US gives visa to Magsaysay winner after public outcry

Mumbai: After a public outcry, the American Consulate in Mumbai on Monday changed its mind and cleared the US visa for this year's Magsaysay award winner Neelima Mishra.

Three days after the US Consulate rejected her rejected her application for visa, its officials told Mishra that they had cleared her papers and would dispatch the visa to her.

"The US consulate officials assured Neelimaji that they would courier the visa to her Pune office in the next couple of days," her close associate Amol Choudhary said here on Monday afternoon.

Mishra had suffered a jolt on Friday, when the American Consulate officials denied her a US visa, without assigning any reason to her.

However, a standard written reply given to her had stated that the Consulate was denying her a visa as it felt that owing to her poor economic background, she would not be able to support herself during her visit to the US.

The news about Mishra being denied a US had created a sensation in the media, prompting an embarrassed Consulate officials had telephoned and called her to their office once again on Monday.

"During her meeting with the Consulate functioanaries today (Monday), the officials there made amends after asking her a few queries including her winning the Magsaysay award," Choudhary said,

Mishra was chosen for 2011 Magsaysay award in recognition of her exceptional work in forming women's self help groups and developing a micro-credit network in rural areas of Jalgaon district in north Maharashtra.

Mishra is leaving for the United States on the night of October 12. She has been invited India Development Coalition of America, a Chicago based group, to deliver the keynote address at its convention scheduled for October 15 and 16. She will return to India on October 19.