Posted on: Monday, June 2, 2003

EDITORIAL
Visa scrutiny: caution leading to unfairness

Before Sept. 11, 2001, it was obvious that the United States was more comfortable admitting visitors from Europe than from Asia.

That comfort gap is now much wider as Washington orders face-to-face interviews by foreign service officers with millions of visa applicants who previously didn't merit such scrutiny.

It took a decade for the United States to conclude that it faced no harm by permitting visa-free visits by tourists from Japan and 27 other (mostly European) countries. That courtesy hasn't been altered by the security concerns aroused by 9-11.

But for any other country, face-to-face interviews will now be required of all visa applicants. Because the State Department won't receive more money or bodies to do the work, huge backlogs are expected. The hassle and delay will discourage foreign nationals from many countries from visiting the United States at a time when the economy is still struggling. It's also a big concern for universities with instructors and students from overseas.

Even worse, it's an unnecessarily demeaning requirement for long-time, steadfast and industrialized allies like South Korea and Taiwan.

The bottom line is, it didn't get harder for citizens from most European countries to visit the United States after 9-11, but it now will be much harder for would-be visitors from every Asian country except Japan.

Washington's bias is showing. Do authorities think terrorists won't be better prepared for the two- to three-minute interviews than most of the millions of legitimate applicants?