US stops issuing nonimmigrant visas to Honduran citizens

[Mike B. 231]

WASHINGTON - The United States said Tuesday it was suspending most visa service in Honduras in a bid to put pressure on the nation's coup leaders to accept a plan to restore democracy.

The State Department said it would stop granting visas Wednesday at its embassy in Honduras except to applicants seeking to immigrate to the United States or who have a personal emergency.

The move came as a seven-nation mission visits Tegucigalpa to press the interim government to accept the so-called San Jose Accord that would reinstall deposed President Manuel Zelaya.

"In support of this mission and as a consequence of the de facto regime?s reluctance to sign the San Jose Accord, the US Department of State is conducting a full review of our visa policy in Honduras," department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

"We firmly believe a negotiated solution is the appropriate way forward and the San Jose Accord is the best solution," Kelly said in a statement.

The head of the Organization of American States and the foreign ministers of seven nations -- Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico and Panama -- flew Monday to Tegucigalpa to press interim leader Roberto Micheletti to accept the deal.

US President Barack Obama's administration has strongly condemned the June 28 coup, even though Zelaya was a leftist allied with Venezuela's firebrand President Hugo Chavez.

The administration previously tried to exert pressure by revoking visas for officials in the interim government.

[AbbynSheryl 0]

bad news for the business people or tourist who want to come to america, abby n sheryl

[Mike B. 231]

Or K-1 applicants.

[AbbynSheryl 0]

Or K-1 applicants.

oops i forgot

yes that too

abby n sheryl

[Jamaican JNR 2]

WASHINGTON - The United States said Tuesday it was suspending most visa service in Honduras in a bid to put pressure on the nation's coup leaders to accept a plan to restore democracy.

The State Department said it would stop granting visas Wednesday at its embassy in Honduras except to applicants seeking to immigrate to the United States or who have a personal emergency.

The move came as a seven-nation mission visits Tegucigalpa to press the interim government to accept the so-called San Jose Accord that would reinstall deposed President Manuel Zelaya.

"In support of this mission and as a consequence of the de facto regime?s reluctance to sign the San Jose Accord, the US Department of State is conducting a full review of our visa policy in Honduras," department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

"We firmly believe a negotiated solution is the appropriate way forward and the San Jose Accord is the best solution," Kelly said in a statement.

The head of the Organization of American States and the foreign ministers of seven nations -- Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico and Panama -- flew Monday to Tegucigalpa to press interim leader Roberto Micheletti to accept the deal.

US President Barack Obama's administration has strongly condemned the June 28 coup, even though Zelaya was a leftist allied with Venezuela's firebrand President Hugo Chavez.

The administration previously tried to exert pressure by revoking visas for officials in the interim government.

Very interesting bit of info.

[TBoneTX 45,873]

Or K-1 applicants.

K-1 applicants are probably not affected. The K-1 is a "hybrid" visa -- a nonimmigrant visa with immigrant intent. It is the Immigrant Visa Units of most (all?) consulates that process K-1s.

[Mike B. 231]

Or K-1 applicants.

K-1 applicants are probably not affected. The K-1 is a "hybrid" visa -- a nonimmigrant visa with immigrant intent. It is the Immigrant Visa Units of most (all?) consulates that process K-1s.

Hard to say. This is the statement from the Department of State:

The OAS Foreign Ministers mission is in Honduras seeking support for the San Jose Accord, which would restore the democratic and constitutional order and resolve the political crisis in Honduras. In support of this mission and as a consequence of the de facto regime’s reluctance to sign the San Jose Accord, the U.S. Department of State is conducting a full review of our visa policy in Honduras. 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. We firmly believe a negotiated solution is the appropriate way forward and the San Jose Accord is the best solution.

If the Department of State ordered the embassy to stop issuing nonimmigrant visas, that would legally include the K-1. Who knows how the embassy is doing it, though.