Non-immigrant United States (US) visas to Indians saw a 28 percent increase in March and April under President Donald Trump's administration. On the other hand, Pakistan has witnessed a significant 40 percent drop in the American visas given to its nationals.
India's visa numbers also saw a hike in comparison to the monthly average of the US visas granted to Indians in the previous year, according to a newly-released official data.
Pakistan's visa decline, however, is surprising considering that it was not included in the list of Trump's travel ban countries. Trump, earlier this year, had signed an executive order to ban people from at least seven Muslim-majority countries to enter the US. The ban was later stayed by federal judges.
Non-immigrant visas granted to Pakistanis are down by 40 percent in March and April this year compared to the 2016 monthly average, a Pakistani media report said quoting data released by the US State Department.
Reports state that Pakistanis were issued a total of 3,925 non-immigrant visas in April and 3,973 visas in March 2017 under Trump's administration.
Former US President Barack Obama's administration had issued a total of 78,637 non-immigrant visas to Pakistanis last year, with a monthly average of 6,553 which was around 40 percent higher than the current average.
The US State Department had not released the monthly breakdowns on the visas before March this year. The officials had only released annual figures.
"Visa demand is cyclical, not uniform throughout the year and affected by various factors at the local and international level. Visa issuance numbers tend to increase during peak travel seasons, such as during the summer and the winter holidays, though there may be different trends in the country, nationality, or visa category," a State Department spokesperson told The News International.
