The Homeland Security Act of 2002 established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and gave it responsibility for visa policy. Section 428 of the act also authorized DHS to immediately assign personnel to Saudi Arabia to review all visa applications prior to final adjudication, as well as the future assignment of officers to other locations overseas to review visa applications. In August 2003, DHS created the Office of International Enforcement within the Border and Transportation Security Directorate, to implement these requirements. In the same month, four temporary DHS officers were deployed to Saudi Arabia to begin reviewing all visa applications. In September 2003, DHS and State signed a Memorandum of Understanding to govern the implementation of section 428. This agreement broadly defines the DHS officers’ responsibilities in reviewing visa applications, indicating, in particular, that they will provide expert advice to consular officers regarding specific security threats relating to visa adjudication, specifically by gathering and reviewing intelligence relevant to visa adjudication and providing training to consular officers on terrorist threats and detecting applicant fraud; review applications on their own initiative or at the request of consular officers, and provide input on or recommend security advisory opinion requests; and conduct investigations on consular matters under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Homeland Security. Several other agencies stationed overseas have roles in the visa adjudication process. For example, the State Department Diplomatic Security Bureau’s regional security officers assist the consular section by investigating passport and visa fraud detected through the consular officers’ reviews of visa applications and supporting documents. In addition, officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation overseas can assist consular officers when questions about an applicant’s potential criminal history arise during adjudication. DHS’s Bureaus of Citizenship and Immigration Services and Customs and Border Protection have responsibility for some immigration and border security programs overseas. For example, consular officers may seek advice from these officials on issues such as DHS procedures at U.S. ports of entry. In October 2003, DHS designated its Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to handle the operational and policy-making responsibilities outlined in section 428 (e) and (i). Subsequently, ICE created an office to oversee the Visa Security Program. Since the assignment of VSOs to Saudi Arabia in 2003 until May 2005, DHS has spent about $4 million for Visa Security Program operations at headquarters and overseas, of which approximately $2 million was spent on operations in Saudi Arabia. Figure 1 provides a timeline for the establishment and implementation of the visa security program. In August 2004, the DHS Office of Inspector General reported on the planning and implementation of the VSOs’ activities in Saudi Arabia. The report was based on observations beginning in July 2003, at which time DHS was in the early stages of designing the Visa Security Program. (DHS officers did not arrive in Saudi Arabia until August 31, 2003.) According to the Inspector General, DHS operations at the time of the review were not as efficient or effective as they could be due to the use of temporary officers in Saudi Arabia, a lack of specialized training and foreign language proficiency, and the lack of a clear plan for the VSOs. The Inspector General recommended that DHS hire permanent officers, develop a visa security training program, and establish criteria for selecting VSOs. According to the Inspector General’s office, DHS has taken steps to implement these recommendations, but as of July 8, 2005, six remain open. According to embassy officials in Saudi Arabia and DHS officials, the VSOs enhance homeland security through their review of visa applications at posts in Saudi Arabia. However, several factors have hindered the program, including a lack of comprehensive data on the VSOs’ activities and results in Riyadh and Jeddah to demonstrate the program’s overall impact at these posts. VSOs in Saudi Arabia provide an additional law enforcement capability to the visa adjudication process. VSOs have access to and experience using important law enforcement information not readily available to consular officers. Moreover, VSOs’ border security and immigration experience can assist consular officers during the visa process. According to State Department consular officers, the deputy chief of mission, and DHS officials, VSOs in Saudi Arabia enhance the security of the visa adjudication process at these consular posts. In particular, the consular sections in Riyadh and Jeddah have incorporated the VSOs’ review of all visa applications into the adjudication process (see fig. 2). After consular officers interview an applicant and review the relevant supporting documentation, they make a preliminary determination about whether to issue or refuse the visa or refer the case to Washington for additional security clearances. Consular officers may consult with VSOs during this initial determination. According to the VSOs, within 24 hours of this initial determination by consular officers, they review the application and inspect the applicant’s documentation for