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Canada and
Mexico Suspend Processing of Visa Applications November 16, 2001 The US State Department has advised that processing of visa
applications from third country nationals who are not resident in the consular
districts of the border posts has been suspended. In addition, existing non-immigrant visa appointments are
being cancelled. While the State Department indicates that this is a
temporary measure, it is a direct result of new State Department procedures whereby
young males from Middle Eastern countries will face 20-day waits for security
checks before receiving a non-immigrant visa. In fact, persons from the targeted countries who make a
visa appointment through the on-line Visa Appointment Reservation System will
receive the following message: “Effective immediately, the State Department
has introduced a 20-day waiting period for men from certain countries, ages
16-45, applying for visas into the United States." The following countries of birth are among those for whom
this message appears: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea,
Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman,
Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab
Emirates, Yemen. The State Department is working with INS to reinstate third country national visa processing in Canada and Mexico. As soon as any changes are announced, we will post the information to our web site. |
