In Excess of 50,000 US visas issued for Guyana in 2014 – US Embassy

Georgetown: The United States (US) Embassy here said it is expecting to issue in excess of 50,000 visas to Guyanese nationals for 2014. This exceeds the approximate total of 35,000, which was given out last year. US Embassy Chief for Consular Affairs James Jimenez said there is no stipulated number of visas the Embassy is limited to issuing per year. “There is not a numerical quota for the amount of visas we can give, we can give as much as the amount of applications processed… in the past we’ve only had 35,000 applications and that’s all we would have done …” Commentators have opined that given the poor shape of the US economy, many Guyanese have been returning. They said too that whereas in the past there were a lot of persons overstaying their time or simply live illegally in the US, many are returning home. Jimenez also noted that there are no predetermined requirements needed by an individual when applying for a non-immigrant visa. “Well first off, there are no basic requirements for a visa….If I were to list them, it would simply be that you’re alive, breathing and have a passport , so there are no specific assets or list of qualifications,” he added. However, Jimenez encouraged applicants to display complete honesty on their application form and during the interview process. “Be truthful, one of the things all officers and the staff are trained in is recognising the ‘tells’…the reasons you would suspect a person is withholding information or telling false info…” The Chief for Consular Affairs noted that while the Embassy looks for ties that would connect a person to their home country, honesty is the main determining factor for granting a visa. Jimenez added that the Embassy is cognisant of the fact that the ties that would bond a person to Guyana vary among young adults, the middle-aged and the retired populations. It was noted that a visitor’s visa is as the name suggests and therefore if anyone in possession of this category of visa is found working to achieve economic gains on US soil, strict penalties will be taken against him or her. He advised that persons who are applying for a non-immigrant visa with the intention of going about things the wrong or illegal way would be faced with major hardships in the underground life. “If you’re going for economic gains or any illegal reasons we’re gonna catch you and you’re going to make the mistake either at the interview or at the port of entry or with the authorities in the United States and being in the underground in the states is never easy life and not worth the effort,” Jimenez warned. He further explained that “the thing that we are trying to guard against are persons trying to go to the United States to seek economic opportunities, it is against our laws so what I tend to rely or concentrate on is questions about your job and situation here in Guyana and once the situation is believable, then we would approve”. Meanwhile, the Embassy official cautioned prospective visa applicants to be wary of persons who claim to be equipped with the expertise of assisting in obtaining a visa. He stressed that the visa application process and forms needed for such are designed in a user-friendly manner, thus, much help is not needed. However, the only acceptable help is that from Internet cafes that offer such services. Apart from assistance in completing the Embassy’s online application form, Jimenez said applicants should guard against persons promising them entry into the United States of America. “No one can help you obtain a visa; that is a scam, if persons approach you to say they can help with visa it’s a no, it’s a scam,” he stressed. At the end of the interview, the Consulate General facilitated the questions asked by the listening public and responded to one woman who did her non-immigrant application some seven times and was denied. To this, the Consulate General advised that she should allow a number of years to elapse before trying again, noting that it would make a person seem rather desperate.  However, he said that a person will be granted a visa based on emergency situations, after thorough consideration, even though they might not have every bonding factor or ties that they might require to bring them home again.