Report: State Dept. orders stricter screening for visa applicants

The Trump administration added new security checks in the vetting process for non-citizens seeking visas, the New York Times reported Thursday. 

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent official cables last week to every American embassy abroad ordering embassy officials to step up their scrutiny of visa applications, including asking applicants more detailed questions about their past and combing through their social media history to see if they visited areas that are hotbeds for terrorist activity. 

This vetting measure would apply to visa applicants who are coming to the U.S. for tourist-related reasons, relatives of American residents planning a visit, and those traveling to the U.S. on business.  

President Trump promised on the campaign trail to establish “extreme vetting,” on people entering the U.S., and this measure appears to be a step towards that pledge. 

The security checks, however, do not apply to the 38 countries with which the U.S. has a visa waiver program, which allows visa applicants to go through the process more quickly. Longtime allies, including most of Europe, Australia and Japan, are on the list, while no Middle Eastern or African states belong to the program. 

Federal courts have temporarily blocked Trump’s travel ban executive order to temporarily prevent people from six Muslim-majority countries from coming to the U.S. But Trump also issued a presidial memorandum ordering the secretary of State, the attorney general and the Homeland Security secretary to implement policies to enhance visa security. 

“Consular officers should not hesitate to refuse any case presenting security concerns,” Tillerson wrote in the cables, dated mid-March. “All visa decisions are national security decisions.”