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Sarah Karacs

Poor jobs prospects and rising social tensions in Hong Kong have fuelled a steep increase in visa applications to the US, say immigration experts.
The US consulate announced last week that it had streamlined its visa issuance process to handle a surge in demand and was allowing those renewing non-permanent visas to skip the interview process.
This was prompted by a 15 to 20 per cent rise in applications for US visas over the past year – up to 100,000 from 80,000 to 90,000 in the previous year. The number increased by 10 per cent the year before that.
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“There’s an increasing ­demand in going to the US ... from Hong Kong,” the consulate’s non-immigrant visas chief, Alex Ave-Lallemant, said. “We anticipate a further increase in demand and are trying to be as proactive as possible.”
The move applies to applicants renewing their business, tourist or student visas to the United States and should cut queues by about 30 per cent.
The US is a popular destination for students – in 2014, 8,000 Hongkongers went to there to study.
Immigration experts say they have noticed a growing trend over the past three years of people looking to travel and study in the US to escape a sense of despondency in Hong Kong.
“We are experiencing a big increase in demand overall, not just to the US but also to Canada and Australia,” said immigration consultant John Hui, who described a 20 to 25 per cent increase over the past three years. “Young people are not happy. There is a lot of social unrest.”
United States streamlines visa process amid surge in applications from Hong Kong
In the last year the firm launched a programme for unskilled employee visas for young Hongkongers wanting to gain a green card by working in the fast food industry or on poultry farms. So far around 50 families have signed up, Hui said, describing how this visa option made entry into the US a feasibility for those unable to afford investor visas.
“A young man graduates from a prestigious university in the States, returns to Hong Kong and is not happy – he can’t find a good job,” said immigration solicitor Eugene Chow, who described how well-heeled, US-educated Hongkongers wanting to return to the US could do so with the financial backing of their parents.
Chow said he received hundreds of emails from young Hongkongers wanting to emigrate, but many could not afford to do so through the investor visa scheme, which would involve an individual having to source US$500,000.
Chow believed that the rise in Hong Kong visas to the US reflected increasing leniency towards Chinese visitors by the Obama administration, an interpretation that the consulate rejected.
“Immigration law, not any particular administration, governs the issuance of US visas,” said Darragh Paradiso, public affairs director at the consulate, adding that the consulate would not comment on the claims that rising disillusionment was fuelling efforts to go to the US.
Political uncertainty in the run-up to the handover in 1997 led to many Hongkongers migrating to the US, Canada, Australia and the UK, with a steep increase after 1989. Many returned with foreign citizenship after the transfer of sovereignty.


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US immigration

I want to be in America: despondency in Hong Kong fuelling rush for US visas, say immigration experts

Hong Kong residents are increasingly hoping to move to the US according to new figures. Photo: AFP

United States streamlines visa process amid surge in applications from Hong Kong

There has been a surge in the number of ­Hongkongers applying for US visas. Photos: SCMP Pictures

Indians and Indonesians to face new visa restrictions for Hong Kong: Legco to discuss proposal today

No Caption Available.

Immigration Director Eric Chan Kwok-ki(left) and Assistant Director David Chiu Wai-kai give annual report at Immigration Tower, Wan Chai.01FEB16.SCMP/K. Y. Cheng

Indonesian nationals are among those who could face new visa restrictions to Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP

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The 2015 Hong Kong Pride Parade for sexual minorities. Rights groups say people are now more willing to accept members of the LGBTI community. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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Hong Kong

Politics

Poor career prospects in the city and rising social tensions make the move an appealing prospect for growing numbers
