JEDDAH, 2 October 2003 — The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed that it is directly involved in the processing of US visa in the Kingdom as a “forward-based defense” against possible acts of terrorism, while Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said one of the most “painful consequences” of the Sept. 11 attacks was the effect of new security measures in the United States, which are doing “great damage” to people-to-people contact between Americans and Saudis.
“Virtually every Saudi family has a member who is a student, a medical patient, a businessman or a tourist in the US. The difficulties they encounter obtaining a visa, and the process they go through when they arrive in the US, brought this interaction almost to a standstill,” he told the US-Arab Economic Forum in Detroit.
Undersecretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson has confirmed that all Saudi visa applications are being reviewed by DHS personnel since a memorandum of understanding between the US State Department and the DHS came into effect. “The law requires that DHS personnel be assigned to Saudi Arabia to review 100 percent of visa applications once the visa MOU becomes effective,” he said.
On Tuesday, US Embassy spokesman John Burgess told the Associated Press: “This is not exclusive to Saudi Arabia. They (DHS agents) have been sent to other countries as well. It just happens they were sent here first.”
But tightened US visa procedures and homeland security measures continue to affect both Saudis and foreigners living in the Kingdom.
Muhammad, a 20-year-old Saudi, was studying computer science in the US when his student visa was suddenly canceled and he was told to leave.
“The INS called me and said that I had to leave because I was short of the required credits needed to be a full-time student,” he told Arab News. “When I returned home to reapply I heard of the new visa regulations, and that some of my friends had been rejected. I decided it would be an enormous burden, and wasn’t worth going through with,” he added.
Dr. Khalilur Rahman, an assistant internist at a Jeddah hospital, told Arab News: “When I went to the US Consulate to apply for visas for me and my father so he could go for emergency medical treatment in the US, I submitted all required forms and paid the non-refundable SR380 fee. Ten minutes later, I was interviewed, and my application was promptly rejected, without any justification.”
The official would not clarify the reason for rejecting the application. “When I asked to be told the reason, the interviewing officer said he couldn’t tell me why. Perhaps he thought I was a terrorist because I have a beard and am a Pakistani who has lived in Saudi Arabia for five years.”
“I was told that I can appeal this decision, but I would have to pay another non-refundable SR380. It’s fair enough if they want to deny my visa application, but what’s this business of the non-refundable SR380? Is that a fair deal?”
The consulate or embassy provides a letter that helps explain in general terms why a visa was rejected, and what possible avenues an applicant can take.
According to the US Consulate in Jeddah, each application is considered on its own merits and is subject to all required security processing. Approvals and denial depends directly on the qualifications of the applicant. Lack of preparedness is cited as the main reason that applications are rejected, with questions being answered incompletely or incorrectly.
Those denied can appeal by submitting a letter explaining why they feel the rejection was mistaken. After review, the consul makes a final decision. If rejected again, the applicant is ineligible to apply for one year.
The US State Department does not keep records of numbers of Saudis or other nationalities entering the US, but the consulate has indicated that visa applications are at 30 percent of what they were prior to Sept. 11.
