The Hindu : U.S. to review visa procedures

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 18, 2002

International

International

U.S. to review visa procedures

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

The U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, shows a new visa with improved safety features during a hearing by the House of Representatives Select Committee in Washington recently. — AFP

Washington JULY 17. In the face of increasing pressure and scrutiny from Capitol Hill, the State Department has ordered a review of procedures in all of its 207 visa issuing posts worldwide. The Department will also be sending special investigation teams to its posts in countries linked to terrorism. The State Department is said to be also close to requiring interviews to all adults who apply for a visa and terminating the role of travel agencies for forwarding applications.

The initiatives and procedures that are being considered have been disclosed by senior law makers in the Senate and the House of Representatives where there has been increasing concern over the manner in which visas had been issued by Consular posts worldwide, especially in the Arab world.

In fact there are many law makers who wish to take away the visa issuing function away from the State Department and hand it over to the proposed Department of Homeland Security. The argument being made is that Consular officials are not adequately trained to screen terrorists.

But the Bush administration is not in favour of the idea. In the aftermath of September 11 terror attacks of last year, several agencies have come under a sharp and critical eye of Congressional investigative panels; and they include the State Department over Visa issuance and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service for failing to keep track of the terrorists responsible for the horrific acts in New York and Washington.

Law makers have made it known to the State Department's Inspector General that they are particularly troubled by reports that some of those entering the United States are doing so without proper interviews. One of the serious concerns has been with the "Visa Express'' Programme that three of the 19 hijackers of September 11 took advantage of.

But the State Department has vigorously defended the Visa Express programme and has disputed figures from Capitol Hill on the subject. The Department's Spokesman has argued that travel agents who assist in Visas are not the ones who decide. "Only American Consular Officers decide who gets a visa'', Richard Boucher remarked.

Mr. Boucher further dismissed as a "myth'' that only two per cent of those who applied under the Visa Express Programme in Saudi Arabia were interviewed. Meanwhile on Tuesday, the U.S. President, George W Bush, unveiled a comprehensive strategy to protect the United States from terrorism that included the use of the military to enforce quarantines in the event of a biological attack and "red teams'' of agents to think like terrorists to identify weaknesses in the system. The futuristic plan that will involve expenditure in the billions of dollars will tighten entry points into the United States and involve a major effort to tighten crucial infrastructure in this country.

"Protecting Americans from attack is our most urgent national priority'', Mr. Bush said while making his ideas known at the Rose Garden.

A spokesperson for the Homeland Security Office in the White House has said that the President's strategy will not be sent to Congress as a single comprehensive package; rather would serve as a guideline for future requests and action that involves the government and the private sector.

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