United States Department of State

Washington, D.C. 20520

June 23, 2004

UNCLASSIFIED

MEMORANDUM FOR DANIEL MARCUS

GENERAL COUNSEL
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE
UNITED STATES

SUBJECT: National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the

United States Request for Documents Request No. 17

This is in response to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks

Upon the United States seventeenth request for Department of State
documents.

This second installment of material consists of two unclassified

documents in response to Request No. 17. State has already shared material
related to item number La. through e. of this request. The attached
documents are responsive to item number 2.e.

We hope this information is useful to you. As always, please do not

hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

Ho
Executive Secret

Attachments:
1. Index and Department of State documents
2. Incoming request

UNCLASSIFIED
 UNCLASSIFIED

9-11 COMMISSION DOCUMENT REQUEST NO. 17

(SECOND INSTALLMENT)
INDEX

Doc Date Subject Classification

June 15, 2004 (200411883) Reply to Correspondence from the Unclassified

President of Chamber of Commerce of the
United States

No Date Economic Effects of Failure to Meet Biometric Unclassified

Deadline

UNCLASSIFIED
ORIGINAL TO. ADDRESSEE VIA MAIL S/ES 200411883
DIST TO:

* -KWbWWl)
I .V.-'-'^JSttU, THE SECRETARY OF STATE

. ^_^« ^ WASHINGTON
M W^lMfP^P
June 15, 2004
^-~y ^i
S/P
PA Dear Mr. Dj:
PARE
S/BS
TMS Thank you for your letter of May 12 expressing your concerns, and those of
INR the business community, about the adverse impact visa delays may be having on
EB oureconomy.
ad ' ; • ' • • ' . ' ' . ' . - . . ' . ' ' • • • • : ' • • • ' ' " " . ' . • • • • ' . :

I am folly committed to the policy of "Secure Borders, Open Doors," which

encompasses the goal that I know you and I share: to protect national security
while facilitating legitimate international trade and travel. We are working hard
every day to accomplish this goal. All of us understand that openness is
fundamental to our success as a nation, and recognize the enormous contributions
that international: visitors make to our economy and society. To this end, the
Department of State is committed to processing visa applications in a secure,
efficient, and courteous manner.

We have instituted numerous changes since the September 11th attacks to

strengthen the security of our borders. At the same time, we are continually
engaged in discussions with other U.S. government agencies to minimize the
impact of security-related procedures on those whose travel we value. This is a
dynamic process, and the input and observations of key organizations like the
Chamber of Commerce are an important contribution.

; In the immediate aftermath of September 11, new border security measures

did lead to significant delays for many visa applicants, and hardship for their U.S.
sponsors. Since then, however, we have made considerable progress in reducing
security-related delays. Only two percent of all visa applications require additional
. security reviews in Washington. Of these, more than 80 percent are resolved
within 30 days. As I indicated, we are working with our interagency partners to
improve these figures. I also note that recent Department of Commerce figures for
international arrivals show a significant increase over last year - another positive
and welcome development.

Mr. Thomas J. Donohue,

President and CEO,
Chamber of Commerce,
United States of America,
, 1613 H Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20062.
; . . • • • ' • "'• ' . . ' '-2-, . . . . . . ;. ; . ';•' ' ;.'

The vast majority of visa refusals, however, are notmade on security

grounds, but rather on the basis of the applicant's failure to overcome the
presumption of immigrant intent contained in section 214(b) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act. This provision, which places the burden of proof on the
applicant, has existed for decades and was not altered by the events of
September 11. It is in precisely this area that the Chamber Of Commerce and its
affiliates abroad can best assist applicants hi making the strongest possible visa
applications. We encourage our consular sections abroad to work closely with
their local AmCham organizations to provide information about visa procedures
and how to prepare applications properly. This overseas dialogue is complemented
by the extensive and ongoing meetings that Assistant Secretary Harry and her
senior staff have held with the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council for
International Understanding (BCIU) and other key groups to explain the visa
process and address the business community's concerns.

