US embassy in PH not closing down: exec

FILE: Chancery of the Manila American Embassy. (Photo By United States Department of State – Official photo from THE SECRETARY OF STATE’S REGISTER OF CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT PROPERTY., Public Domain)

MANILA— There will be no change in visa processing with consular services continuing, as usual, the United States embassy in Manila said on Friday as it clarified that only an office attached to it will shut down, not the chancery itself.

This came following the buzz on social media regarding the closure of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Manila Field Office next month.

“The US Embassy in the Philippines will assume responsibility for certain limited services previously provided by the Manila Field Office to individuals residing in the Philippines,” Trude Raizen, deputy press attache at the Embassy, said in a text message to the media.

On Thursday night, the US embassy confirmed that the USCIS will close its Manila office on July 5, 2019, “due to insufficient workload.”

“There will be no change in visa processing at the U.S. embassy in the Philippines,” it said.

The USCIS is the government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the US. Among its functions are adjudicating requests for immigration benefits, processing of applications to sponsor relatives and future spouses including refugee applications around the world.

Aside from Manila, the USCIS field office in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico was also closed on June 30.

According to the embassy, the USCIS has also entered into discussions to phase out all of its international offices.