State Department Asks US Embassies to Start Process for Tougher Visa Screening
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Mar 25, 2017
The Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson sent Diplomatic cables to all American embassies instructing consular officials to largely increase the scrutiny.
The tightened vetting is the result of a memo President Donald Trump signed the same day he signed his revised travel ban.
American consular officials stated that the move would increase chances that an applicant will be denied a visa and will slow down the bureaucratic process of granting visa approval.
In a series of diplomatic memos issued during the past two weeks, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has ordered usa consular officials to identify "populations warranting increased scrutiny" and subject them to a tighter visa screening process.
United States diplomatic missions across the globe are ordered to identify "populations warranting increased scrutiny", which includes a check-up on social media history in what is an otherwise broad and labor-demanding screening process.
Almost 49 percent of Americans "strongly" or "somewhat " agree with Trump's travel ban while 41 percent "strongly" or "somewhat" opposed it, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll from December 2016.
In cables dated March 10 and March 15, Tillerson issued detailed instructions to consular officials for implementing Trump's travel order, which was due to take effect on March 16.
Federal courts have temporarily blocked Trump's travel ban executive order to temporarily prevent people from six Muslim-majority countries from coming to the U.S. But Trump also issued a presidial memorandum ordering the secretary of State, the attorney general and the Homeland Security secretary to implement policies to enhance visa security.
The official did say that "the U.S. government's national security-focused visitor screening and vetting procedures are created to effectively identify individuals who could pose a threat to the United States", adding that "we welcome this opportunity to review and improve our systems and procedures".
Subsequently, it will be verified if the visa applicant has ever been in territory controlled by the Islamic State.
The classified cable asks all its overseas diplomatic posts to immediately draw a set of criteria for a rigorous vetting process for issuing visas to foreign nationals.
The Associated Press and Reuters obtained copies of the cable, which State Department sources verified for NBC News.
Visa applicants from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and members of populations identified by consular officers as security risks, would have been required to provide details of where they had lived, traveled, and worked over the past 15 years, as well as all phone numbers, email addresses, and social media handles used in the past five years.
