WASHINGTON: The United States has warned Pakistan that it may withholdimmigrant and non-immigrant visas of Pakistani citizens in accordance withits updated list of rules.
The visa-related sanctions are mentioned in the Federal Registernotification updated earlier this week. Pakistan is the latest in the listof nine other countries that are facing sanctions imposed by the Trumpadministration under the rule, according to which countries refusing totake back deportees and visa over-stayers will be denied US visas.
“Since the law was modified to cover nonimmigrant visas in 1996, 318 visaapplicants have been affected, and sanctions have been imposed on 10countries: Guyana (2001); Gambia (2016); Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, andSierra Leone (2017); Burma and Laos (2018); and Ghana and Pakistan (2019).
During this same time period, tens of millions of aliens have receivednonimmigrant visas including, collectively, millions of applicants from the10 countries affected,” the Federal Register’s rules and regulations say.
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It is further mentioned that under Section 243 (d) of the Immigration andNationality Act, the Secretary of State is required to discontinue grantingimmigrant or non-immigrant visas to a nation after notification from theHomeland Security that the country has denied or is unreasonably delayingaccepting a citizen, subject, national or resident of that country.
