LESS than one per cent of Guyanese overstay their time in the United States, outgoing US Deputy Chief of Mission Bryan Hunt said.In an exclusive interview, Hunt told Guyana Chronicle that the US Embassy is encouraged to issue more visas given that many Guyanese who were issued with non-immigrant visas, for business or pleasure, have returned home.

This is according to period studies conducted by the US Embassy on the return rate.

According to the Deputy Chief of Mission, the high rates of return are linked to the state of Guyana’s economy.

“Because Guyana’s socio-economic situation has gotten better, because we have this data that demonstrates that most Guyanese travellers use their visas appropriately and legitimately… our consular officers are able to make better decisions, which in Guyana’s case means that more Guyanese are qualified to travel to the United States,” he explained.

According to Hunt, in the past, Guyanese were more than often denied visas to the United States because they were being judged on a Guyana. This no longer happens, he said.

“I think when I first got here in 2013, we had a situation where people were assessing visa applications based upon a Guyana that no longer existed, a Guyana that was ten years, 15 years old. A Guyana where lots of people overstayed their visas in the United States and for which people were looking for economic opportunity,’ the outgoing Deputy Chief of Mission explained.

Since, then he said, the US Embassy has been helping consular officers to better understand the Guyana of today. Consular officers are therefore urged to look at recent trends in terms of travel to help them make accurate and fair decisions.

Hunt said he is encouraged by the high rate of return and hopes that this positive trend continues for the good of all Guyanese.

Statistical data coming out of the US Embassy indicates that in 2015, a total of 39,000 Guyanese were interviewed for non-immigrant visas, the majority of whom were granted their visas.

Approximately 4900 Guyanese were also issued with immigrant or permanent visas. In the early 2000s, less than 6000 visas were issued by the US Embassy.