Friday 26 / April / 2024
Muscat: President Donald Trump’s executive order imposed a 90-day travel ban for nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The US embassy in Oman has been working to advise people who hold visas on what to do next. Airlines have also been re-routing and refunding passengers who now find themselves on a no-fly list – thanks to their nationality.
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“We have people applying for visa on a regular basis. So if they’re one of the citizens of the seven countries, we are not able to schedule a visa appointment,” a US embassy spokeswoman in Muscat said.
The spokeswoman added: “Basically what we are doing is updating our website so that everybody has the appropriate information. When people go online to apply for our visa, when they click to apply, there is an urgent notice that comes up explaining to people what the executive order is.
“If they are citizens of one of the seven countries then we are applying the Executive Order. So, based on the Executive Order, we are not able to schedule these appointments or allow people to pay visa fees. We are not able to process them.”
“It is for 90 days. We are just trying to make sure that people are aware of it and see whether it impacts them or not. Even for folks who received visas before hand, they are not able to travel to the United States - with some exceptions. People travelling on diplomatic visas and NATO visas are possible.
“For the people in Oman, we are doing the best we can to make sure that people are familiar with the Executive Order and understand what it means and for how long it is. It’s basically a 90-day bar for people entering into the United States from those countries. The bar also includes a 90-day prohibition on visa issuance.”
Civil libwerties campaigners estimate that 100-200 people are being held at airports or in transit. Protests have been staged at airports all over the United States. Thousands flocked to John F. Kennedy last night chanting “let them in.”
Passengers from the targeted countries who were already mid-flight were detained on arrival - even if they held valid US visas or green cards. Affected embassies, airlines and Oman residents who are nationals of those countries on Donald Trump’s ‘no-fly’ list are busy coming to terms with the impact of the ban.
“Passengers who are citizens of Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Sudan, with an immigrant visa may not be accepted on American flights. This situation is the same for passengers who have a United States resident card,” a senior official of Turkish Airline said. The official said that he has asked airport officials at Muscat International Airport to check US visas and nationality before people are allowed to board flights.
“We will be checking their nationality and their visas in Muscat and Istanbul also,” the official said. “It is stated by United States Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officials that there is no trouble if passengers have diplomatic visa (Type A1-A2) or the visa which is given to government officials (Type G1G2); however, they may take name-based decisions, if needed,” the official said.
Qatar Airways is advising passengers bound for the United States from seven newly banned countries that they need to have either a US green card or diplomatic visa to travel.
In 2016, the US State Department issued 31,804 visas to the current seven nationalities under visa prohibition. Out of that number, 12,998 Yemenis were granted visas, 7,727 Iranians and 3,660 Iraqis.
UAE based airline Emirates is advising passengers bound for the United States from seven newly banned countries that they need to have either a permanent resident card (Green card) or diplomatic visa to travel.
“The US Customs and Border Protection has issued an Immigration Advisory Notice with regards to new US immigration entry requirements affecting the nationals of the following countries: Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen. Nationals from these countries may travel to the US only if they are in possession of a permanent resident card (Green card) or any of the below visas: A1 & A2 (Government Officials and immediate family), C2 (Travel to UN.), G1 & G2 (Representative & employees of international organisations), G3 & G4 (Representatives to and employees of international organisations), NATO. “
When contacted, a spokesperson said: “Emirates is offering rebooking and refund options for affected passengers who are booked to fly to/from the USA between 28 January and 28 February.”
An official at the Sudanese embassy in Oman said, “The Sudanese people need to respect the rules imposed by Trump. However, we haven’t received any official letter from the US State Department yet.”
