WASHINGTON: The US Department of State has proposed tougher questioning of visa applicants who it believes warrant additional scrutiny, according to a government document published on Thursday, in a push towards the “extreme vetting” sought by President Donald Trump.
The additional criteria would apply to 65,000 people per year or about 0.5 per cent of visa applicants worldwide, the State Department estimated, though it did not target nationals of certain countries.
A set of new questions would apply to “immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny in connection with terrorism or other national security-related visa ineligibilities,” the State Department said. Those applicants would be required to give social media handles and 15 years of biographical information when applying for a US visa.
While parts of the travel order, including a temporary ban on travel from several majority-Muslim countries, were halted by federal courts, the review of vetting procedures detailed in an accompanying memorandum remains in place.
Immigration lawyers and advocates say the request for 15 years of detailed biographical information, as well as the expectation that applicants remember all their social media handles, is likely to catch visa applicants who make innocent mistakes or do not remember all the information requested.
Applicants may not necessarily be denied a visa if they fail to provide all the information if it is determined they can provide a “credible explanation”, the notice said.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson first introduced similar measures in a March 15 cable to American consular officers that outlined questions officers should now ask in order to tighten vetting of US visa applicants.
But Tillerson had to withdraw that guidance in a cable just days later, writing to officers worldwide that the Office of Management and Budget had not approved those specific questions. — Reuters
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