Strict visa application measures at U.S. mission
Strict visa application measures at U.S. mission
Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The United States Embassy said that it would temporarily
tighten nonimmigrant visa application procedures as a
precautionary measure after the World Trade Center and Pentagon
attacks in September, a spokesperson for the Embassy said here on
Monday.
"It is a temporary measure to keep terrorists from entering
the United States," a senior official of the U.S. Embassy, who
refused to be identified, told The Jakarta Post.
He said the embassy would enhance background checks as part of
its new procedures regardless of the religious affiliation of the
applicant.
"The background checks will not be applied based on one's
religion," the spokesperson said while refusing to elaborate on
the details of the new procedures.
Last Friday, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in
Washington that the procedures, effective on Monday, would be
applied to certain countries.
"We want people to come to our shores but at the same time we
want to protect ourselves. This will be a temporary measure for a
number of countries," Powell said as quoted by AFP.
Even before anti-U.S. rallies began in Jakarta, people often
griped about the challenging task of obtaining visas to travel to
the United States, and following the attacks of Sept. 11 these
concerns have increased.
Amid the tight security inside and outside the embassy
compound, people were waiting anxiously for their turn to enter
the embassy's premises.
One woman, who refused to be named, was waiting nervously last
Wednesday outside the compound for her son, who was being
interviewed.
"I'm concerned that he won't be able to get his student visa,
I heard the process is even more difficult now," she said. She is
sending her son back to the University of San Francisco after he
took academic leave last year.
There are more worries for those who are trying to apply for a
tourist visa. "I plan to spend my Christmas holidays in New York
with my friends, but I think it will be difficult to apply for a
tourist visa after the WTC attack," said Stella Supit
pessimistically.
People are no longer queuing in long lines in front of the
embassy to obtain a visa, following the introduction of a new
system for visa applications in June.
Under the new procedures, people call the embassy's
appointments line or send an email to arrange for an interview.
However, applicants must still queue to obtain visa forms.