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U.S. CONSULATE ISSUES MORE VISA DATA ON ARMENIANS
By Anna Saghabalian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 19 2007
Nearly two in three Armenians seeking to travel to the United States
are denied an entry visa due to a high risk of their failure to return
home on time, the U.S. consul general in Yerevan said on Wednesday.
Robin Busse revealed that some 10,400 Armenian nationals have applied
for a U.S. visa and less than 40 percent have been granted one this
year. "The refusal rate has been stable over the last ten years,"
he said.
The U.S. consulate in Yerevan has regularly released the number of
non-immigrant visa applications processed by it but has until now
avoided specifying how many of them were granted.
Busse said the refusal rate is quite high because many Armenians
traveling to the U.S. have overstayed their visas. "A fair number
of Armenians do violate the non-immigrant visa and don't return," he
told reporters. "Every time that happens, it makes it more difficult
for other people to get visas because you start having a lack of
confidence," added the consul.
The U.S. and the state of California in particular has been a major
destination for hundreds of thousands of Armenians who have left
their country in search of employment abroad. According to some
expert estimates, some 200,000 of them currently live and work,
often illegally, in California.
According to Busse, the main requirement to visa applicants is to
prove that they have strong personal, financial and other links
to Armenia. He said U.S. consular officials are usually right in
assessing their chances of becoming an illegal immigrant. But he
could not say what percentage of Armenian travelers to America has
failed to return home in recent years.
By Anna Saghabalian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 19 2007
Nearly two in three Armenians seeking to travel to the United States
are denied an entry visa due to a high risk of their failure to return
home on time, the U.S. consul general in Yerevan said on Wednesday.
Robin Busse revealed that some 10,400 Armenian nationals have applied
for a U.S. visa and less than 40 percent have been granted one this
year. "The refusal rate has been stable over the last ten years,"
he said.
The U.S. consulate in Yerevan has regularly released the number of
non-immigrant visa applications processed by it but has until now
avoided specifying how many of them were granted.
Busse said the refusal rate is quite high because many Armenians
traveling to the U.S. have overstayed their visas. "A fair number
of Armenians do violate the non-immigrant visa and don't return," he
told reporters. "Every time that happens, it makes it more difficult
for other people to get visas because you start having a lack of
confidence," added the consul.
The U.S. and the state of California in particular has been a major
destination for hundreds of thousands of Armenians who have left
their country in search of employment abroad. According to some
expert estimates, some 200,000 of them currently live and work,
often illegally, in California.
According to Busse, the main requirement to visa applicants is to
prove that they have strong personal, financial and other links
to Armenia. He said U.S. consular officials are usually right in
assessing their chances of becoming an illegal immigrant. But he
could not say what percentage of Armenian travelers to America has
failed to return home in recent years.