The United States remains a welcoming and open place for tourists, students, businesses, and refugees, America’s ambassador to the Sultanate Marc J. Sievers has pledged.

In an article written by the ambassador for Times of Oman to tackle ‘misinformation’ he said that 95 per cent of Oman’s workforce could seek entry into the U.S., praised the long-standing friendship between America and the Sultanate and hailed the work of his team at the embassy in Muscat. 

Here in full are his words:

‘The United States has a long history of accepting immigrants, refugees, tourists, students, and other types of travellers from all over the world. Oman was among the first countries to establish a bilateral relationship with the United States, and we are proud of our long standing partnership – a partnership that spans over two hundred years.

‘There has been a lot of misinformation in the press regarding my government’s recent executive orders, focused on protecting the United States from foreign terrorists – or what some have labelled a “travel ban”. To clear the air, I would like to directly address such ill-informed reports, which may discourage Omanis and other nationalities from travelling to the United States. I am proud of the work my Consular officers perform each day, and I encourage Omani citizens and expatriates residing in Oman to visit and study in the United States. The United States remains one of the top destinations in the world for tourism, refugee resettlement, and business.

‘On March 16, the White House put into force an executive order, entitled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”. Since then, the Executive Order has been stalled by multiple U.S. courts, as the courts review the order’s overall legality. Despite misrepresentations in the press about the Executive Order, I can confirm that 95 per cent of Oman’s work force is free to seek entry into the United States, and Omani nationals were not included in the list of countries singled-out by the Executive Order.

According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information, as of March 2017, only 5 per cent of the 1,855,928 expatriate residents in Oman are nationals of the following countries affected by the March 16 Executive Order: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. And those nationals that are affected by the Executive Order may be subject to a categorical exemption or case-by-case waiver, as determined by the Embassy’s Consular Section. The majority of people who apply for visas at the U.S. Embassy are Omani.

‘From 2012-2017, my embassy issued 44,523 visas. During that timeframe, only 8.6 per cent of tourist and business visa applicants were from Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Also during this same period, less than one per cent of student visa applicants were from the same affected nationalities. The Executive Order, if fully implemented following court review, will delay citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the United States for a period of 90 days and 120 days for refugees, while the relevant U.S. government agencies review the security screening procedures from those countries. After this period, the Trump administration will re-assess the Executive Order.

‘I would like to reiterate that the United States remains a welcoming and open place for tourists, students, businesses, refugees, and many others hoping to take full advantage of the wide-ranging opportunities my country readily provides. I would also like to invite all who may have questions about travelling to the United States to visit om.usembassy.gov/visas – the best source of information on U.S. travel-related issues.”

Source: Timesofoman