Don’t believe the rumors about US visa duration
There have been rumors going around about the United States decreasing the visa duration for Pakistani citizens from 5 years to 3 months
US visa duration for Pakistani citizens reduced to 3 months https://t.co/ZdA25RYZ6T via @TOIWorld pic.twitter.com/wMLxuvy3VU
— Times of India (@timesofindia) March 6, 2019
In the midst of tension between India and Pakistan, it’s quite scary to see a world power hit us with this. But let me tell you guys something – that this is FAKE NEWS.
So here’s how it happened:
The confusion had arisen after Indian media recently said that Pakistan’s visa duration have been cut down by the US
Indians appear to be happy about the news, hashtagging #PulwamaTerrorAttack as if this is a result of the attack.
#USVisa rules for citizens of #Pakistan gets costlier, and visa validity time reduced from 5 years to three months.
More humiliation for Pakistani citizens.— Plazma Saber (@PlazmaSaber) March 6, 2019
ISLAMABAD (PAKISTAN): The visa duration for Pakistani nationals has been reduced to three months from five years, said a spokesperson of the US embassy in Pakistan…😂
— RajEsH MaHaDaR (@rajeshmahadar) March 7, 2019
Another surgical strike on Pakistan this time by US
VISA validity drops from 5 years to 3 months.— Prateek bali (@bali23sept) March 6, 2019
And Pakistanis have been really upset over this “news”.
So, let me set the record straight about US Visa for Pakistanis
An official notice was given through the US embassy in Pakistan And it’s actually pretty straight up. Let me explain.
First of all, the change, according to the official notice is not only for Pakistanis.
The notice says, “[d]uring a recent worldwide review, the Department of State noted discrepancies between the U.S. visa regime and the visa regimes of many countries, including Pakistan.”
Second, it’s not for all visas
The US Embassy declares that there are four types of visas that have faced reductions.
The new validity periods will be:
- I visas: 3 months
- H visas: 12 months
- L visas: 12 months
- R visas: 12 months
The tourist or business visa that most Pakistanis go on, is known as B1/B2 visa and that has not been affected with this change.
Tourist/business visas haven’t been modified whatsoever and are still valid for 5 years. Pakistan also issues visas to journalists of American origin for only 3 months at a time, so it’s not that surprising that they’ve done the same.
The reason behind the changes in fees is “because Pakistan was unable to liberalise its visa regime for certain visa categories, [hence] the United States was required by US law on January 21 to reduce the visa validity and increase the visa fees to match Pakistan’s practices for similar visa categories.” Basically letting us know, since we have not decreased visa fees for the US, they have increased theirs to match ours.
So, don’t be alarmed! The notice isn’t as alarming as it may seem. It’s mostly reciprocity of our own visa for US citizens.
Cover image via: dawn.com