J. Scott Applewhite / AP
President Trump is ordering tougher screenings for vsa applicants as part of his "extreme vetting" policy. Last week Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent four cables to U.S. embassies and consular officials demanding scrutiny be tightened up, as originally reported by Reuters.
The new rules don't apply to 38 countries who can be admitted using the visa waiver program, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and most of Europe.
Profiling and delays: This will include "mandatory social media check" if an applicant has been in a territory controlled by ISIS. Such checks are rarely done at present, former officials told Reuters. Consular officials and immigration experts told the NYT this will make it much more common to be denied a Visa to the U.S. and they fear this might lead to profiling based on nationality. It will likely also extend Visa review times.
Context:
The cables were issued to complement the travel ban that was upended by a court in Hawaii, but some provisions were remedied to abide by the temporary restraining order. Namely, questions specifically aimed at applicants from the six countries listed in the ban were rescinded.