US tightening rules for visas: report

The United States is reportedly tightening its visa guidelines, with the State Department providing officials with new rules to deny entry or expel visitors.

According to The New York Times, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson explained the changes in a cable to U.S. Embassies across the globe.

Under the new rules, the State Department will assume a person with a visa lied on purpose if they do something outside the scope of what he or she told a consular officer. These actions include going to school or marrying a United States citizen, the newspaper said. 

{mosads}The rules would make renewing a visa or obtaining a new one difficult should an individual be in this scenario, the Times noted.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association’s associate director of government relations described the new guidance as “a significant policy change.”

“If someone comes to the U.S. as a tourist, falls in love and gets married within 90 days and then applies for a green card, this means the application would be denied,” Diane Rish told the Times.

A spokesperson for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a staunch proponent of strict immigration policy, said the news rules are “an effort to prevent people from abusing the legal immigration process.” 

“The burden of proof should be on the people who say their plans have changed,” Ira Mehlman told the newspaper.