While we continue to work hard to streamline the visa process and alleviate
;
needless delays, we have also sought to increase consular staff and resources at our
posts overseas. In this context, however, I should note that Secretary Ridge and I
recently appeared before the House Judiciary Committee to request a two-year
extension in the October 26, 2004, deadline for VWP countries to produce
biometric passports. Failure to secure this extension would significantly increase
the number of visas we would have to adjudicate in posts like London and Tokyo.
This would have tremendous resource implications for the State Department, but
also could have serious economic consequences for the United States as a whole. I
hope that Congress will grant a two-year extension of this deadline soon.

Thank you again for your letter and our continuing dialogue on these issues.
We welcome the opportunity for further consultation, as you suggest.

Si

Colin L. Powell
 200411883 Rev
United States Department of State

Washington, D. C. 20520

ACTION MEMORANDUM JUN 14 2004

S/ES

UNCLASSIFIED

TO: The Secretary

FROM: CA-Maura Harry

SUBJECT: Reply to Correspondence from the President of Chamber of

Commerce of the United States of America

Issue for Decision

• Whether to sign the attached letter to Mr. Donohue, President and

CEO of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America.

Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO of Chamber of Commerce of

the United States of America, sent both you and Secretary Ridge a letter
dated May 12 expressing concern about "loss of business" in the United
States due to delays in the visa process. He also made sweeping statements
that visa delays were eroding the U.S. lead in science, depressing
international student enrollment in U.S. schools, discouraging foreign
tourists, and hurting international cultural exchanges. Donahue concluded
by proposing the formation of a new advisory committee to find ways of
solving these problems.

Our response emphasizes our commitment to protecting national

security while at the same time facilitating legitimate international travel and
trade. It highlights the substantial progress we have made toward this goal
and the extensive consultations we have held with the business community
and other interest groups on visa issues. It also welcomes the continuation
of our productive dialogue with the Chamber and other elements of the
business community. Finally, it mentions your support for a two-year
extension in the deadline for VWP countries to produce biomerric passports.

UNCLASSIFIED
 UNCLASSIFIED
-2-

Recommendation

That you sign the attached reply to Mr. Donohue.

Approve tfC\A? Disapprove

Attachments:
Tab 1 - Proposed response to Mr. Donohue
Tab 2 - Incoming Letter from Mr. Donohue

UNCLASSIFIED
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 CHAMBEROFCOMMERCB 200411883
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA •/^^\S J. DONOHUE

PRESIDENT AND j ' f ? * WJcsSworrow, D.C. 20062-2000

CHIEF ExEcimvB OFFICER / ^ | 202/463-5300.202/463-5327 FA:

May 12,2004

The Honorable Colin L. Powell

Secretary
U.S. Department of State.
Harry S. Truman Building cpANNFD
2201 € Street, NW bOAlNNCU
Washington, DC 20520 . MAY 11200*

Dear Mr. Secretary:

On behalf of the business community, Fm itfriting to you and, separately, to

Secretary Ridge, to strongly request that the administration undertake a thorough
review of the current processes under which visas are granted to foreign travelers to
the United States. The delays and other problems in obtaining U.S. visas are a serious
tnreat to our economy and must be resolved. We're convinced that if the business
community and the administration work together, we can create a U.S. visa system
that meets our national security needs while facilitating legitimate international trade
and travel.

Since the tragic events of September 11,2001, our nation has struggled to strike
an appropriate balance between the need for security and the desire to maintain the
economic, social, and cultural benefits of an open and free society. We have not
achieved that balance with the visa system. Increasing numbers of Chamber members
report that delays and uncertainties in the visa application process are seriously
impacting their ability to conduct business.

For example, overseas customers are having difficulty entering the United
States to inspect and purchase American products or services. Key personnel from
multinational corporations are encountering numerous obstacles in entering the
United States to receive ttaining, conduct research, or participate in management
meetings. And increasingly, foreign tourists are avoiding the hassles of visiting the
United States and instead are choosing to spend their vacations at other tlesfihaii6ns.

'i'roblerps 'with th'e visa system are not limited to the business community.
Educational institutions report that foreign student applications are declining,
especially in the science and engineering disciplines, and a recent Carnegie Mellon .
The Honorable Colin L. Powell
May-12,2004-
Page Two

study has warned that this could adversely affect America's leadership role in
technology innovation. Our nation's world-class medical institutions say that they are
losing international patients because of delays in processing visas. Our arts and
entertainment communities are losing the benefits of international cultural exchange.

