March 4, 2005

Average Wait for Visas Has Seen Big Drop

By SILLA BRUSH

An agreement letting Chinese scholars stay longer in the United States would further streamline the security-clearance process that foreign students and scholars must pass if they wish to study sensitive topics, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office.

Over the past year, the federal government has reduced the average wait for clearance under the Visas Mantis program from 67 days to 15 days, the report says. But officials at the State Department and the

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