Islamabad: Citizens of Pakistan could have their immigrant and non-immigrant visas to the US withheld after it was added to a list of countries facing visa-related sanctions.
The list, released by the US Federal Register, shows Pakistan as the latest country facing sanctions imposed by the Trump administration under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
INA 243(d) stipulates that countries who refuse to take back deportees and those who overstay their visas could be denied US visas.
A notification by the register stated, "Since the law was modified to cover nonimmigrant visas in 1996, 318 visa applicants have been affected, and sanctions have been imposed on 10 countries: Guyana (2001), The Gambia (2016), Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, and Sierra Leone (2017); Burma and Laos (2018); and Ghana and Pakistan (2019).
However, the register added, "During this same time period, tens of millions of aliens have received nonimmigrant visas including, collectively, millions of applicants from the 10 countries affected."
The potential impact is expected to be minimal. As explained by the register, "Given the scope of historic INA 243(d) sanctions, and the scale of nonimmigrant visa travel to the United States as a whole, the economic impact of INA 243(d) visa sanctions to date has been de minimis, but far broader sanctions could be imposed to achieve the objectives of INA 243(d)."
According to the act, "On being notified by the Attorney General that the government of a foreign country denies or unreasonably delays accepting an alien who is a citizen, subject, national, or resident of that country after the Attorney General asks whether the government will accept the alien under this section, the Secretary of State shall order consular officers in that foreign country to discontinue granting immigrant visas or nonimmigrant visas, or both, to citizens, subjects, nationals, and residents of that country until the Attorney General notifies the Secretary that the country has accepted the alien."
The US Embassy in Islamabad said its operations were continuing as normal.
In a statement, the embassy said, "In response to press reports about changes to visa policy in Pakistan, the US Embassy wishes to emphasise that consular operations in Pakistan remain normal and unchanged. The matter noted in the Federal Register is a bilateral issue of ongoing discussion between the US and Pakistani governments. We are not going to get into specifics at this time."