The US won’t change visa rules for Kazakhstanis
According to U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Daniel Rosenblum, although the U.S. is interested in simplifying the visa process for citizens of Kazakhstan, the country doesn’t plan to change the existing rules and legislation in this sphere. The official made this statement during a roundtable with the media in Astana.
What did the ambassador say? As Rosenblum highlighted Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia where citizens can obtain a non-immigrant visa valid for up to 10 years. However, the U.S. government should follow a set of rules and laws designed to prevent visa abuse, he added.
«I have to say that Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia where citizens can get a non-immigrant visa valid for up to 10 years. This is a vivid indicator of healthy relations between our countries. However, there are certain rules and laws in the U.S. that we have to follow. The goal is to prevent receiving visas from those people who are going to use them the wrong way,» Rosenblum said, commenting on the issue of a possible change in the visa issuing process for Kazakhstanis.
What processes have been simplified? According to Rosenblum, the U.S. government is working on simplification of the visa-issuing process. He said that the process is one day faster, while those who have traveled to the U.S. before aren’t required to attend the interview for the second time when reapplying for a visa.
«The application review process includes an interview, documents check and so on. All of this is necessary to make this process faster and more efficient. I think we are doing quite well as we have processed all that stockpile of applications accumulated during the pandemic and currently, this process is going much faster. As far as I know, those who have already traveled to the United States can request a waiver of the interview when applying for a visa once again. Even though this is not a standard practice we have such an option,» the U.S. ambassador said.
What is the most common question the U.S. ambassador is asked in Kazakhstan? Rosenblum said that visa-related questions are the questions he’s been asked most often since his appointment as the ambassador to Kazakhstan.
«It’s interesting. When I travel around Kazakhstan, whether it is Astana or Almaty, visa-related questions are the most popular questions I get asked. Let me be clear, we have a strong interest in facilitating citizens of our countries to travel either way, to visit each other and we want to make this process as easy as possible. I’d like to see more Americans visit Kazakhstan, so this is a bilateral process. As we all know, when connections between regular people are strong, the relations between countries are also getting stronger,» he underlined.
However, according to the data from the U.S. State Department, Kazakhstanis are refused B-type visas to the U.S. more often than citizens of other Central Asian countries. In 2020, the visa refusal rate for Kazakhstan’s citizens was 47.34%, 43.29% in 2021 and 44.02% in 2022.
