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.