US embassy official: 'now is the time to apply for US visa'
April 24 2009 by Robbie Ragless
The Consul General at the US embassy in Islamabad, Christopher J Richard, has said that US visa application numbers have increased over the past two years, following a slump after 9/11. He added that now is a great time to apply to move to the US.
In an interview with the Daily Times newspaper, based in Pakistan, he said, “the increasing visa applications can be gauged from the fact that in 2008, the US embassy in Islamabad issued 23,300 visas including 2,700 visas for students and exchange visitor, 1,700 temporarily work visas and 1,900 visas for senior officials.” This increased number followed a period when fewer applications were being submitted and accepted after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Richard added that the US embassy is also planning to reopen the visa service based at the Karachi consulate. He also insisted that the application process was simple and quick and said that the US embassy increases the number of interviews it gives to 200 a day during the summer sessions, which begin on 1 May.
He added, “the first stage of the process is to get an appointment that usually takes seven days and after that the process runs for some 120 days and we do not make it lengthy. Instead we encourage more and more people to apply for US visa.”
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