The United States started to evacuate its citizens from Japan on Thursday to safe haven locations in Asia, including Taiwan. As a result, the American Institute in Taiwan announced yesterday that it has to suspend visa services for Taiwanese applicants indefinitely to focus on helping the American evacuees.

96 American nationals arrived in Taiwan aboard a China Airlines charter flight early Friday morning.

Some of the children clutched their teddy bears as they slept, while others cried in their mothers' arms.

The American Institute in Taiwan mobilized nearly all of its personnel to handle the evacuation, including processing visas and arranging hotel accommodations.

The flight departed from Japan at 3 a.m., and many of the Americans said that the past few days have been extremely horrific and frightening.

No unusual levels of radiation were detected upon their arrival in Taiwan, and the AIT has arranged for the entire group to stay at a five-star Taipei hotel.

The AIT hopes that the personnel will be able to leave the horrors of the Japanese earthquake behind, and recover during their stay in Taiwan.