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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 9, 2004

SCHUMER: STATE DEPT MAY BE CONSIDERING PLAN TO RELAX VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR SAUDIS

State Dept memo says strict visa policies put in place after 9/11 are keeping Saudis from visiting US; Memo fails to address security considerations

Schumer urges Powell to reject any effort to relax visa policies for Saudis

A diplomatic cable from the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia to the State Department suggests that the comprehensive vetting procedures put in place for Saudi Arabian citizens seeking to enter the United States should be relaxed, US Senator Charles Schumer said today. Schumer urged the Secretary of State to reject any effort to relax the visa requirements.

"Considering that 15 of the 19 hijackers responsible for the 9/11 attacks came from Saudi Arabia, it's tough to even contemplate relaxing the visa requirements on Saudis trying to enter the US," Schumer said. "Last time I checked, the Saudis were still financing madrassah schools that teach their students to hate America and they've been connected to the spread of extremist Wahhabism. So for the folks at our embassy in Saudi Arabia to talk about easing visa restrictions without even mentioning security is really beyond the pale. Someone has their priorities out of whack if they think we should loosen visa restrictions just to satisfy commercial interests."

The November 3, 2003 cable from the US Embassy in Riyadh to the Secretary of State asserts that the strict visa policy is having an adverse affect on the American economy and is inflicting long-term harm on the US-Saudi relationship by limiting commercial and personal exchanges between the two countries. It claims Saudis are no longer coming to the US for study, medical treatment or vacation because of the “attitude and perceived arbitrariness in the application of new procedures.” It even frets about the loss of American cultural influence over Saudi Arabia to Europe, fearing “Saudi families will buy Nutella instead of peanut butter.”

In a letter to Powell, Schumer wrote that the attitude of the cable's author "shows a potentially reckless misunderstanding of the circumstances that currently exist in Saudi Arabia and the threat terrorists there pose to Americans. Recent events, including two major bombings in Riyadh, clearly illustrate that the Kingdom remains a hot bed of extremist belief and terrorist activity. Accordingly, I would like to know who wrote the cable, the purpose of the communication, and if it was drafted in response to a direction from a more senior State Department official."
A State Department requirement put in place in July 2002 required Saudi citizens to be interviewed by a State Department consular officer, undergo a security check that compares biographical data against government terrorist watch lists, and provide biometric information including fingerprints and a digital photograph.

Before these requirements were put in place, screening procedures of Saudi citizens were much less stringent. An innovation called the Visa Express program allowed Saudi citizens to apply for visas through third-party handlers such as travel agencies. As a result, fewer than 50% of Saudis applying for visas as part of this process were interviewed by consular officials. A GAO study found that at least 13 of the 15 hijackers from Saudi Arabia were never interviewed by US consular officers before they were granted visas and none had filled in his application properly. Three hijackers obtained their documents through travel agents through Visa Express.

According to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the acknowledged mastermind of the 9-11 attacks and suspected to be member of al Qaeda even before the attacks took place, used the visa express program to enter the United States in July of 2001. Although Mohammed was born in Kuwait, he used an alias and Saudi passport to get his visa, suggesting that he was aware of the weaknesses of the vetting process for Saudi citizens.

For a copy of Schumer's letter to Secretary Powell please click here.

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