JP/4/BOYCE

U.S. ambassador promises faster visa approval

Moch. N. Kurniawan The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Indonesians planning to go to the United States, especially students, can expect faster visa approval, ambassador Ralph L. Boyce has promised.

The presence in the next few months of officials from the Department of Homeland Security will not slow down the process, he stated. The officials "will help us make sure the application process is not lengthier, but shorter," Boyce said.

Decisions on visa applications, however, will remain with the consular officers.

The new agents' job will not be "to oversee or to make decisions on specific visa cases, but to be a resource for the consular officers who, as always, will be the ones who do the main part of the work just as they do today and will continue to do so," Boyce said.

The speedier visa application process would hopefully increase visits to the U.S. by foreigners. The ambassador stressed that the U.S. still wants visitors, particularly students, from Indonesia and as such "we are very concerned... and want to make Indonesians feel comfortable and not threatened."

Since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, two years ago, the number of Indonesian students visiting the U.S. reportedly decreased by 10 percent.

The plan to involve such officials in visa approval, as part of the U.S. efforts to tighten security after Sept. 11, has raised eyebrows in several countries.

In September, the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) started a new system to share visa oversight.

The DHS officers "will provide expert advice to consular officers regarding security threats relating to the adjudication of visa applications or classes of applications, review visa applications and conduct investigations involving visa matters .." reads a statement by J. Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman of the Department of State, as quoted in the U.S. Embassy website.