Presidential DocumentExecutive Order 135972012-1568
Establishing Visa and Foreign Visitor Processing Goals and the Task Force On Travel and Competitiveness
Primary source
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Published
January 24, 2012
Signed
January 19, 2012
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 77 Issue 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2012)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2012)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 3373-3375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1568]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 77 , No. 15 / Tuesday, January 24, 2012 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 3373]]
Executive Order 13597 of January 19, 2012
Establishing Visa and Foreign Visitor Processing
Goals and the Task Force On Travel and Competitiveness
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and to improve visa and foreign visitor
processing and travel promotion in order to create jobs
and spur economic growth in the United States, while
continuing to protect our national security, it is
hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. The travel and tourism industry is
one of our Nation's leading service sectors and sources
of exports. However, the U.S. market share of spending
by international travelers fell from 17 percent to 11
percent of the global market from 2000 to 2010, more
than a 30 percent decrease in our share of the global
market. This decrease was due primarily to increased
international competition, changing patterns in global
development, and, to some degree, more stringent
security requirements imposed after 2001. Given the
importance of the travel and tourism industry to the
U.S. economy and job creation, a coordinated policy,
consistent with protecting our national security, is
needed to support a prosperous and secure travel and
tourism industry in the United States.
Steady progress has been made since 2010, when my
Administration launched the National Export Initiative
and the Travel Promotion Act was signed into law. While
our processes for moving people and goods across our
borders are now both more secure and more efficient,
new initiatives are needed to enable us to better
capitalize on the economic opportunities presented by a
dynamic 21st century travel and tourism industry.
Sec. 2. Visa and Foreign Visitor Processing. (a) The
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism shall, consistent with Presidential
Policy Directive 1 or any successor documents and in
coordination with the Assistant to the President and
Cabinet Secretary, maintain an interagency process for
coordinating the implementation of regulatory
improvements and the evaluation of legislative
proposals to enhance and expedite travel to and arrival
in the United States by foreign nationals, consistent
with national security requirements.
(b) The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security,
in consultation with the Assistant to the President for
Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget, and the heads of
such agencies as appropriate, shall develop an
implementation plan, within 60 days of the date of this
order, describing actions to be undertaken, including
those that build upon efforts underway, to achieve the
following:
(i) increase nonimmigrant visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by
40 percent over the coming year;
(ii) ensure that 80 percent of nonimmigrant visa applicants are interviewed
within 3 weeks of receipt of application, recognizing that resource and
security considerations and the need to ensure provision of consular
services to U.S. citizens may dictate specific exceptions;
(iii) increase efforts to expand the Visa Waiver Program and travel by
nationals of Visa Waiver Program participants; and
(iv) expand reciprocal recognition programs for expedited travel, such as
the Global Entry program.
[[Page 3374]]
This plan should also identify other appropriate
measures that will enhance and expedite travel to and
arrival in the United States by foreign nationals,
consistent with national security requirements, as well
as any potential challenges in achieving the stated
goals of this subsection.
(c) Within 180 days of the date of this order, and
periodically thereafter, the Secretaries of State and
Homeland Security shall jointly submit through the
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism a report to the President describing
the progress on achieving the goals set forth in this
section (as well as areas of concern or barriers to
achieving those goals) to ensure the country remains
secure while increasing travel and tourism to the
United States.
(d) The Secretary of Commerce shall establish and
maintain a publicly available website that provides
updated metrics from across the Federal Government to
assist industry and travelers in understanding the
current status of the industry and its relevance to the
economy, statistics on visa processes in key travel and
tourism markets, and entry times into the United
States.
Sec. 3. Task Force on Travel and Competitiveness. (a) A
Task Force on Travel and Competitiveness (Task Force)
is hereby established to develop the National Travel
and Tourism Strategy described in this section. The
Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior shall serve as
Co-Chairs of the Task Force. The Task Force shall also
include the heads of the following executive
departments and agencies (agencies), or senior level
officials designated by them:
(i) Department of State;
(ii) Department of the Treasury;
(iii) Department of Agriculture;
(iv) Department of Labor;
(v) Department of Transportation;
(vi) Department of Homeland Security;
(vii) Army Corps of Engineers;
(viii) Office of the United States Trade Representative;
(ix) Export-Import Bank; and
(x) Other agencies invited to participate by the Task Force Co-Chairs.
(b) The Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior,
in consultation with the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, the Assistant to the President
for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, the
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and the
Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, shall
coordinate the overall work of the Task Force and
assist its members in performing the responsibilities
described herein.
(c) The Task Force shall develop a National Travel
and Tourism Strategy with recommendations for new
policies and initiatives to promote domestic and
international travel opportunities throughout the
United States with the goal of increasing the United
States market share of worldwide travel, including
obtaining a greater share of long-haul travel from
Brazil, China, and India. Such recommendations shall
include, among other things, strategies to promote
visits to the United States public lands, waters,
shores, monuments, and other iconic American
destinations, thereby expanding job creation in the
United States. The Task Force shall also consider
recommendations to promote and expand travel and
tourism opportunities in rural communities. In
addition, the National Travel and Tourism Strategy
shall identify any barriers to increasing the United
States market share of worldwide travel, and any other
related areas of concern. The Task Force shall deliver
the National Travel and Tourism Strategy to the
President within 90 days of the date of this order.
(d) The Task Force, through the Secretary of
Commerce, shall also coordinate with the Corporation
for Travel Promotion (currently doing business
[[Page 3375]]
as Brand USA, a nonprofit corporation established by
the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 to promote travel to
the United States) and the Tourism Policy Council,
established by the United States National Tourism
Organization Act of 1996. The Secretary of Commerce
shall serve as the liaison between the Task Force and
the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board
(Board) chartered by the Secretary and shall consider
the Board's advice in his or her role with the Task
Force.
(e) The Tourism Policy Council coordinates policies
concerning travel promotion and ensures consistency and
cooperation among agencies, as set forth in the United
States National Tourism Organization Act of 1996. The
Task Force shall consult with the Tourism Policy
Council where appropriate to facilitate the development
of the National Travel and Tourism Strategy.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be
implemented consistent with applicable law, and subject
to the availability of appropriations.
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to
impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the
head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 19, 2012.
[FR Doc. 2012-1568
Filed 1-23-12; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F2-P
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