The Hindu : National : U.S. to fingerprint visa applicants

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Tuesday, May 18, 2004

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National

U.S. to fingerprint visa applicants

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI, MAY 17. If the External Affairs Minister travels to the United States on a private visit in the middle of July, he, like other Indian nationals, will be fingerprinted if he applies for a fresh visa. If the Minister travels on official business, he will not be fingerprinted.

All those possessing valid visas and non-officials and officials will not have to apply afresh for visas; these remain valid. However, these persons, barring prescribed Government functionaries on official business or those granted prior exemption, will be fingerprinted on arrival.

The U.S. Consul-General, William Bartlett, displayed the "new system" to presspersons at the U.S. Embassy today. You have to place index fingers of both hands (separately) for the prints to be taken. The "inkless" process takes about 30 second to complete. Upon arrival in the U.S., the digital fingerprinting process for the "biovisa" system will be repeated. A digital photo will also be taken.

Addressing the press, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Maura Harty, said America still welcomed and appreciated foreign visitors but the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks had changed "forever" the way the U.S. processed visas. "This is not an India-specific measure. We are already collecting fingerprints at the vast majority of our consular sections, and all sections will be doing so by October 26. We have also been collecting fingerprints at U.S. ports of entry since the beginning of the year," she said.

Five more windows in Chennai planned

Also, all applicants between the ages of 14 and 79, except those going on official Government business, will have to apply in person for their visa. Ms. Harty announced that five more interview windows would be opened in Chennai within a month and a project for adding new windows in Delhi was being taken up. She said the new "biovisa" would strike a balance between security and open doors in the U.S., make the borders more secure and make international travel safer. Taking questions from the press, Mr. Bartlett said that it was "great" that Brazil had started fingerprinting American visitors entering that country. Asked why select countries had been exempted from the fingerprinting process, he said that nationals of all countries would be fingerprinted on arrival with effect from September 30.

A note circulated to the press said that visa records were confidential. They were released only for legitimate law enforcement purposes that were subject to statutory, regulatory and other legal restrictions. The U.S. had no agreement to provide fingerprints from visa applicants to any other government.

Mr. Bartlett conceded that there had been a drop in the number of applications to the U.S. universities but the number of visas issued to Indian students this year would be known only in October. Student visas issued to Indians peaked in 2001; since then there had been a slight decline. More than 70,000 students were studying in the U.S. and as many as two million persons of Indian origin were estimated to be living there.

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