Immigration Impacts of Current Situation
January 8, 2020
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At a Glance
- Due to the deteriorating security situation in Iraq and the surrounding region, governments of several countries have issued travel warnings for their nationals regarding all travel to Iraq.
- Employers with pending invitation letters at U.S. consulates in Iraq should expect delays in the process due to the suspension of operations at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
- Fragomen is currently assisting clients with regional and global crisis management plans, including evacuation of personnel from Iraq and identifying alternative deployment options and countries.
The situation
Due to the deteriorating security situation in Iraq and the surrounding region, governments of several countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States have issued travel warnings for their nationals regarding all travel to Iraq.
Impact
- Travel advisories from home country. Foreign nationals in Iraq are advised to check travel warnings and follow any evacuation instructions issued by their countries.
- Travel issues. Individuals in Iraq traveling to other countries should be aware of visa and other immigration requirements imposed at their destination country and should anticipate increased traffic at Iraqi international airports and potential difficulties crossing land borders into neighboring countries.
- In-country consular issues. Employers with pending invitation letters at U.S. consulates in Iraq should expect delays in the process due to the suspension of operations at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The U.S. Consulate General in Erbil is open for non-immigrant visas and U.S. citizen services appointments, including passport issuance. Individuals seeking U.S. permanent residence services should consult their immigration professional to transfer their case to another U.S. consular post.
- Fragomen support. Fragomen is currently assisting clients with regional and global crisis management plans, including evacuation of personnel from Iraq and identifying alternative deployment options and countries.
Looking ahead
Fragomen will be closely monitoring the situation in Iraq and will report on relevant developments.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
