On July 18 at 1:00 p.m. Ambassador John Bass and Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze met members of the press at the U.S. Embassy to explain changes in American visa procedures including the acceptance of a new visa code for Georgia and greatly extended visa validities for a number of visas. The new visa code that the U.S. adopted-changing "GRZ" to "GEO"- was a direct result of discussions and recommendations from committees working under the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Charter.
In addition, the Ambassador and Foreign Minister spoke about the maximum validity for a range of U.S. visas introduced for Georgians in May 2011. The Department of State extended the maximum visa validity in multiple categories. The visa validity for tourist and business visas (B1/B2) and crewmember/transit visas (C1/D) increased from 12 months multiple entry to 120 months multiple entry.
Please visit www.travel.state.gov/visa for more information about non-immigrant visa categories. Increasing the maximum visa validity for Georgian citizens in will further facilitate travel, enhance trade and tourism, and increase educational and cultural exchanges between the United States and Georgia.