evidence of fraud or misrepresentation, indicators of potential national security risks, criminal activity, and potential illegal immigration risks. VSOs may also query the applicant’s information against a number of law enforcement, immigration, and other databases, which may contain more detail than the consular officers’ name check results. Based on these reviews, the VSOs will either affirm or oppose the consular officer’s original decision, and the consular officer then decides to issue or deny the visa. If the consular section chief and the VSOs disagree on a case, it is sent to DHS, where the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with State officials, will render a final determination. According to a consular official in Saudi Arabia at the time of our visit in February 2005, no case has ever been sent back to Washington for such a decision. In addition to reviewing applications, the VSOs may conduct secondary interviews with some visa applicants based either on findings from their application reviews or a consular officer’s request. For example, DHS officials in Riyadh reported that the VSOs, in cooperation with intelligence officials at post, interviewed an applicant who had ties to an organization of national security concern to the U.S. government. This individual was denied a visa after the interview based upon the VSO’s determination of the potential threat the individual posed to the United States. We also observed the VSOs conduct a secondary interview with an applicant they had identified as a concern through their physical review of the visa application. VSOs have access to and experience using immigration and law enforcement databases not readily available to consular officers, who are not classified as criminal justice, or law enforcement, personnel. Consular officers rely on information contained in the Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS) to adjudicate a visa. As law enforcement agents, the VSOs can access detailed criminal history records and immigration information not included in CLASS. For example, the VSOs have access to criminal history records contained in the National Crime Information Center’s Interstate Identification Index, which cannot be directly accessed by consular officers. The VSOs also use databases containing information on employers and businesses, hotel reservation information, and sponsors of applicants seeking temporary work visas. They can use these databases to verify, for instance, an applicant’s claim to be working for a particular business. Consular officials at headquarters and in the field believe this data would be useful to them in the adjudication process, particularly at the other posts worldwide that do not have VSOs. Indeed, consular officials in Washington indicated that they are working with DHS to gain access to these databases. In Riyadh, we observed a VSO assist a consular officer review a potential “hit” in CLASS for an applicant in Riyadh. The applicant claimed that, during a trip to the United States, border inspectors refused him entry to the country even though he had a valid visa. At the consular officer’s request, we observed the VSO search a database and inform the consular officer that the applicant at the window had been placed on the “No-Fly” list—information that was not specified in CLASS—since the issuance of the initial visa and was therefore ineligible for another visa. In addition, the VSOs in Riyadh conduct searches on applicants’ names prior to their interviews with consular officers and provide more detailed information on potential matches obtained from these searches of law enforcement databases. Consular officers indicated that this practice helps them tailor their questioning of applicants. Furthermore, the VSOs in Saudi Arabia interact with consular officers on a real-time basis. We observed consular officers ask the VSOs for assistance during interviews, for example, to clarify questions pertaining to potential criminal hits in CLASS. By contrast, in other embassies, consular officers must request additional information from other DHS overseas offices or from Washington. According to DHS, the VSOs’ law enforcement experience and training and knowledge of immigration law enables them to more effectively identify applicants who are potential threats to U.S. national security, as well as identify potentially fraudulent documents submitted by applicants. Since the Inspector General’s report in 2004, DHS has developed criteria for selecting VSOs, which includes certain levels of law enforcement and counterterrorism experience, as well as knowledge of immigration law and experience working overseas. In addition, VSOs have experience and training in detecting fraudulent documents. The Memorandum of Understanding between State and DHS states that VSOs at consular posts will provide antifraud training to consular officers, among other things. This training is particularly useful given that State does not have full-time fraud prevention officers at all of its consular posts overseas, with antifraud duties often performed by junior officers on a part-time basis. Indeed, at all but one of the posts that have or plan to have VSOs, consular officers served as part-time fraud prevention officers in addition to their other duties in the consular section. Therefore, the VSOs’ experience in this area can be valuable to consular sections.