Foreigners Must Reapply Abroad for Visas

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Foreigners with worker visas must reapply for them overseas when they expire, the State Department said Wednesday.

Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that in the past, foreigners with worker visas were able to reapply for visas in the United States.

The reason for the switch, he said, is that U.S. embassies abroad are better equipped than government offices in the United States to interview and fingerprint the growing number of visa applicants.

``These people can stay as long as they want. They can leave when they want,'' Boucher said. ``But when they come back, instead of getting a visa here in advance, they will have to get one overseas at one of our embassies and consulates and then come back.''

more..........

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Foreigners-Visas.html

[Warpy]

1. This isn't all that new

I work in a border state with Mexico, and Canadians I work with have crossed over into Mexico to reapply for their work visas. They're nurses, so the process is a quick and easy one, and a good excuse for a mini vacation and overnight drunk.

They don't have to go back to their country of origin, just to a foreign embassy, as I understand it.

If they want all those Irish, UK and Canadian nurses to keep staffing US hospitals, they'd better allow them to renew their visas in Canada and Mexico!