RL31512
Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation
February 11, 2004
Download Locations
Summary
Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, considerable concern has been raised because the 19 terrorists were aliens who apparently entered the United States with temporary visas despite provisions in immigration laws that bar the admission of terrorists. Foreign nationals not already legally residing in the United States who wish to come to the United States generally must obtain a visa to be admitted, with certain exceptions noted in law. Fears that lax enforcement of immigration laws regulating the admission of foreign nationals into the United States may continue to make the United States vulnerable to further terrorist attacks have led to revisions in the policy as well as changes in who administers immigration law. The 107th Congress expanded the definition of terrorism and the designation of terrorist organizations used to determine the inadmissibility and removal of aliens in the USA Patriot Act (P.L. 107-56). Another law, the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act (P.L. 107-173), sought to improve the visa issuance process by mandating data sharing so that consular officers have access to relevant electronic information. This law also required the development of an interoperable electronic data system to be used to share information relevant to alien admissibility and removability and required that all visas issued by October 2004 have biometric identifiers. The Homeland Security Act (P.L. 107-296) transferred to the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security in the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to issue regulations regarding visa issuances and assigns staff to consular posts abroad. Although the Department of State (DOS) Bureau of Consular Affairs remains the agency responsible for issuing visas, DHS's Bureau of Citizenship and Immigrant Services approves immigrant petitions, and DHS's Bureau of Customs and Border Protection inspects all people who enter the United States. The 108th Congress is overseeing the implementation of these new policies and may consider further options, such as tightening up interview requirements for visa applicants and expanding the grounds for excluding aliens. The Anti-Atrocity Alien Deportation Act of 2003 (H.R. 1440/S. 710) would, among other things, further broaden the security and terrorism grounds of inadmissibility to exclude aliens who have participated in the commission of acts of torture or extrajudicial killings abroad. Meanwhile, nonimmigrant (i.e., temporary) visas issued abroad dipped to 5.8 million in FY2002 after peaking at 7.6 million in FY2001. Preliminary FY2003 data indicate a further drop to 4.9 million nonimmigrant visas issued. Over the past dozen years, DOS has typically issued about 6 million nonimmigrant visas annually. Thus far, visas for legal permanent residents (LPRs) have stayed at around one million annually, but the number of LPR visas issued abroad has dipped while those aliens who adjust to LPR status within the United States has grown. This slowdown in visa issuances has sparked concern among the business community, some of whom argue they are adversely affected by the new visa policies. Others are expressing scepticism about the cost, time, and complexity of developing interoperable databases, a feature many others see as essential to enhanced border security.
-
Related Legislation:
- H.R.1440
- S.710
