US visa services suspended for Hondurans
August 26 2009 by Rebekah Nahai
Manuel Zelaya coup sparks US visa uproar
US immigration authorities have announced that they will suspend non-emergency visa services in Honduras following the country’s failure to pledge to restore the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya.
The US State Department hopes the move will put added pressure on the country to reinstate Zeleya. Only emergency US immigration cases are now to be dealt with from its US embassy in Tegucigalpa.
The US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly says the decision to limit US visa services in the country supports the Organisation of American States’ scheme, known as the San Jose Accord, which states that Honduras should accept plans laid out by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.
Kelly says the State Department is reviewing visa services in the region after the country failed to reinstate the ousted president until elections are held in November.
"As part of that review, we are suspending non-emergency, non-immigrant visa services in the consular section of our embassy in Honduras, effective August 26,” Kelly said. "We firmly believe a negotiated solution is the appropriate way forward and the San Jose Accord is the best solution."
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