America is preparing to make a big and strict change in its immigration and visa policies. Under this, a plan is being made to temporarily stop the visa process for citizens of about 75 countries. The main objective of this step is to further strengthen the security checks of people entering America. The US administration wants to ensure that applicants have thorough background checks before issuing visas.
This temporary ban may continue until additional verification is completed to strengthen security checks.
The intention behind this decision is to increase the safety standards. The US State Department has directed that visa applications from the identified countries be put on hold for ‘additional verification’. This simply means that visas will not be issued to visa applicants from the respective countries until they undergo a strict and detailed vetting process. This ban is not for an indefinite period, but until the administration satisfies itself regarding security.
The new rule may come into effect from January 21; Many big countries including Russia, Iran, Brazil and Afghanistan are on the radar.
This new and strict rule is likely to come into effect from January 21. Citizens of many major countries of the world will be affected by this decision. The countries whose citizens may be affected by this ban include Russia, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, Myanmar, Djibouti and Burkina Faso. Apart from these countries, there are many other nations in this list, whose citizens may now have to undergo tough examinations and wait for a long time to get a US visa.
There may be a big impact on the plans of students, tourists and working professionals dreaming of going to America.
If this decision is fully implemented, it will have a wide-ranging impact. The most difficulties will arise for those who are planning to go to America for studies, tourism or job. Halting or slowing down of the visa process may affect the academic session of students, bookings of tourists and joining dates of professionals. Experts believe that this step will have a deep impact on international travel and mobility.
No official confirmation from American authorities yet, rules may change according to circumstances
However, no American official has yet officially confirmed this entire matter. No formal statement has been issued by the administration yet. It is often seen that such policy changes are decided based on circumstances and security inputs. Therefore, it is possible that some last-minute changes may be seen in the timing or manner of implementation of the rules. At present, all eyes are fixed on the date of January 21.