U.S. tightens visa procedures (02/10/02)

U.S. tightens visa procedures

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - The United States has instituted changes to visa application procedures in order to better screen foreigners requesting entry into the country, said the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv on January 30.

The changes represent part of the U.S. response to the events of September 11 and the war against terrorism.

"The ultimate goal is to keep terrorists out of the country," explained an Embassy spokesman.

Consular sections of U.S. embassies across the globe will now require that all males between the ages of 16 and 45 fill out a separate document in addition to the standard application when applying for a non-immigrant visa to enter the United States. U.S. consular officers will also have the right to ask anyone else applying for a non-immigrant visa to fill out the additional form if they believe it is appropriate.

The U.S. Embassy spokesman said the new procedures were introduced to "shore up that part of the visa process that had allowed people to enter the U.S. for purposes other than what they had stated."

Those who fall into the category will be required to list all the countries to which they have traveled in the last 10 years and all countries that have issued them passports. They will also be asked for details of any military experience they may have had and any military conflicts in which they have been involved, whether as an active participant or as a victim.

The Consular Section of Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when contacted to comment on the new procedure, said it was not aware of the changes and declined to make a statement.

However, the Russian newspaper Rosiiskaya Gazeta criticized the new procedure on January 15 as "much more severe than those that existed in the Soviet era" and said that it could leave a Russian citizen without a legal way to enter the United States.

In addition to the separate document certain males will be required to fill out, all those applying for non-immigrant visas will complete a new general application. The document is a revised version of what the United States had used until now and the changes are mostly cosmetic, designed to make the application more reader-friendly.

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