In an interview with the Alter Ego project, the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the United States of America, Jonathan Henick, spoke about why 47% of Uzbeks who applied for tourist and business visas in 2022 were refused, the consequences of going to the United States illegally, and what types of visas give the right to work in this country.
In 2022, the U.S. embassy in Tashkent refused to issue B-type visas (tourist and business visas) to 47.04% of Uzbek citizens who applied to it. This is stated in the report of the US State Department. According to this indicator, Uzbekistan took the 2nd place among the countries of Central Asia, even the citizens of Turkmenistan received more visas than the citizens of Uzbekistan.
“I refrain from comparing the number of visas, because I do not know the statistics of visas issued to citizens of other countries. I can tell you that we interviewed more visa applicants in 2022 than in any year before the coronavirus pandemic, and we issued more visas in 2022 than in 2019.
As you know, our embassy is now back to full operation after the pandemic and we are interviewing more people than ever before. Visa applications are increasing more than ever, and this is a positive sign that every year more people, whether they are students or entrepreneurs, are seeking to come to the United States. We want to encourage as much travel to the United States as we can, making as many connections as possible in our interests. Unfortunately, it is not possible to grant visas to all visa applicants and some are always rejected.
Even if someone is granted a visa, we don’t know if that person is actually going to the United States legally or not. He can also apply for an extension of his visa. If a person who went to the USA applies for an extension of the visa period, we will receive a notification from the US government. This will allow us to better understand who is traveling to the United States legally, and who is most likely going to the United States for illegal activities,” the ambassador noted.
Jonathan Henick also touched on the issue of Uzbeks trying to enter the United States illegally.
“In recent months, we have heard of cases where many citizens of Uzbekistan are trying to illegally enter the United States through Mexico. I don’t think they’re going this way to get around Disney Land. They’re doing it because they’re aware of the economic opportunities in the United States, but they can’t come here legally, and that’s the reality today.
Because the economic situation here is very complicated. We know that millions of Uzbeks work in Russia to support their families. In such a situation, it is natural for citizens of Uzbekistan to look for economic opportunities in the USA and other countries. But according to the obligation imposed on us by the US Congress, we must make sure that those who want to come to the United States on a tourist or student visa come to our country legally, that is, they go to travel and study. For this reason, if someone applies for a visa, but we know that the real intention of this person is to come to the US as a tourist, unfortunately, we are obliged by law to deny him a visa.
I do not have information about the exact number of Uzbeks who tried to illegally cross the border of our country through countries bordering the USA and were caught. I think about a thousand cases have been identified. Frankly, this is a very dangerous path. I would urge those who think so to abandon this decision. Because they can fall into the trap of criminals who promise to smuggle them into the US territory through Mexico or another country, but do not keep their word, which is very dangerous. Plus, there’s no guarantee they won’t send you back at great cost. Therefore, I would advise people not to look for illegal ways to come to the United States,” the US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the country said.
The diplomat reminded that it is possible to get the right to work in this country by winning a green card, sponsoring a local business owner or being a university student in the USA.
“Many Uzbeks know that Uzbekistan remains one of the TOP four or five countries in terms of the number of citizens who have won green cards in recent years. This is a legal way to get to the US and make your chances come true. There are other ways to do it. For example, students enrolled in higher education institutions in the United States also have the right to work for a certain period of time until the end of the period specified in their visa. You will be able to legally work in our country by having an entrepreneur or company considered a US subject sponsor you,” Jonathan Henick noted.
Earlier, the Uzbeks who contacted Kun.uz said that they won the DV-2023 program, but the US embassy in Tashkent was slow to call the winners for an interview, and the interviews scheduled only for Monday were canceled because many times they coincided with the holidays. Those who came to Uzbekistan and applied for a visa to the US embassy complained that they could not enter the interview.
The interviewees expressed concern that only 90 cases were scheduled for interviews in June and 99 in July, and for some reason only small number cases were called for interviews, only 44% of the winners were called for interviews so far, and they were not even able to attend large cases by the deadline (September 30).
Citizens are of the opinion that the embassy should increase the number of interview days, compensate for the missed interview days on Mondays, and increase the limit of interviewees.
The Consular Section of the US Embassy in Tashkent responded to the complaints of Uzbeks and informed that the number of DV cases under consideration varies from month to month, and more visas for Uzbek students are given priority in the summer months.
