Tightening the rules on legal immigrants

Until Sept. 11, Mohamed Atta was just another face in the crowd as far as the United States government was concerned. He entered the country perfectly legally in July 2001 as a nonimmigrant visitor and was still legal the morning he boarded American Airlines flight 11. His role with Islamic extremist groups in Hamburg Germany was unknown.

What's more, his situation was not uncommon. Among the 19 hijackers who boarded flights that day, 13 had entered the country in normal fashion - filling out all the forms, answering all the questions for student and visitor visas. And that is what has many people here shaking their heads.

For years, the Washington immigration debate has focused on the US's thousands of miles of unprotected borders and the quiet, undetected masses that slip into the country under cover of night or in the backs of trucks.

But the open, obvious way Mr. Atta and 12 others entered the US has exposed another huge hole in the nation's immigration system - on the legal side. Authorities are suddenly rethinking what changes in policy might be needed, starting with the most basic rules of granting visas.

More than 7 million people entered the country last year on visas, and some experts believe that if the government had been watching this group more closely, the Sept. 11 attacks might never have happened.

"Closer scrutiny would have made a difference, because dozens of people were involved," says Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies. "We can't get them all, but all you would need to do is get a few."

A restructuring of the way visas are granted has had several false starts, but it now seems inevitable. Most foreign nationals need visas to enter the US even as tourists - and they can get them with relative ease. Applicants for student and visitor visas simply fill out forms, provide pictures, and sit through what are often brief interviews. Fingerprints are not taken, and security checks are cursory at best.

The problem, says Mr. Camarota, is that the Bureau of Consular Affairs, which sorts through the applications, is short-staffed, and the workers it does have are judged by the number of interviews they conduct, not the rigor of the questioning.

Added to that mix is the relative inexperience of the people in those posts. Many of those working in the "Consular Corps" are newly-assigned, low-level Foreign Service hires who are not necessarily well trained. "This is the first stop for many who enter the Foreign Service," says Mark Miller, a political science professor and immigration expert at the University of Delaware.

Even if an application is denied, the lack of coordination between consulates means rejected candidates can simply "consulate hop" - try another office using a different name.

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