In addition, if implemented improperly, the U.S.-VISIT system could seriously

compound these problems. The circumstances of travel at land borders are
monumentally different than at airports or seaports and the .hurdles are immensely
higher: We could risk serious economic harm by impeding the billions of dollars in
cross-border trade and deterring the millions of legitimate visitors to our country. In
this sense, our visa and border operations must be viewed as a whole.

As we have noted in testimony before Congress, the reasons for denials and
delays of visa applications are hard to identify and isolate. There is no single
explanation that predominates. The general lack of predictability and transparency
can be as troublesome to our members as outright denials for apparently illogical
reasons. Whatever the reasons in a particular case, however, there is clearly a
problem.

Ultimately, the perception that America is simply too difficult to do business

with and too difficult to travel to will be irreversible. Customers from other countries
will do business with our international competitors, and tourist dollars will go
elsewhere. Highly qualified foreign students in the scientific field will attend
universities in other countries. We must reverse these trends before it's too late,

The business community can be of immense help to you and the administration
in resolving these difficult issues. I would like to propose that the State Department,
separately or in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security, create an
advisory group comprised of federal and private sector stakeholders to seek practical
solutions that will not compromise our national security.

The stakes for our nation, its security, and its economy are enormous. I hope
that you will accept my invitation to assist you.

Sim

Thomas J. Donohue
 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF FAILURE TO MEET BIOMETRIC
DEADLINE

Talking Points

• Failure to meet the deadline will delay or deter overseas visitors from VWP
countries from traveling to our country and thereby cost the U.S. economy
billions of dollars.

• If the deadline is not extended, upwards of 5 million more people a year

would have to apply for visas, leading to significant processing backlogs and
costs to the State Department.

• More importantly, it will further depress travel to the U.S. and will
negatively affect our travel and tourism industry that generates 7.2 million
American jobs ~ one of every 18 people in the civilian labor force ~ with
nearly $157 billion in payroll income.

• Travel and tourism exports are an important offset to our growing

merchandise trade deficit and one of our largest earners of foreign exchange.

• In 2000, nearly 26 million overseas visitors came to America, 17 million of

them through the VWP. By 2003, the number of overseas travelers to the
U.S. had fallen to 18 million, 12 million through the VWP.

• The travel and tourism trade surplus averaged $21 billion per year over the
decade leading up to 2001. By 2003, it had dropped to $3.5 billion. Travel
and tourism export sales fell from $103 billion in 2000 to $81 billion in
2003, a decline of 21 percent.

Issue Background

The dramatic decline in travel and tourism to the U.S. over the past three years is
due to a complex mix of factors: a global economic slowdown, an unwillingness to
travel because of security concerns, and U.S. border security procedures. With this
mixture of factors, it is very difficult to assess the effect on the travel and tourism
industry of removing the competitive edge provided by the Visa Waiver Program.
We do know, however, that further impediments to travel and tourism are the last
thing this industry or our economy needs.

UNCLASSIFIED
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 Background

A coalition of trade associations recently issued a press release and report

that assert that persistent problems in government handling of visas for foreign
business travelers have cost U.S. exporters more than $30 billion since July 2002.
The report also provides recommendations on how to improve the visa process.

The survey that serves as the basis for the cost estimate makes an
extrapolation from a relatively small sample of companies that may overestimate
the cost of visa delays/denials to all U.S. companies. The research firm that
conducted the study surveyed primarily companies that are members of the trade
associations that sponsored the study, thereby introducing sampling bias to the
results. A more scientific study would have used a random sample from the entire
universe of U.S. companies engaged in foreign trade in order to avoid such
sampling bias. The study extrapolated the losses of 49 companies to the general
population of 238,284 U.S. exporting companies, thus arriving at the figure of
$30.71 billion.

