1 month ago
Applicants seeking a impermanent visa to nan United States must now show a consular serviceman that they person not knowledgeable harm and do not fearfulness returning to their location country, according to caller guidance issued from nan authorities department. If they reply yes aliases diminution to respond to either question, nan chance they will beryllium denied will skyrocket.
The Guardian obtained a authorities section cablegram which instructs officers astatine each US embassy and consulate globally to amend their process and inquire applicants to affirm they do not fearfulness mistreatment if they return location arsenic a prerequisite for nan question and reply to continue.
The 2 caller questions are: “Have you knowledgeable harm aliases mistreatment successful your state of nationality aliases past habitual residence?” and “Do you fearfulness harm aliases mistreatment successful returning to your state of nationality?”.
The directive claims that nan caller process is designed to trim down connected what nan section claims are group misrepresenting themselves during nan visa process.
“The precocious number of aliens claiming asylum successful nan United States indicates that galore aliens misrepresent this volition to consular officers successful nan visa exertion process and astatine US ports of entry,” nan directive reads, “and that accusation collected from visa applicants nether existent guidance is inadequate to place those applicants who fearfulness harm aliases mistreatment successful returning to their location country.”
The cablegram was first reported by nan Washington Post. It comes aft a national appeals tribunal ruled that Donald Trump’s invocation of an “invasion” astatine nan confederate separator to curtail asylum seekers was unlawful, a determination that efficaciously reopens nan United States to migrants fleeing persecution abroad.
The authorities section issued nearly 11m non-immigrant visas successful fiscal twelvemonth 2024, and nan latest information for 2025 is still being processed. The class covers everyone from group connected picnic and assemblage students to H-1B tech workers, seasonal farmhands and business executives.
Under some US rule and nan 1951 Refugee Convention, nan correct to activity asylum is not conditional connected really personification enters nan state aliases what they told a visa officer.
But Tuesday’s argumentation creates a screening system that would select retired victims of persecution, including home maltreatment survivors, journalists who person received decease threats aliases members of a persecuted belief minority, earlier they ever scope US soil, sloppy of whether their stated intent of recreation is legitimate.
There is besides a consequence of perjury. An applicant who correctly fears return but answers “no” to get a visa has made a worldly misrepresentation to a national officer, which is simply a crime that carries a imperishable barroom from nan United States.
The directive cites executive bid 14161, signed by Trump connected his first time successful agency successful January 2025. The bid directed national agencies to heighten immigration screening and vetting to forestall introduction of individuals deemed imaginable information threats.
A reappraisal it mandated led to a White House proclamation successful June 2025 suspending introduction wholly for nationals of 12 countries and imposing partial restrictions connected 7 more.
The US issued a separate directive successful March of past twelvemonth ordering consular offices to grow screening of student visa applicants – including societal media vetting – to barroom those they deem of engaging successful “terrorist activity”, which galore took to mean supporting Palestine.
The cablegram besides cross-references classified operational guidance held connected soul authorities section systems, meaning nan afloat scope of nan caller argumentation remains chartless extracurricular nan department.
The authorities section did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.
