Washington Post - 11.17.2003

The Washington Post

Visa Hassles

Editorial


AS IT HAPPENS, this is "International Education Week." In a statement marking this occasion, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell lauded foreign exchange programs. They promote "the free exchange of ideas," he said, and help find "joint solutions to problems." That may be -- but at the moment, the State Department's reputation abroad is one of an institution that prevents students and other visitors from coming to this country.

How fair is that picture? The number of visas issued for all visitors to the United States has dropped dramatically since 2001, from 6.9 million to 4.9 million. That mostly reflects a drop in the number of applicants. While overall student visa numbers have remained flat, the number of visas issued to students from the Middle East, Indonesia and Pakistan has dropped significantly. Anecdotal evidence of unreasonable refusals and delays for legitimate business and academic applicants -- well documented in Lee Hockstader's Nov. 11 Post story -- is also growing.

The financial costs to the country in lost tourist, business and academic revenue are high. The cost to America's reputation abroad is even higher. Would-be visitors are now put off by elaborate questionnaires, cursory interviews and a $100 application fee that isn't refunded in case of refusal, which happens in about a quarter of cases. It's hardly the best way to encourage positive views of this country abroad, particularly in the Arab world, where changes have been most dramatic. State Department officials worry whether America is still perceived to be a place that welcomes foreign visitors.

Others argue, not illegitimately, that the consular service is only following orders from Congress. Since September 2001 -- when visa procedures were bitterly criticized by Congress, the press and internal watchdogs -- consular procedures have changed dramatically. The consular service has nearly doubled the number of FBI background checks it conducts, even as the number of applicants has fallen, and instituted a time-consuming interview process as well. Fingerprints and photographs are next. Because Congress has long required the State Department to fund its visa service, spokesmen say the drop in the number of visitors has also forced the consular service to raise visa prices.

What is needed, then, is a deeper, national change in attitudes to foreign visitors: The State and Homeland Security departments, Congress and the White House need to make clear their support for the Fulbright programs, academic exchanges and business meetings that have such a huge impact on foreigners' views of America. When new Fulbright programs for Iraq and Afghanistan were announced, for example, there was enormous enthusiasm and many applicants.

What is also needed is a more reasonable means of distinguishing legitimate visitors from terrorists. The immigration service could, for example, be much stricter about which institutions qualify to enroll foreign students -- leaving out flight schools, for example -- which would make it easier to rely on those institutions' judgment about who should receive a student or academic visitor's visa. Congress could insist that the State Department refund application money to those who are turned down and, better still, eliminate visa requirements for visitors from more countries that aren't security threats.

Embassies abroad should also look more closely at the atmosphere of their consular offices, which are often crowded, unpleasant places. It would help if more consular officers remembered that the visa service is often the first contact, and sometimes the only contact, that many foreigners have with the United States.