US authorities have refused entry to a Bangladesh citizen after he landed at Chicago airport with a valid business visa.
Mohammad Zakir Hossain, 45, is from Barisal and has a US travel visa that expires in 2019, according to relatives.
“After his arrival immigration officials asked him the reason for his visit,” he said. “He had already flown to the US several times on this visa.
But this time they were not satisfied with his answers, cancelled the visa and sent him back to Bangladesh on another flight.”
Bangladesh Honorary Counsel General to Chicago Munir Chowdhury said he contacted airport and immigration authorities demanding to know why Zakir was turned back.
Having a valid US visa does not mean a person will be allowed entry to the country and immigration has the right to turn away anyone if there are any doubts or concerns, they told him.
“They did not take more than two hours to put Zakir Hossain on a flight back,” said Munir Chowdhury. “He was turned away before I could even speak with immigration authorities. If not, I would have taken this to the topmost level.”
Jabed Ahmed, a relative of Zakir, lives in Philadelphia.
Zakir had graduated from a college in New York state, he told bdnews24.com. He then returned home to start a business.
Zakir, who has two children, has gone to and from the US regularly on business, said Jabed.
Jabed hired a lawyer in Philadelphia after hearing news of Zahid’s detention at the airport. Officials at the airport refused to disclose any information to the lawyer over the telephone.
In March of this year US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning citizens of six countries from travelling to the US.
The order was blocked by a federal judge from Hawaii before it could go into effect.
A prior travel ban by the Trump administration in January was also blocked by a court and was later withdrawn.
Source: bdnews24
