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International Education MattersA
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Government testimony: House Committee Reviews Collaboration Between Departments of State, Homeland Security on U.S. Visa Policy; Members Cite Concern Over Visa Delays submitted by the Alliance For International Education and Cultural Exchange September 10, 2004 At a hearing of the House Government Reform Committee on Thursday to examine the collaboration between the Departments of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS) on the establishment and implementation of U.S. visa policy, Committee members cited concerns about visa delays. “Lest we think this is a trivial matter,” stated Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA), “next to issues concerning Social Security, visa delays tend to be the most requested issue when it comes to casework within our districts.” Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Jr. (D-MD) echoed that concern, noting that in his district office, non-immigrant visas are high on the list of constituent concerns. “We are a nation that values international trade, tourism, and the free flow of scientific and technical knowledge,” said Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA). “To accomplish this, foreign visitors who wish to travel on business, for tourism, and as students and scholars must be able to get visas without facing long bureaucratic delays.” Waxman added that, “A lot of these problems are the result of a lengthy, unpredictable, and opaque Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) process…But we need to find a way to impose speed and good sense on this process.” “We need a visa process that protects Americans, but we also need a process that does not disadvantage U.S. interests in the highly competitive global marketplace for intellectual capacity,” said Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN). McCollum added that, “students, scholars, and scientists not only return home with a degree, technical training or a professional experience, they also return home a strong friend of the American people and the United States. Over the years, millions of these special relationships have yielded profound diplomatic, economic and cultural benefits to the United States and the world.” “At this moment in our nation’s history,” McCollum continued, “cross-cultural understanding and global relationships are critical to the world. Now is not the time to discourage or dissuade the world’s future decision-makers from studying, teaching or conducting research in the United States.” Administration Officials Recognize Value of International Students, Visitors DHS Secretary for Border and Transportation Security Policy and Planning C. Stewart Verdery Jr. stated in his testimony that, “DHS recognizes that the ability of prospective students, scientists, tourists or business partners to visit the United States is crucial to our society. If that travel is disrupted, either because people are unfairly rejected for a visa, or because they believe that travel to the United States is too inconvenient, we will experience a negative effect on our economy in the short-run. Equally as important,” he added, “the ability of foreign visitors to come to our country is critical to spreading our democratic ideals, furthering scientific development, and promoting the image of America overseas.” Verdery noted that DHS has “met with many business organizations, education institutes, and the scientific community over the past several months and heard their message loud and clear that the visa process needs streamlining.” He added that, “These organizations have stated that visa application interview wait times are too lengthy, the SAO process is too slow, that applicants cannot determine if their application has been lost or is still pending, and that such delays hurt the business, educational, and scientific sectors of the economy.” According to Verdery, DHS and DOS “have made a tremendous effort to combat the perception that security measures implemented since September 11 have made it too difficult for legitimate travelers to come to the U.S.” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services Janice Jacobs agreed, stating, “we have made great progress in improving the inter-agency security clearance process in recent months…thereby greatly enhancing response times and accountability.” “Working together, our goal is to establish procedures that will provide a sound basis for maintaining an effective, efficient visa process that secures America’s borders from external threats while continuing to promote legitimate travel to the U.S.,” Jacobs said. She noted that the Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) process for Visas Mantis, which provides an interagency review of visa applications selected because of defined risk criteria or because they warrant further scrutiny procedures, “have been greatly streamlined.” She added that “The vast majority of Mantis cases are being turned around well within 30 days, and at the present time only 2% of Mantis cases have been pending for longer than 30 days.” Members express concern about language training for DHS employees The DHS Inspector General submitted a report to the Committee evaluating the planning and implementation of the visa provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Among its findings, the report noted that DHS had “not yet devised or initiated training to instruct DHS employees assigned to U.S. embassies and consular posts in foreign languages, interview and fraud detection techniques, and foreign country conditions as required by the Homeland Security Act of 2002.” Several Committee Members expressed concern about the lack of language training of DHS’ Visa Security Officers, referencing in particular officers stationed in Saudi Arabia. Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) suggested DHS look at collaborating its language training program with those of the Department of State and the Department of Defense. General Accounting Office (GAO) notes guidance lagging on rollout of biometric visas. In a second report released at the hearing, the GAO observed that DOS is on schedule to meet the October 26, 2004 implementation deadline for the installation of the Biometric Visa Program. The report noted, however, that “DHS and State have not developed and have not provided comprehensive guidance to consular posts” for the program’s use. “In the absence of such guidance,” the report continued, “we found that consular officers are unclear on how to use the program”. To address the issue, the report recommended that the Secretaries of Homeland Security and State “develop and provide to consular officers comprehensive guidance on how all aspects of the Biometric Visa Program should be used and that each consular post develop an implementation plan based on this guidance.” In response to the GAO report, Jacobs remarked that guidance has been “sent to the field.” She acknowledged that “some procedural questions are still being worked out”, and added that the program is “one of the best examples of cooperation between two agencies.” Copyright 2004 by This file was updated on September 17, 2004 |
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