Invited by World Snowshoe Federation, 24-year-old Tanveer Hussain and his manager Abid Hussain had arrived in Delhi on Saturday for their visa interview at the embassy. 

“I had brought all the required documents, invitation and recommendation letters with me for the interview. After a six-minute interview, the lady staffer who interviewed us went inside a room and told us our visa application couldn’t be cleared ‘due to our current policy’,” Tanveer Hussain told ScoopWhoop News.

Hussain said the official didn’t elaborate “what the current policy was.”

“During the interview, the official asked us about the purpose of our visit and requested several documents from our side. We provided her with everything she had asked for,” Hussain said. 

When contacted, an official at US Embassy in Delhi said he’s “unaware about the matter” and directed this reporter to call during business hours of the embassy. 

World Snowshoe Championships 2017 is being held from February 24-26, 2017 in Saranac, New York. 

A promising athlete from Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar, Hussain represented India in 2016 in Italy during a snowshoe championship. A winner of several state-level competitions, Hussain said he was “selected and invited” by WSSF for “his performance in Italy.”

“Even when it was my first visa, I didn’t face any problem from Italian authorities during the visa application process,” Hussain said, adding “he didn’t argue with US Embassy officials after they rejected his visa.” 

For now, Hussain has contacted Mayor of Saranac Lake, Clyde Rabideau about the rejection of their visas. 

“He has taken up the issue with embassy officials and has started campaigning for us. We are hopeful the embassy changes their decision,” Hussain said.  

Feature image source: Tanveer Hussain/Facebook