The United States is adding 100 more consular officers in China and Brazil to cope with a surge in demand for visas -- up 34 percent in China and 42 percent in Brazil in the last year.

US officials said they processed more than one million visa applications in China in the last year, and more than 820,000 applications in Brazil for the same period as demand for travel rose with strong economic growth in those countries.

"Over the past year we've seen an unprecedented rise in visa demand in emerging economies such as China and Brazil," according to the managing director for US visa services, Ed Ramotowski.

"Our goal is to expand our capacity to adjudicate (process) more than 2.2 million (applications for) visas in China, and 1.8 million (applications for) visas in Brazil by 2013," Ramotowski told reporters during a conference call.

Chuck Bennett, the minister counselor for consular affairs at the US embassy in Beijing, said the United States handled more than one million US visas for Chinese applicants in the last fiscal year, or an increase of 34 percent.

Donald Jacobson of consular affairs at the US embassy in Brasilia said the United States dealt with more than 820,000 visa applications in Brazil in the last fiscal year, a jump of 42 percent.

Another US consular official told AFP that the United States actually issued 885,000 visas in China and 791,000 visas in Brazil in the last year. Worldwide, Washington processed 9.5 million applications, but issued 7.5 million visas, he said.

Bennett and Jacobson said the United States, which has already increased the hours of its consular services in each country, will add 50 more consular officers in China and Brazil in the next year to cope with demand.

Jacobson said visa demand increased in Brazil as the country experienced strong economic growth and the rise of its currency against the dollar. Walt Disney World and shopping proved to be strong lures for Brazilians, he added.

Bennett said the China's growing middle class showed an increased interest foreign travel as their economy grew.

Some 160,000 of the one million processed visa applications were Chinese student visas as they represented the largest foreign national group at US universities and colleges, he said.