Anirban Roy
New Member
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011109/us/attacks_visas_1.html
U.S. Delays Visa Process for Some
November 9, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 4:03 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States will slow down the
visa process for young men from Arab and Muslim nations so
it can search for evidence of terrorist activities.
``We have to make sure we are not letting people in who
cause us harm,\'\' State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
said Friday.
The FBI will check the names of visa applicants from more
than 20 Arab and Muslim countries and advise the State
Department.
Boucher did not say how much longer the process would take,
but about 20 days was a rough estimate.
Asked if the new policy raised questions of racial
profiling, the spokesman said, ``As a nation we have a
right and a duty to make sure our borders are safe.\'\'
Secretary of State Colin Powell, in an interview with Fox
News Channel, said he hoped it would be a temporary
measure.
Powell, who was born in Jamaica and emigrated as a child
with his family to The Bronx, New York, said the United
States remains a country that welcomes immigrants as well
as visitors. ``We like them to come here and look around,\'\'
he said.
He called the new procedure an inconvenience to visa
applicants and said, ``We are sensitive to how it will
affect our friends.\'\'
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States were
executed by suicide bombers from several Arab and Muslim
countries.
U.S. diplomatic posts abroad rely on the State Department\'s
Consular Lookout and Support System for information on
suspicious characters. The Justice Department collects
additional information in its National Crime Information
System.
Countries affected by the new policy will include Egypt,
India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Syria.
U.S. Delays Visa Process for Some
November 9, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 4:03 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States will slow down the
visa process for young men from Arab and Muslim nations so
it can search for evidence of terrorist activities.
``We have to make sure we are not letting people in who
cause us harm,\'\' State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
said Friday.
The FBI will check the names of visa applicants from more
than 20 Arab and Muslim countries and advise the State
Department.
Boucher did not say how much longer the process would take,
but about 20 days was a rough estimate.
Asked if the new policy raised questions of racial
profiling, the spokesman said, ``As a nation we have a
right and a duty to make sure our borders are safe.\'\'
Secretary of State Colin Powell, in an interview with Fox
News Channel, said he hoped it would be a temporary
measure.
Powell, who was born in Jamaica and emigrated as a child
with his family to The Bronx, New York, said the United
States remains a country that welcomes immigrants as well
as visitors. ``We like them to come here and look around,\'\'
he said.
He called the new procedure an inconvenience to visa
applicants and said, ``We are sensitive to how it will
affect our friends.\'\'
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States were
executed by suicide bombers from several Arab and Muslim
countries.
U.S. diplomatic posts abroad rely on the State Department\'s
Consular Lookout and Support System for information on
suspicious characters. The Justice Department collects
additional information in its National Crime Information
System.
Countries affected by the new policy will include Egypt,
India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Syria.