Four months to the date after the 11 September atrocities the US Embassy London together with US Embassies worldwide instituted a new form to assist America in its fight against terrorism. Such new form is titled "Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application" and is a US Department of State form, form number DS 157. It is required of all male nonimmigrant visa applicants aged 16 through age 45. It is also required of all nonimmigrant visa applicants regardless of gender or age who hold Chinese, Cuban, Iranian, Iraqi, Libyan, Russian, Somali, Sudanese and Vietnamese passports. For such nationalities Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application DS 157 replaces the old form NIV27a.
The impact of DS 157 was immediate as per a State Department directive it was introduced worldwide with immediate effect. Hence, all nonimmigrant visa applicants whose applications were then pending were required to complete such DS 157. Their application processing was suspended pending completion of such form. The DS 157 is in addition to the DS 156 Nonimmigrant Visa Application which is required of all nonimmigrant visa applicants. Note this new form will not affect the vast majority of British, Western European and other nationalities who enter the States as tourists under visa waiver as there is no requirement for visa waiver entrants to complete any visa application including the new DS 157. Visa waiver only applies to entries for a maximum of 90 days. Visa waiver entrants, as before, merely complete the form I-94W arrival/departure record prior to entering into the United States.
The new form DS 157 consists of 18 questions which are in addition to those found on the DS 156. Question 1 "Last Name(s)" should read as question 1 of the DS 156, "Surname (As in Passport)" plus if you sometimes spell your surname differently all spellings of the name should be listed. The same applies for your given name. Most British nationals may be at a loss as to how to respond to question 4 "Clan or Tribe Name". For them it is generally inapplicable, however, a Scot can clearly insert the name of his clan if he knows it.
The most burdensome question for frequent travellers is question 9 "List All Countries You Have Entered in the Last Ten Years (Give the Year of Each Visit)". It is recommended that applicants review their current passport and prior passports, where applicable, before completing such question. Where the applicant does not have all the information to hand in the passport or where entries may not be included in one's passport eg. entries into other European Union countries by a British passport holder, the applicant should make his best efforts to provide all details.
It is important to read question 12 carefully "Not Including Current Employer, List Your Last Two Employers". Information with regard to your current employer is set forth in questions 15 to 18 of the regular DS 156. Note that the DS 157 asks for the name of your supervisor and dates of employment which is not requested on the DS 156.
It is clear from particularly questions 14 through 16: "Do You Have Any Specialized Skills or Training, Including Firearms, Explosives, Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical Experience?", "Have You Ever Performed Military Service?" and " Have You Ever Been in an Armed Conflict, Either as a Participant or Victim?" that this new form DS 157 is here to elicit information relevant to a potential terrorist. It would be too cynical to think that all potential terrorists will simply lie. It is clear that anyone making the application will need to fully complete the form in order for their visa application to be processed. It is the position of the US Embassy London and confirmed by a senior Embassy spokesman that all DS 157 forms should be completed directly by the applicant himself and not by the applicant's agent or representative. Note the DS 157 does not need to be signed but the DS 156 to which the DS 157 is a supplement requires a signature and is signed under penalties of perjury.
Question 18 asks "Have You Made Specific Travel Arrangements? If YES, please provide a complete itinerary for your travel, including arrival/departure dates, flight information, specific location you will visit, and a point of contact at each location." A full and detailed response is requested. As a senior Embassy spokesman noted it might sometimes be difficult to provide a point of contact at each location where, for example, one might be hiring a recreational vehicle to go cross country from say New York to California.
The new form does take additional consular time to process and hence adds to the time burden of nonimmigrant visa consular processing. However, a senior Embassy official was able to confirm that the Embassy currently has sufficient staff to meet the additional processing burden of the DS 157 without impacting significantly on processing time.
It is a small price to pay if such form does, as it should, aid America in its fight against terrorism by increasing the data available to the State Department and other US government agencies. Indeed what is quite remarkable has been the mild response to date to the 11 September tragedies with regard to consular processing. The visa waiver program which allows millions of Britons and some 28 other nationalities including Western Europe (except Greece), Argentina, Australia, Brunei, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and Uruguay to enter the States without any visa formalities is not affected. Hence, Richard Reid, the British citizen who was arrested seeking to cause an explosion on board an American Airlines jet bound for Florida with plastic explosives in shoes would not be impacted. There have been calls for fingerprinting or the taking of some biometric identifier of all non immigrant visa applicants. However, to date such suggestions have not been implemented. The delicate balance between freedom of travel in an international, global economy and America's legitimate need to protect itself against foreign terrorism requires careful and continuing assessment. America's response to date has been measured. As President Bush stated in his State of the Union address "Our war on terror is well begun, but it is only begun".
