US General Consulate in Erbil suspends visa issuance

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The US General Consulate in Erbil issued a notice, suspending visa applications for the nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries mentioned in the US Presidential Executive Order.

On Saturday, the US Consulate General in Erbil released a statement which reads, “Per a US Presidential Executive Order signed on January 27, 2017, visa issuance to nationals of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been suspended effective immediately until further notification.”

On January 27, the US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that bars people of seven countries from traveling to the US for minimum 90 days.

Three of those countries are considered sponsors of terrorism (Iran, Sudan and Syria), and three are designated countries of concern (Libya, Somalia and Yemen).

“I am establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the US. We do not want them here… We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people,” Trump said in a press conference.

The 19 hijackers implicated in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack came from Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. None of those countries will be subject to what Mr. Trump described as “new vetting measures,” New York Times reported.

“If you are a national, or dual national, of one of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, do not schedule a visa appointment or pay any visa fees at this time,” the US Consulate General statement added.

According to the Consulate, the people who already have visa interviews should not attend their appointments because the Consulate “will not be able to proceed with the visa interview.”

“Certain travel for official governmental purposes is not subject to this suspension,” the statement concluded.

On Saturday, five Iraqi passengers were barred from boarding an Egypt Air flight from Cairo to New York, Reuters reported.

Additionally, two other Iraqis were detained at JFK airport following Trump’s executive order.  

Editing by Ava Homa