Cracking down on visa security unit efforts

Last week, I renewed my efforts in pressing for information from the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security about the Visa Security Program that was to be in place at U.S. embassies around the world. Following 9/11, the newly created Department of Homeland Security was tasked with creating Visa Security Units to assist officials from the Department of State in screening visa applications for security concerns.  These units are intended to help screen people like the 9/11 hijackers who entered the country because the State Department approved their visa applications despite answers like "no" or "hotel" in the blank where they were supposed to put their U.S. destination.

It turns out that over the last eight years, only 14 of more than 220 foreign posts had established Visa Security Units.  In fact, at least one request to place the necessary personnel overseas went unanswered for well over a year. For example, the request to place visa security personnel in the U.S. embassy in Yemen had been pending since September of 2008.

I’ve been looking at the Visa Security Units since 2007 and renewed my request for information after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Christmas Day terrorist, received a U.S. visa in London and was allowed to retain it even after his father tried to warn U.S. officials in Nigeria.  Neither post has a Visa Security Unit. 

The night before a Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this week, I got word that the Department of Homeland Security had, at last, approved several visa security units and the requests were on their way to the State Department for final approval.  It seems obvious that the Homeland Security Department approved these requests because of the exposure brought by my letters of the inquiry and in anticipation of the Judiciary Committee hearing where a lot of questions would be asked. 

The department’s letter to me notifying me of the approval of several Visa Security Units was welcome, but I’m still interested in knowing more about why there was a delay in doing what was necessary to get visa security units operating all around the world.  I’ll be digging deeper into this as we work to keep our country safe.