Reply #27: Visa delays costing U.S. firms billions [View All]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5120779/

WASHINGTON - Corporate America has suffered $30.7 billion in lost revenue and other costs over the past two years as a result of delays in visas for foreign business travelers, according to eight U.S. business organizations.

The finding marks the first serious effort by U.S. business to quantify the impact of security restrictions put in place since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

A survey, to be published on Wednesday, found that nearly three-quarters of companies had experienced unexpected delays or arbitrary denials of business visa applications, while 60 percent said the delays had hurt their companies through increased costs or lost sales.

In addition, more than half the 734 companies surveyed said the visa process was worse today than a year ago.

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