Security checks/ State Dept./Consular/FBI
Security Checks and Consular Processing
BCIS is routinely conducting security-related checks on petitions filed in the United States (of
both the foreign national and the petitioner), while the Department of State (DOS) is subjecting
visa applicants to a variety of security-related checks at the U.S. consulates overseas. The
consular checks in particular have resulted in hardship to visa applicants, their families, and
their U.S. employers, as the waits for clearances take a minimum of 30 days, and in many
cases, much longer.
The first of the three main consular security checks, and perhaps most important, is that which
utilizes the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer database, which has expanded
by seven to eight million new names since September 11th. These entries include pretty much
anyone who has been fingerprinted for any reason whatsoever, including for professional
licenses (e.g., doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers). An NCIC "hit" can result from having a
similar name and date of birth (i.e., within two years) of an individual in the database, which
unfortunately only indicates that previous fingerprinting occurred, without specifying why. Thus,
even with a "false hit," the consulate must conduct a full investigation with the FBI in the U.S.,
which can take six to 12 weeks. Even more incredibly, according to the DOS, the system is so
inadequate that someone who waits six to eight weeks after an NCIC hit and is issued a visa,
must again wait again for a clearance when he or she next applies for a visa. For this reason,
foreign nationals who have been fingerprinted should advise counsel and anticipate a possible
NCIC delay when applying for a visa abroad.
The second type of consular security check is known as a "condor" check, which generally
applies to males aged 16-45 from certain Muslim countries and all visa applicants 14 years or
older from Cuba, Libya, Syria, the Sudan, Iran, Iraq and North Korea. Condor checks usually
take up to one month, and often longer. Expedites are impossible.
Lastly, the "mantis" security check applies to persons within the purview of the Technology
Alert List (TAL), available at
http://travel.state.gov/reciprocity/Mantis_TAL.htm. The TAL
prohibitions apply to individuals from China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Israel coming to the
U.S. to be engaged in a "critical technology" (e.g., certain areas of the nuclear, biotech,
engineering fields). As these checks can take up to three to four months, whenever possible it
is critical that documentation submitted with the visa application clearly show that the
individual's proposed activity is not subject to the TAL because it is either (1) widely available
to the public (i.e., in the public domain), and/or (2) based on information taught in an academic
course.
