Diversity Visa pause limited in scope, U.S. envoy says
At an official press conference held at the U.S. Embassy in Astana, Ambassador Julie Stufft commented on the temporary suspension affecting the Diversity Immigrant Visa program and its implications for citizens of Kazakhstan, reports a Qazinform News Agency correspondent.
“I’ll just say first, the United States is a country that was built on immigration,” the ambassador noted. “I think that most of us know that this is something that’s very important laid out in our law very clearly.”
Explaining the measure, she underscored that it is provisional. “This effort, this pause on the program because it is temporary, is just an effort to ensure that these processes are working well. It actually upholds the immigration system rather than stops it,” Stufft said, recalling that similar steps had been taken before.
She further stressed that the decision concerns only a small segment of applicants. “This pause is on a very specific part of a visa category that is not the vast majority of visas that are being issued to Kazakh citizens,” she stated.
According to the ambassador, other travel channels remain active, particularly in education. “Last year was the highest number of Kazakh students in the United States,” she said, adding that she expects the figure to continue to rise and that the U.S. side is “very, very happy” to host them.
Highlighting her broader priorities, Stufft added: “My real goal as U.S. ambassador is to have more Kazakhs visit the United States and more Americans to visit Kazakhstan.”
“Our two countries are actually very similar and we need our citizens to see that,” she said, noting that stronger personal contacts help build reliable partnerships even across large geographic distances.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Julie Stufft highlighted the significance of Kazakhstan’s participation in the Board of Peace aimed at supporting Gaza’s future recovery.
