U.S. Embassy to Qat Chewers: quit now if you want an immigrant visa

By Sarah Wolff, Yemen Times,

SANA’A, March 31 — The United States Embassy in Yemen recently introduced a new provision for Yemenis seeking permanent residence in the U.S. Its message? Lay off your qat if you want to live in America.

Under this new stipulation, the U.S. Embassy will not issue immigration visas to anyone who is addicted to qat. Unites States law defines an “addict” as anyone who has used a drug for other than experimental purposes, i.e., more than one-time usage. This means that anyone in Yemen who has chewed qat more than once will have to medically prove that they are no longer using it in order to live in the United States.

U.S. law qualifies qat as a Schedule I controlled substance because it contains the chemical cathinone, which is a narcotic with addictive properties and has no known medicinal benefits. Abuse of Schedule I drugs is considered a “Class A” medical ineligibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

To become eligible again, former qat chewers will be required to provide medical proof that they have been qat-free for three years. The former qat users will need to provide medical examination notes from a qualified doctor stating that they are no longer using the substance. After providing this medical evidence, the applicant may be given a “Class B” medical rating, making them eligible for immigrant visas again.

Qat users are allowed to enter the U.S. as visitors, since these conditions do not apply to visitation visas, only immigrant visas.

There are currently over seven million qat chewers in Yemen, according to the Combating Qat Damage Association, local non-governmental organizations.

United States Embassy sources say that some immigration visas have already been denied as a result of the new measure, though the source declined to comment on the specific number of applications rejected. “This is a medical determination,” said the source.

Qat is not only legal in Yemen, but part of its social customs and daily life. For those Yemenis hoping to immigrate to the U.S., the restriction feels like a double standard. “There are many Americans in Yemen who chew qat,” said a 26-year-old man who wished to remain anonymous because he is in the process of applying for an immigration visa with the help of his American wife. “Why is it only Yemenis that have to do this?”

Quitting qat isn’t only a problem for immigrant applicants though. The substance has caused trouble for American citizens as well, as the U.S. has been cracking down on qat trafficking inside the country.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), qat abuse has been on the rise in the States since 1995. In 2005, the most recent year for which information is available, 32 metric tons of qat were seized by drug enforcement officers.

“Qat is widespread in America. I have never chewed it there, because I am not a frequent qat chewer; however, it is easy to buy and there is low censorship,” says Hakim Al-Masmari, the Yemeni-American editor-in-chief of the Yemen Post. “People were arrested for growing qat in Minnesota and California over the last five years,” he added.

In December 2007, four men were convicted on conspiracy charges in New York City for their roles in an international qat trafficking ring that ran from Africa, into Europe and finally to the U.S.

“This investigation unearthed awareness that khat [qat] is a highly addictive stimulant that is illegal in our country,” said the DEA special agent in charge of the investigation. He also warned of similar indictments and anti-qat measures to come.

Though there have been reports to the contrary, American government employees in Yemen are not allowed to chew qat, according to the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a.

There are more than 40 million qat trees in Yemen, according to the Combating Qat Damage Association’s survey conducted in 2006.