News
US sets new visa rule for 6 Muslim nations, refugees
- Libya, Somalia, Sudan affected
Following partial restoration of Presidential Order by the United States Supreme Court on travel ban, the Trump administration has put up new criteria in place for visa applicants.
In the new order circulated to all United State Consulates, six mostly Muslim nations and all refugees, requiring a close family or business tie to the United States are affected.
The new instructions issued by the State Department will affect new visa applicants from Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen, the Daily Democrat stated.
The new rules are expected to take effect at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday (0000GMT on Friday).
According to the order, Visas that have already been approved will not be revoked a situation that arose when there was chaos at airports around the world as a result of the initial travel ban, as travelers with previously approved visas were kept off flights or barred entry on arrival in the United States.
The instruction stated that the applicants must prove a relations with a parent.
“They must prove a relationship with a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling already in the United States to be eligible.
“The same requirement, with some exceptions, holds for would-be refugees from all nations that are still awaiting approval for admission to the U.S.
“Grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, fiancees or other extended family members are not considered to be close relations, according to the guidelines that were issued in a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates late on Wednesday.
As far as business or professional links are concerned, the State Department said, a legitimate relationship must be “formal, documented and formed in the ordinary course rather than for the purpose of evading” the ban.
Journalists, students, workers or lecturers who have valid invitations or employment contracts in the U.S. would be exempted from the ban.
The exemption does not apply to those who seek a relationship with an American business or educational institution purely for the purpose of avoiding the rules. A hotel reservation or car rental contract, even if it was pre-paid, would also not count, it said.
The move comes after the Supreme Court partially restored President Donald Trump’s executive order that was widely criticized as a ban on Muslims.
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