Posted on 11/09/2001 10:35:55 AM PST by kattracks
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WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (AFP) - Men from predominantly Muslim nations will now be required to complete a detailed questionnaire and wait 20 days for visas to the United States, senior State Department officials said Friday. Starting next week, US consulates and embassies in 25 nations must send names of male visa applicants aged 16 to 45 to be checked against FBI databases in Washington, giving the agency 20 days to respond before processing the application, they said. Applicants will also be required to fill out a detailed questionnaire asking about past military service, weapons training, travel and if they have ever lost a passport, they said. The new requirements are part of a tightening of US visa policies after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Many of the terrorists in those attacks entered the United States legally. One official said the longer waiting period would only be temporary, rejecting suggestions the new rules clashed with the US argument that its war against terrorism did not target Muslims indiscriminately or was in any way comparable to the controversial practice of racial profiling by police. "We need to check people against all our databases," the official said, noting for many years Washington has required "security advisory opinions" for suspect visa applicants. "For an interim period until we get all the databases connected properly it may require some extra time in some of the visa applications from applicants from certain places with certain characteristics," he told AFP on condition of anonymity. "People that have certain characteristics we're going to have to check against our databases more carefully and until we get them all connected that is going to require some more waiting period." Countries affected by the new rules are Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. |
Hey anti-Bushies, isn't this what you said Bush would never do?
We should be pressing every advantage we have in this war. Cutting off access to the US is a very potent weapon and it just happens to have the advantage of really making us more secure, not just the appearance of doing so.
Stay well - sty safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
They've introduced a waiting list and a voluntary questionnaire. Not nearly good enough. We need at least a moratorium until we get everything sorted out.
Secondly, it *is* a big deal to stop people from these nations from coming here. Many schools depend heavily upon foreign students, and tourism is still a vital industry in the US. The trick, of course, is to try to weed out the maniacs and get some control over the "overstay" situation.
But in summation, this *is* racial (and age) profiling, and it's about time we did it.
(Slaps self)
Heh heh.
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