Posted on 06/19/2003 5:16:41 AM PDT by FryingPan101
The U.S. Consulate in Juárez, the busiest visa processing center in the world, stopped issuing visas Wednesday until a fraud investigation is completed, officials with the State Department said.
This puts a hold on all new immigrant visas, or "green cards," for Mexican nationals living in Mexico and the United States because all are processed at the Juárez consulate. In 2000, the latest figure available Wednesday, the Juárez consulate processed more than 100,000 applications for permanent residency and granted 69,000 visas.
The Juárez consulate also processes applications for non-immigrant visas -- 315,000 in 1999 -- such as border-crossing cards for tourists, students and professionals. These visa applications were also put on hold Wednesday, but they continue at other United States consulates throughout Mexico.
Services to U.S. citizens will continue in Juárez.
The fraud investigation -- by the Diplomatic Security Service, the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Consular Affairs -- would involve a document audit and interviews of all consular employees, an FBI official said.
From Mexico City, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza said the temporary interruption was necessary to "protect the integrity of the processing and issuance of visas."
While Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. called the interruption "racist and xenophobic" while demanding that the issuance of visas were a right that every Mexican national is entitled to and should enjoy.
NO Citizen of another country has a Right to the issuance of a visa to any other country.
It is a privilege, not a right
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