Mar 25 2017 : The Times of India (Chennai)

Getting a US visa now gets tougher

Chidanand Rajghatta

Washington:





The process of getting an American visa, strenuous at the best of times, is likely to get more painstaking following fresh directives from the Trump administration to its consular officials worldwide to identify “populations warranting increased scrutiny“ for enhanced vetting.

In a series of four cables sent out by the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, United States missions across the world have been instructed to convene working groups of law enforcement and intelligence officials to “develop a list of criteria“ to identify such groups.

One criterion appears to be if the person has travelled to or lived in territory controlled by the so-called Islamic State.Such a loosely defined yardstick could affect lakhs of Indians who visited or worked in countries such as Iraq, Libya, and Syria. Such applicants, one of the cables enjoins, need to be subjected to enhanced vetting, including scrutiny of the applicant's travel history, addresses, and work history for 15 years, and all phone numbers, email addresses and social media handles used in the past five years.

While some experts feel the new directives will not substantially add to the scrutiny already in effect, addition of red-flagged travel spots and social media scrutiny could add to the time taken to process the visas, particularly since the state department advisories put the onus on consular officials to institute enhanced vetting.

“Consular officers should not hesitate to refuse any case presenting security concerns,“ secretary Tillerson wrote in the cables. The language is no different than that used by previous administrations but the focus on social media could make the job of consular officials more difficult, causing them to err on the side of caution.

“Ultimately , most visa applicants are unlikely to see much change from previous visa adjudication practices as a result of these cables.Consular officers already closely scrutinised applicants for potential security threats. However, the cables do illustrate a renewed focus on the vetting of visa applicants by the DOS, including the potential review of visa applicants' social media, Maryland-based Murthy law firm, which processes visa and immigration issues, said in a cautious advisory.

Probe hate crimes against desis: Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker in US Congress, expressed concern over a series of hate crimes against Indian-Americans and asked the justice department to investigate all violent acts motivated by bigotry to promote a pluralistic society. “It's always dangerous to our people and our community when you have these violent hate crimes that are motivated out of bigotry,“ Gabbard said. PTI