Change in Cambodia Immigrant Visa Processing

U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman

Effective immediately, the Department of State will begin transferring all Immigrant visa cases for Cambodia, including adoption cases, to the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. The Department of State is taking this necessary step due to the impact that a growing workload is having on the protracted and chronic staffing and resource constraints at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh. The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok has a larger staff and greater resources to handle the growing and complex caseload, particularly the sharp increase in adoption cases. The telecommunications network in Thailand also is much more reliable in transmitting inquiries from the United States to the consular staff, whether by telephone, fax or e-mail.

Adopting parents that have been given appointments at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh in December 2001 and January 2002 will have their cases processed in Phnom Penh. All other cases will be processed in Bangkok beginning February 1, 2002. Please be assured that the U.S. Government, and its Embassies in Phnom Penh and Bangkok, is doing everything possible to minimize delays. Details on how to contact the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok to arrange for an appointment to process your adoption case for general information will be provided in the near future. Please check this Web site regularly.

MEDIA NOTE
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
December 12, 2001

Change in Immigrant Visa Processing for Cambodia

The Department of State announces that, effective immediately, we will begin transferring all immigrant visa cases for Cambodians to the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. To help reduce the inconvenience caused by this move, immigrant visa applicants who already have interview appointments scheduled at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh can still attend their interview in Phnom Penh, but we will not schedule any new immigrant visa appointments in Phnom Penh. After February 1, 2002, the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh will begin to notify Cambodians of their immigrant visa appointments at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and provide full instructions.

This change will affect all immigrant visa categories, including fiancé(e) visas, diversity visas, and U.S. citizens wishing to apply for immigrant visas for their adopted Cambodian children.

This change does not affect our procedures for non-immigrant (temporary) visa applicants in Cambodia. Embassy Phnom Penh will continue to handle non-immigrant visa cases.

The transfer of the immigrant visa function to Embassy Bangkok is based on workload considerations. Embassy Phnom Penh has had protracted and chronic staffing and resource constraints that have been excessively strained by a growing number of immigrant visa cases. We believe the best long-term solution is to transfer immigrant visa processing to our embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, which has the personnel and other resources needed to process the immigrant visa cases of Cambodian citizens.

We regret any inconvenience this decision might cause to Cambodian immigrant visa applicants, but believe it is necessary to ensure the most effective service possible.