Ambassador Meets with Assistant Secretary Harty

Washington, DC: Ambassador Jehangir Karamat met Ms. Maura Harty, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs on June 2.
During the meeting, Ambassador Karamat raised the concern of the Pakistani community regarding extraordinary delays in the issue of F1, J1 and H1B visas to Pakistani citizens. He especially mentioned the problems being faced by students and doctors from Pakistan, who are deprived of higher education, residency and training opportunities in the US, due to inordinate delays in the processing of visa applications.
Assistant Secretary of State assured the Ambassador that her Bureau was making efforts to speed up the process. She said that students and businessmen are being given priority for the issuance of visas but at time delays occur due to security clearance requirements which in some cases take longer time.
The Ambassador also took up the case of Pakistani citizens living on the US-Canadian border who are facing problems of exhaustive scrutiny at the port of entry at Windsor during their daily commute to the US for studies or jobs. The Ambassador requested waiver to them from NSEERS Program. The Assistant Secretary of State agreed to look into this matter.

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