT urged all those applying for visas who have an appointment for an interview to come to the building at the time indicated on their entrance tickets.
Apply early
"To avoid overcrowding and to comply with Taiwanese and US fire code regulations, applicants will not be let in before the time on their entrance tickets. This information is clearly noted on all of our Web sites and application forms," AIT said in a statement.
The summer months are the busiest time of year for non-immigrant visa applications, AIT said. The statment also urged all people planning to visit the US in the near future to apply for their visas as soon as possible.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it