The acting chief secretary and secretary to cabinet, Paula Ma’u, said negotiation on the establishment of the office was still underway and a team from the U.S. Embassy in Suva would arrive in Nuku’alofa this month for further talks.
Paula told the online news site, Matangi Tonga, that sites for the office had been identified but the U.S. Embassy in Suva was still awaiting confirmation from Washington.
The decision by the U.S. to offer a non-immigrant visa service in Nuku’alofa was the outcome of a meeting between then U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Tonga’s Prime Minister Feleti Sevele in May last year.
The U.S. ambassador was aware that many Tongans were unhappy with having to travel to Suva to receive a non-immigrant visa interview, as it is an expensive trip with no guarantee of success.
