U.S. Embassy on watch for drugs links
by Robert Bazil
THE United States Embassy here is on watch for drugs links with persons applying for visas and does not need a court conviction to turn down an applicant, a top official says. Asked whether persons have been refused visas because they are believed to be involved in drugs, Consul Mr Vincent Principe said the embassy is bound by laws and there have been some cases. The embassy would tell the applicant that "there is strong information that you are involved in drugs", he explained in an interview with the Chronicle last week. Unlike other crimes where applicants are turned down because of a court conviction, with drugs all the embassy needs is strong reason to believe that the person is involved or is tied to a scheme involved in the trafficking of drugs, he said. In each case the individual is told of his ineligibility at the embassy, he explained. Additionally, persons who fail HIV tests, mandatory for immigrant visas under the medical terms of the immigration law, are ineligible. However, the U.S. Immigration Department may grant waivers in cases of married spouses so as to reunite the family but there are still problems. Even though the immigration department may grant the waiver, there is an added burden with the finances that persons might now not be able to overcome, Principe said. Stating that the cost of having such a person in the U.S. will be tremendous, he stressed that the HIV positive person has to show the money because it costs US$100,000 to US$200,000 a year for drugs and treatment. "We have to see where that money will be coming from and if they do not show us that they have someone available to back them up financially, then they would be ineligible under the Immigration Act," he pointed out. He said there is a small number of cases every month, adding that the embassy's panel of physicians has a memorandum of understanding of what their requirements are and what the embassy is looking for in the visa medical. All adults must get an HIV test before an immigrant visa is issued and some people learned for the first time that they had HIV when they went for their visa medical and were shocked, Principe said.
For the fiscal year October 1, 1998 to September 30, 1999, there were 12,644 tourist applications and 5,686 were issued, he reported. For immigrant visas, 2,034 were issued from 7,729 applications. However, this does not mean that all of the 5,695 applicants turned down will never qualify, Principe said, adding that the high refusal rate was a result of the inadequate financial documents (Affidavit of Support) from the petitioners. "Had they had those documents to begin with, they would have been in the issued category...so it's not a question of them being refused because they are criminals or we don't want them, but it's a question of qualifying," he explained. Principe feels the mission here leads the others worldwide on public information. He knows of no other U.S. embassy in the world that has as much public information than the one here, he told the Chronicle. "I think the American Embassy in Guyana is in the forefront in public information, in technology and with the media," he said. "...No question, we are one of the leading American embassies worldwide that has all these technological facilities, and the outreach programme where consul officers go before the media and have a monthly column (in the newspapers)," he added. He pointed to the website established by the embassy where people can get loads of information. "We are probably one of the best websites (WWW.USEMBGUYANA.COM) in all of the U.S. embassies...and we are in the forefront of our technical information," he said. Principe noted that recently the embassy entered into an arrangement with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) where callers can get specific information. Under the arrangement, a telephone operator on number 888-8888 can pull up the files of persons being sponsored and deliver information immediately. In the past, many people wrote the embassy and this was taking time away from officers processing visas and responses took a long time, he explained. The Consul is also happy with the current arrangement with Citizens Bank to handle the appointments system and receipt of U.S. tourist (non-immigrant) visa applications which started in October 1998. The system was introduced to allow the embassy staff to concentrate more on getting visas processed and not do all the paper work involved, he explained. Principe also alluded to the monthly Consul's Corner in the main newspapers to share information with the public. He indicated that many improvement proposals announced in 1998 have come to fruition.
The embassy realised that it was not proper for people to stand on the street while waiting to enter the compound, so a sidewalk was built along the fence outside and an area inside the embassy that was open to the sun has been shaded. The visa waiting room has been decorated and now has television sets that show cartoons and adult programmes, he said. Principe reported that information facilities have been improved and there is now an automated telephone system at the embassy that provides basic details. On complaints from the public about delays, the Consul feels it is unacceptable that people should be waiting as long as six months and up to a year for immigrant visas. Unfortunately, he said, a lot of this is beyond his control and is the fault of the sponsor. The embassy has been letting the media know what it has been facing by the Consul's Corner in the newspapers and the embassy's website, which has helped stem the tide of any negative complaint, he reiterated. "Yes we know that people are upset, but I think if we did not have this outreach programme and people didn't understand what is happening, we certainly would be having an outcry, which we don't because we let the people know what our problems are," he said. The official maintained that until the public and the sponsors can get the new Affidavit of Support done correctly there will still be a problem. "If they can make a turnaround on that, we are going to be able to issue the visas on the spot and we are going to have no backlog or little backlog, then there wouldn't be any complaints," he said. Petitioners are required to submit an Affidavit of Support accompanied by proof of three years' tax returns and tax statements. While there has not been a dramatic increase in applications these have been steady, he said. Referring to the waiting period for immigrant visas, Principe said that when he started in his career 20 years ago, the priority date was five years for a brother petitioning for another brother. But over the years the wait in that category has extended to 11 years. Stating that categories across-the-board have gotten longer, Principe emphasised that previously a green card holder petitioning for a spouse overseas was not too long a wait, but it is now up to five years. This increased wait is a result of more petitions in the United States because of more immigrants going in, he said. On the non-immigrant visas, since the US$45 processing fee went into effect the embassy has tried to explain to the public that this has nothing to with whether applicants get the visa or not. This is a requirement all over the world where anyone wanting a tourist visa has to pay the US$45 fee which Principe said is used to purchase computer equipment employed in issuing visas, processing the applications and putting digital photographs on computer. Principe told the Chronicle that like any company in the United States, when operational systems are upgraded, the cost of doing business is passed on to the customer. "The Federal Government has now come to that same conclusion that you have to pass the cost on to the customer," he said, adding that it is a processing fee for an officer to screen the application and other operational costs. (ROBERT BAZIL)
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