US reduces visa duration for Pakistani citizens to 3 months from 5 years

The United States has reduced the visa duration for Pakistani citizens from a period of five years to three months and increased the cost of visa application $160 to $192, a spokesperson of the US embassy in Pakistan said. This comes about after the Pakistan government had decided to decrease the visa duration and increase the application fee for US citizens. 

Apart from civilians, the new visa policy will also be applicable to Pakistani journalists. The scribes will be issued visas for three months, ARY News reported quoting the US embassy spokesperson. The decision was taken by the State Department “because Pakistan was unable to liberalise its visa regime for certain visa categories, the United States was required by US law on January 21 to reduce the visa validity and increase the visa fees to match Pakistan’s practices for similar visa categories.”

The State Department said it noted discrepancies between the US visa regime and the visa regimes of many countries, including Pakistan during a recent worldwide review.

The statement issued by the US Embassy did not specify anything about the B1 and B2 visas, which remain valid for five years.