U.S., Turkey both suspend visa services following arrest of consulate employee

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
(Image credit: Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images)

Shortly after the U.S. Embassy in Ankara announced Sunday it would no longer handle any non-immigrant visa applications in Turkey, the Turkish Embassy in Washington fired back, saying it was also suspending visa services.

The U.S. Embassy cited "recent events" that forced the U.S. government to reassess Turkey's "commitment" to the security of U.S. personnel in the country. Earlier this week, a Turkish national who worked at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul was arrested and accused of being involved in the July 2016 attempted coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Non-immigrant visas are issued to people traveling for tourism, business, medical treatment, study, and temporary work.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.