Free Republic

The US embassy in Riyadh revealed that 110,000 Saudi nationals applied for a visa to visit the US in 2011, an increase of 25,000 from the previous year. The embassy also revealed that 93 percent of these visa applications were approved, and 75 percent of visa application approvals were issued within one week. He also revealed that the US embassy is required to check all the required documentation, as well as interview the visa applicant, revealing that some visas are rejected due to the applicant’s failure to provide accurate answers at this stage. As for claims that some questions contained...

The State Department has ordered Foreign Service officers in many nations to begin face-to-face interviews with millions of visa applicants who previously have not merited such scrutiny, a step that will result in months-long backlogs, according to officials and documents. The rules, formally issued in a cable sent to 221 embassies and consulates Wednesday, have prompted strong objections from business, education and tourism groups. The groups say that longer delays in obtaining visas will discourage foreign nationals from visiting the United States at a time when the economy is still struggling.

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the Immigration and Naturalization Service acted illegally when it retroactively changed the rules for a visa program that allows foreigners to become permanent U.S. residents by investing at least $500,000 in an American business. The ruling means that about 200 investors in a Maryland-based firm, AIS, will be spared from near-certain deportation. The decision is the latest development in the 12-year history of the controversial investor visa program. In a 27-page decision written by Judge Betty Fletcher, the three-judge panel in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco concluded that the...