The US Embassy was briefing reporters on the consular services rendered to both Saudis and expatriates in the Kingdom.

Keiser said the press conference was arranged to clear misconceptions about the issuance of US visas in the Kingdom.

He said the mission received 109,000 visa applicants last year and 93.7 percent of them were approved — 75 percent of them within a week. He pointed out that 26 percent of the total applicants were students and 15 percent were expatriates living in the capital.

During the period, 28,359 student visas were issued, which included 6,664 female students.

The diplomat said an average of 300 visa applicants are interviewed daily during its working days. “US visas are also issued at the consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. The location of the visa interview does not impact the chances of getting an entry visa to the US,” Keiser said.

He said student visas and applications for emergency medical visas are prioritized for the issuance of visas. “Students are advised to apply for visas three months ahead of their departure so that they can receive their visas on time,” the official said, adding that applications based on medical emergencies are processed without delay.

Some 47,000 Saudi students are currently studying in various colleges and universities under the King Abdullah Scholarship Program and another 5,000 Saudi students are studying on their own. Besides these figures, he said another 6,000 students would be going for higher studies to US universities this year.

Press Attaché Mofid Deak said the mission holds weekly question and answer sessions on US visas on Facebook and Twitter (@USEmbassyRiyadh).

Spelling out reasons for the delay in issuing visas, Deak said it is usually because applicants have not prepared for their interviews adequately and fail to furnish documents required by the mission.

Robin Busse, non-immigrant visa chief, said staff at the visa department are well trained and would be able to speak to the applicants in Arabic as well as in English. He requested all visa applicants to go through the visa requirements specified on the embassy websites and perfect the applications with the required details.  “We do not take more than five minutes for the interview,” he added.

Busse said he issued a visa for a Saudi national who was going to the US for a placement in a bank.

“Such a category of visas issued among Saudis are minimal, however, the number is much more in respect of tourist and business visas issued to Saudis,” he added.

Vice Consul David B. Rochford said there was a sharp drop of visa applicants from Saudi Arabia soon after 9/11. “After that, the number of applicants started picking up gradually,” he added.

He also said all applicants who come for interviews for visas will be fingerprinted at the counter. During the interview, he said the applicants have to pass through two counters. The first one is to check the facts and figures given in the applications, while the officer at the second counter will issue the visa after obtaining the fingerprints and a brief interview. He added each applicant is judged according to the data provided in his application.