The United States plans to introduce mandatory interviews for most foreigners entering the country at embassies when issuing American visas. As reported last week by The Wall Street Journal, citing the White House administration, the plan is still in the development stage. It was created to prevent terrorists from entering the United States, as well as to establish clearer rules for the work of American consulates abroad. As State Department representatives explained to journalists, each of the 19 terrorists of September 11, 2001 received an American visa without a personal interview, simply by submitting documents to the embassy. According to the publication, the decision to complicate the visa issuance procedure was made as a result of consultations with the White House and the newly created US Department of Homeland Security.
According to the newspaper, today less than half of those applying for an American visa in developed countries undergo an interview at the embassy. However, with the entry into force of the new visa issuance mechanism, the vast majority of applicants will have to communicate with officers of diplomatic missions.
“We want about 90% of applicants to undergo interviews,” said White House press secretary Stuart Patt. The innovation will not affect only citizens of 27 countries (including Canada and many European states) who can enter the United States without a visa. Therefore, the plan of the American authorities has already caused concern among entrepreneurs, tourism and educational organizations. Many of them suggest that if US visa policy continues to develop in the same direction, it will soon lead to stricter issuance of entry documents.
According to employees of travel agencies directly working with the US embassy, there will be no significant changes in obtaining visas for our citizens. Because the vast majority already have to undergo a personal interview. Under the simplified scheme for obtaining an American visa, only those who had a multiple-entry visa to the US avoid this procedure.