Priyanka Tiwari
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Suspense crime, Digital Desk : The United States has implemented stricter visa policies for Pakistani citizens, a direct consequence of what the U.S. government says is Pakistan's failure to accept its own nationals who have been deported from America.
The move, officially published in the U.S. Federal Register, invokes a powerful but rarely used provision of American immigration law. Under Section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the U.S. Secretary of State can order consular officers to stop issuing visas to citizens of any country that unreasonably refuses or delays the return of its own people.
This is not a blanket visa ban but a targeted "discontinuation of issuance" for certain, currently unspecified, visa categories for applicants within Pakistan.
The core of the dispute traces back to a 2019 agreement in which Pakistan committed to a reliable process for accepting its citizens ordered for removal from the U.S. According to American officials, Pakistan has failed to consistently honor this agreement, particularly by not issuing travel documents in a timely manner for its deported citizens.
This policy was first put in place under the Trump administration in 2019 due to the same issue and is now being re-imposed. The decision signals a significant point of friction in U.S.-Pakistan relations, creating a major new hurdle for Pakistanis seeking to travel to the United States and placing direct consequences on the country's lack of cooperation in immigration enforcement.
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