On December 13, 2023, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United States and Canada Baktybek Amanbaev held a meeting with the Director of Field Operations for the Visa Affairs office of the State Department Brian McInerney.

During the meeting, the parties discussed issues of improving visa relations between the two countries. At the meeting, Ambassador B.Amanbaev requested an expedited review of proposal to extend the validity of tourist and business visas from 5 to 10 years, as well as reducing consular fees for citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic. At the same time, the Ambassador emphasized that he had previously repeatedly discussed these issues with representatives of the US authorities. In response, B.McInerney said that this issue is at the final stage of consideration by the relevant US authorities and a positive resolution of the issue is expected. In the near future, the American side will officially notify the Kyrgyz side.

In addition, B. Amanbaev asked to facilitate the process of obtaining American visas for Kyrgyz youth enrolled in US educational institutions, as well as to consider the possibility of creating the necessary conditions for the legal employment of Kyrgyz citizens in the US in industries with a labor shortage. The American side agreed with the Ambassador's proposals and expressed its readiness to discuss these issues within the framework of the Annual Bilateral Consultations between the two countries.

For reference: The issue of increasing the validity of American visas for citizens of Kyrgyzstan from 5 to 10 years and reducing consular fees for visas has been under consideration by the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic for more than two years. This issue was also discussed at the Annual Bilateral Consultations between the two countries earlier this year, and as a result, a decision was made to implement it on a parity basis.