"Department Tackles Visa Delay for Researchers" Courtesy The Newyork times

Here is the article published on 2nd June, 2009 in The Newyork Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/us/03visas.html). It raises some hope.....

After months of complaints by university groups and scientific organizations, the State Department is acting to speed up the delay-plagued visa process for foreign graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, an official said Tuesday.
The official, David Donahue, the deputy assistant secretary of state for consular services, said the department started attacking the backlog of requests on Friday. “I am not sure when we will get all of them cleared up,” he said, but eventually routine requests should be dealt with in two weeks. He said the department had brought in extra staff to handle the applications and had revised procedures to speed reviews.
Albert H. Teich, the director of science and policy programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science called the moves “very gratifying.” Dr. Teich said he and representatives of the National Academy of Sciences, the Association of American Universities and other groups learned of the changes in a conference call last week.
Since last year, science and engineering researchers from abroad seeking to obtain or renew visas have routinely encountered delays of months. The problem became so acute that researchers who left the country often found themselves stranded abroad, not knowing when their visas might be approved.
The delays have caused problems for American universities, which rely on foreigners to fill slots in graduate and post-doctoral science and engineering programs. Foreign talent also fuels scientific and technical innovation in American laboratories, and the visa difficulties discouraged scientific organizations from holding meetings in the United States. Some researchers said the apparent reluctance of the United States to accept them encouraged them to seek work in other countries.
Mr. Donahue said the clearance process was important, especially as it related to “guarding against proliferation of science and technical information.” But he said people in the department were unhappy about the delays. “We should not have been behind, but we will be glad to be caught up,” he said.
Dr. Teich said he attributed the action to the Obama administration’s support for scientific and technical research. But he added: “So far all we know is what they have said. Let us hope it takes place.”
John P. Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which helped develop the new procedures, said the United States should encourage researchers from other countries to employ their skills here.
“It is more important than ever that we remove unnecessary impediments to collaborative innovation and technical advancement,” Dr. Holdren said.