Most of the recommendations offered in the report (Tab 1) are already in

effect. For instance, the report recommends that "the goal for visa processing
should be 48 hours with an outside limit of 30 days," a standard we are already
meeting in most cases. Cases that are delayed beyond the 30 day periodare the
result of waiting for a final response from the FBI or a report from the CIA, or an
in-depth Mantis review by the NP Bureau which often needs to consult with other
agencies. The average time for the Visa Office to clear a Mantis case that has
been cleared by all screening entities is 20 calendar days from receipt of the
security advisory opinion request. This is remarkable as the standard for
processing these cases is 15 business days.

There are several proposals before the Homeland Security Council, which
CA and STAS strongly support, to increase the clearance validity time period for
Mantis cases which could have the effect of reducing the 20,000 annual number of
Mantis cases by half. Another proposal is to remove the FBI as an active clearer of
Mantis cases and make them a silent partner. This would greatly reduce the
instance of Mantis cases being delayed as the FBI is responsible for holding up the
vast majority of cases that are delayed.

UNCLASSIFIED
 UNCLASSIFIED
2
Although the methodology used in the study may be flawed, we can use it to
further our efforts to seek future reform of the visa process to lessen the burden of
new regulations on legitimate travelers and the adverse impact the process can
have on the U.S. economy. Since September of 2001, we have worked closely
with other USG agencies to balance visa policies that protect the U.S. without
putting undue burden on its economic interests. We are actively engaged in
constructive discourse with the Business Council for International Understanding
(BCIU) and other business groups to explain the visa process and to work with
them to improve procedures. The Department has also established an interagency
working group to address international travel perceptions and clarify
misconceptions. We will continue to seek input from the private sector and will
work with them, at home and abroad, in a constructive manner to accomplish our
mutual goals.

UNCLASSIFIED
 UNCLASSIFIED
3
Recommendations and CA's Response

• The goal for visa processing should be 48 hours with an outside limit of 30
days.

The Department is already well within the report's recommended goal. In fact, 98
percent of visa applications result in an immediate decision. For the remaining two
percent, which are generally subject to interagency security reviews in
Washington, 80 percent are decided in fewer than 30 days.

• Consular posts should provide greater transparency to U.S. companies.

Consular posts already provide great transparency in the visa process. Visa-
processing posts work closely with American Chambers of Commerce in their host
countries. The Department interacts with the BCIU and conducts outreach to other
business organizatons (NSN note: S remarks to US Chamber of Commerce; CA
upcoming remarks to Wash. Int'l. Trade Assoc.) to explain the process and
improve procedures.

• A "Gold Card" program -would facilitate visa applications and avoid problems
and redundancies before they occur.

In the visa world the premier "trusted traveler" program is in fact a full-validity
multiple-entry visa. It is in fact our policy to issue multiple-entry, long-term visas
whenever possible and this will go a long way toward assisting frequent business
travelers to the U.S. in the coming years. We don't see the advantage of trying to
establish a new visa category or separate processing stream for commercial
travelers. Instead, we are focusing on ways to process cases more efficiently
within the current structure.

• Continued integration of government databases is essential.

We fully concur and the USG has made significant progress after 9/11 with
integrating data and government databases.

• Multiple-entry, longer duration visas would lessen consular workloads.

The report does not recognize the importance of reciprocity in setting the terms of
visas. The United States grants a visa with a term of duration equivalent to that

UNCLASSIFIED
 UNCLASSIFIED
4
granted U.S. citizens by the other country. Citizens of most countries have multi-
year, multiple-entry visas, with the exceptions being the result of lack of
reciprocity for U.S. citizens. China has been offered a longer-term, multiple-entry
visa for its tourists and business people but has yet to respond positively to a
request that similar terms be afforded U.S. citizens.

• Consular posts should allow interviews to be scheduled over the Internet.

The report's suggestion that appointments be set over the Internet is already being
tried by some posts where the technology permits it. More than 35 posts facilitate
the provision of information and scheduling of appointments through call centers
and courier companies. The call centers are exploring offering potential applicants
the option of accessing visa information and appointments on line in addition to
talking to a customer service representative.

• Congress should exercise its oversight authority to ensure improvements in

consular services.

Congress already exercises careful oversight of improvements in consular services.

Senior Consular Affairs management testify frequently before various committees
in both the House and the Senate.

UNCLASSIFIED