US Embassy launches Responsible Travel campaign

The United States Embassy launched an outreach campaign called “Responsible Travel” on Friday aimed at promoting legitimate travel to the USA.

The campaign is being run in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It’s goal is to increase awareness on visa application procedure and promote legitimate travel to the USA through a series of promotional videos featuring stories of Mongolians in the USA.

The campaign was opened by USA Ambassador Jennifer Zimdahl Galt and acting Foreign Minister Ts.Munkh-Orgil.

Last year, the US Embassy in Ulaanbaatar granted approximately 10 thousand visas to Mongolians, eight percent of whom reportedly overstayed their visas. It is estimated that twenty percent of Mongolian students in the US overstayed in the country.

Mongolian Ambassador-designate to the USA, Yo.Otgonbayar said, “The Responsible Travel to USA Campaign is launching at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport. If Mongolians do not violate their visas, the terms of visas issued to Mongolians will be loosened. Mongolia has requested to be provided a license for H2 category visas.”

The H-2B Visa category is one of the only US nonimmigrant visas which allows US employers to hire foreign workers to work in the country for temporary nonagricultural jobs. While the H-2A is exclusively for agricultural workers.