Consul Frank Tu: We inform Americans that there is a relatively low number of crimes in Armenia

Aysor.am is launching a series of interviews with the representatives of foreign embassies in Armenia to find out how the citizens of their countries perceive Armenia. Is our country safe for foreign tourists? Comfortable and attractive, what does mostly attract the tourists?

Aysor.am talked about these issues with the US Consul in Armenia Frank Tu.

-How do Americans assess safety in Armenia and do they feel safe here?

-Americans can learn about the conditions of any foreign country through a variety of websites including Travel.State.Gov , a website maintained by the U.S. Department of State that provides information on every country in the world, including Armenia.  This country information is drafted annually by my office and when doing so, we consult our colleagues at the Embassy, we gather publicly available information from the Armenian authorities, and we include any cases or incidents that we are personally aware of.  In terms of crime, I am happy to report that we inform Americans that there is a relatively low number of crimes in Armenia.

-What kind of complaints do you get from them? 

-Several U.S. investors have reported involvement in property ownership disputes, and have had to seek legal recourse through long, and often unsuccessful, court proceedings.

-How does the visa exemption influence the flow of tourists?

-I am confident that the added convenience will convince many tourists to visit Armenia.  The arrangement was only implemented on Jan. 1, 2015 so we do not have the visitor data from the Armenian government to confirm it yet.

-In which cases and for what issues do Americans apply to the Embassy? How is the procedure done and does it have red-tape?

-Most American tourists actually travel in and out of Armenia with no issues.  Most of the Americans who come to the Embassy are Armenian-Americans residing in Armenia and they typically come to the Embassy to renew their American passports.  The passport renewal process is fairly simple - the American schedules an appointment with the American Citizens Services unit online, and at the time of the appointment, the American submits a passport form, passport photos, and his/her current passport.  Within 14 working days, the new passport arrives at the Embassy where the American can come pick it up.  Of course, the American gets to keep the old passport during the processing.  After the new passport arrives, we invalidate the previous passport but the American still gets to keep it as identification, plus it makes a good keepsake.  Many Americans in Armenia also ask us how to help their family members immigrate to the U.S.  The U.S. immigration process is transparent and straight-forward.  All of the steps are outlined clearly at travel.state.gov.