State Department clarifies visa policy for foreign scientists

A US State Department official has clarified a visa processing policy, saying that people applying for visas to enter the US do not have to leave their passports with consular offices while awaiting approval. Applicants have typically been leaving their passports with consular officers for the duration of the application process, making it impossible for them to travel internationally while waiting for the US visa.

In an e-mail to Amy Flatten, director of international affairs for the American Physical Society, Stephen "Tony" Edson, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary of visa services, said it is not necessary for consular officials to keep passports during visa processing, "and travelers should feel free to ask for their passports back."

"The only relatively minor inconvenience will be for applicants to return their passports to the consular section once they are cleared so that the visa can be issued," he wrote. "No traveler should ever have to defer or miss travel because we are holding their passport for visa issuance."

The clarification is important for non-US physicists and other scientists who, because of the nature of their work, are often subject to a more rigorous investigation before a visa is granted. That investigation, known as a Mantis review, caused visa delays in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and can take several weeks to complete. It is triggered when the visa applicant is involved in work related to any of a long list of items on the State Department's technology alert list.

Edson's e-mail to clarify the policy can be found at http://www.aps.org/rograms/international/visa/assport.cfm. Flatten said scientists applying for visas should take a copy of the e-mail with them to their US consulate.