http://kantipuronline.com/2014/04/08/fullnews/nepal-halts-consular-services-from-new-york/387921.html

KATHMANDU, APR 08 - Responding to the request of the State Department, Nepal’s Permanent Mission in New York has stopped providing consular related services, leaving the Embassy of Nepal in Washington DC as the only place in United States for acquiring consular assistance.

The mission will reportedly not provide consular related services such as issuing passport to Nepali citizens, issuing visas and attestation of documentations among others.

The service was halted two weeks ago, leaving thousands of Nepalis around New York, New Jersey and Connecticut along with numerous foreigners with no quick access to consular services, said officials.

According to officials, the US State Department had been advising Nepal to set up a separate consular office in New York since the missions stationed in New York are only allowed to look after UN related affairs.

But the Foreign Affairs ministry is yet to take a decision on the matter.

“We have been providing consular related services without prior approval of the State Department. However, the US has been waiving the facilities to us for being a least developed country. But since we now have around one and half dozen staff in New York and Washington DC, the State Department has asked us to nix the dual accreditation,” said a MoFA official who had already served in the mission. The latest move came after the State Department refused to accredit Ila Mainali, a Nepali official serving in the mission at New York, to look after consular affairs. Prior to handling diplomatic services inside the mission, the country’s mission should take consent from the foreign ministry of the host country.

“Mainali was posted as a regular diplomatic staff in New York and not as a consular officer. Thus the State Department did not accredit her for dual responsibility,” said the official. The New York based mission is also looking after Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela, providing consular services to these nations as well.

In consequence of the closure, Nepalis seeking machine readable passports will likely be most affected since the government recently announced to replace all hand written passports by November 2015.

However, the Foreign Ministry in Nepal, in an attempt to smooth the machine readable passport process for Nepalis in US, is contemplating over an alternative consular office.

“We are doing necessary homework on it,” said Deepak Dhital, spokesperson at the ministry.

Chief Secretary Leela Mani Poudyal, on the other hand, has been advising the ministry to manage its own staff in New York since the government is not in position to financially support a separate consular office.

Posted on: 2014-04-08 08:29