Petition to Liberalize U.S. Visa Regime for Armenian Scholars & Students

An online petition in favor of liberalizing the US visa regime for Armenian academics has been launched. The petition will be submitted to several committees at the U.S. House of Representatives. The text of the petition reads:

"To: The President of Armenia, Foreign Minister of Armenia, U.S. State Department, U.S. Immigration Office, U.S. Embassy in Armenia

Re: U.S. Rejection of Visa Applicants

Your Excellencies,

We the undersigned draw your attention to the conduct of U.S. consular officials operating in Armenia. These officials reject a very large percentage of applicants while charging full fees regardless of the decision about the visa request. The high percentage of rejections undermines the U.S./Armenia relationship generally and in the case of vital student exchanges, the promotion of U.S. standard training specifically. U.S. Consular personnel rarely provide justification for the decision to deny visas. Young activists and scholars are being denied visas to the US, and as a consequence, the essential training and educational opportunities that Armenia requires. We the undersigned believe that any Armenian citizen accepted for an educational and/or a training program (including, workshops, seminars and conferences) in the U.S. should be favourably considered. We commend former President Kocharyan’s and President Sargsyan’s personal efforts supporting study abroad generally and in the U.S. specifically. We urge that such efforts be intensified so that Armenia benefits from much greater numbers of U.S. trained citizens. We urge the Sargsyan Administration to discuss with U.S. officials the professional conduct and selection criteria and policies of the consulate in Yerevan and push for greater transparency and accountability".

To sign, please follow the link below:
Liberalized Visa Regime with Armenia For Students, Scholars and Activists Petition