A larger number of Guyanese who had previously held 10-year US visitor visas have had their US Visa cancelled or revoked over the last 6 months for various reasons, now adding just around 312 more to an initial figure that was believed to be over 200.

It is believed that as of August 2018, more than 85,000 Guyanese citizens were in possession of US visitor’s visas; – a figure that can gradually decline if the rate of revocations continue.

Thought the US Embassy in Georgetown refuses to clarify numbers, airline return-passenger data and general entry and exit information from the US State Department was able to tag the number of cancelled or revoked visas for Guyanese at around 537, within the last 18 months.

At least 39% of the visa revocations were as a result of new but credible information that the US Embassy would have received about existing visa holders from informants or other sources. In other instances, the embassy would have also discovered other details about a visa holder that was previously not at their disposal, or may have discovered data that is inconsistent or untrue when a review of the visa holder’s previously approved application was done.

Others have lost their visas because they have either overstayed in the US, was involved in questionable activities, was earning money, or had breached one of the conditions of their visa. In other instances, some visa holders who were abusing their visit privileges were asked to remain outside of the United States for more than a year before they can return, since most of those who had claimed that they were employed are remaining in the US for as much as 6 months; – a factor that would mean that the person is most likely no longer employed or may be engaged in employment in the United States.

The most affected by the recent visa revocations are those between the 21 to 35 years age group, followed by those between the ages of 36 to 45.
There were almost no visa revocations for persons above the age of 50, even though most persons above that age range are generally long stayers in the US.

Despite this, and strangely enough, Guyanese are still able to obtain a US visitor’s visa relatively easier than their counterparts in Trinidad, Barbados, or Jamaica, and now has one of the highest visa per capita issuance ratio for US visas within the Caribbean Community.

NOTE: For a more updated list of new revocation numbers for the period of September to November 2018, please keep checking our Facebook page, or like our page for alerts. Our Facebook page is located HERE.

For more on this story go to: https://www.guyanaguardian.com/more-guyanese-lost-their-us-visas-revocations-now-surpass-500/