FIVE MINUTES WITH...
Brian McInerney
B
Brian McInerney has been a
Foreign Service Officer— or “U.S. diplomat ” — for more than 20
Director, Field Operations Visa Office, Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State
years. From Ireland, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Mexico
Edited by Sarah Suydam
and Iraq, McInerney has served as a Consular official in five countries spanning four continents. Throughout
his
career
m an a gin g c o n s ul ar s e c t i o n s ,
What are the most interesting changes you’ve experienced related to visas and the travel industry?
M cIn e rn ey ha s mana g e d th e
The change that’s happening right now. In the past, I felt like we had to innovate
f ull s p e c t rum o f i s s u e s t i e d
out of necessity because of budget cuts, but now we’re innovating because of the
to f acilitating s afe, legitimate
built-up demand, and we’re given the resources and room to be innovative. We
travel for business and tourism.
can do things now we could not have thought possible even a few short years ago.
W hi l e h e s o m e t im e s h e lp e d Americans abroad, McInerney ’s b re a d a n d b u t te r h a s b e e n handling visa issues . In his
In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges currently facing visas and the travel industry?
current role, McInerney oversees
Even with our list of 2022 accomplishments, challenges remain. We recognize
f ield operations for worldwide
some prospective applicants are still facing extended interview appointment wait
visa ser vices , formulating and
times. We are working to reduce these wait times, we won’t rest until we are done,
implementing new and existing
and we are optimistic that the positive trends begun in 2022 will continue.
laws , regulations , policies and procedures tied to the worldwide adjudication of visas. Groups Today sat down with McInerney to learn more about
Our organization embraced technolog y, innovation and change—something the government rarely gets credit for—in order to return our consular sections overseas to t hei r f u l l work i ng capacit y. Ou r i ntent ion is to i mprove ou r organization, not simply return to the way things were before the pandemic.
the current state of visas and the travel industry.
What opportunities do you see for the travel industry as it relates to visas? Let’s face it—v isa requ irements a re deta i led a nd complicated, a nd what I’ve found to be important when work ing w ith the travel industr y is to ensure t he Bu reau of Consu la r A f fa i rs prov ides eas y-to-u ndersta nd i n for mat ion,
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