Two Kashmiri athletes, Tanveer Hussain and Abid Khan, who were invited to participate in a competition in New York on 25 February, have been denied visas. The athletes believe the reason is U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on the entry of foreigners, The Hindureported today.
The Trump Administration has banned the entry of citizens from seven Muslim countries for 90 days. The seven countries are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, identified as the hotspots of "dangerous terrorism."
India is not on the list. But Pakistan and "other countries that have similar problems" could be added to the immigration ban list.
Hussain and Abid, snow shoe champions, had an invitation from the World Snow-Shoe Federation to participate in a competition to be held at Saranac Lake in New York State, The Hindureported.
Hussain told the newspaper that he was interviewed for six minutes before U.S. embassy officials turned down his application. "All my documents were in order, but the interviewer told me, 'Sorry, we cannot give you a visa because of our current policy'," he said. "The officials did not elaborate on the 'current policy'."
Meanwhile, a new bill to revamp existing rules on temporary US work visas including H-1B and L1 visas has also been introduced in the US House of Representatives.
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