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GAO-04-708R 1 (2004-05-18)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptaqfw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: SGAO Accountability * Integrity Reliability United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 May 18, 2004 The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. Chairman Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives Subject: Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada Dear Mr. Chairman: On October 21, 2002, we reported that consular staff at posts around the world held different views on balancing national security and customer service in the process of adjudicating visas.' Since then, the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs has underscored the importance of visa operations in protecting our nation's security and implemented many changes in visa processing to tighten security screening for applicants worldwide. Because of Canada's proximity to the United States and the fact that many nationals from countries of concern apply for U.S. visas in Canada, you asked us to obtain the views of U.S. consular officers in Canada regarding the visa process. In response, we are providing information from consular staff who adjudicate U.S. visas in Canada regarding their perceptions of the importance of national security in the visa process, including impediments that could interfere with efforts to make security a top priority in visa processing. We interviewed 19 consular officers and managers at the four largest visa- issuing posts in Canada: the embassy in Ottawa and consulates in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. We conducted our work between January 2004 and March 2004 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 'A visa is a travel document that allows a foreign visitor to present himself or herself at a port of entry for admission to the United States. In this report, we use the term visa to refer to nonimmigrant visas only. The United States also grants visas to people who intend to immigrate to the United States. See U.S. General Accounting Office, Border Security: Visa Process Should Be Strengthened as an Antiterrorism Tool, GAO-03-132NI (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 21, 2002) for more information on the visa adjudication process. 'We interviewed all consular officers currently involved in nonimmigrant visa processing, plus some additional officers who had done such processing the year before. 3Mission Canada comprises the embassy in Ottawa; consulates in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Calgary, and Quebec City; and a U.S. presence in Winnipeg. The embassy and the six consulates issue nonimmigrant visas. Montreal issues both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. GAO-04-708R Visa Operations at U.S. Posts in Canada