The United States has called on other nations to provide extensive data on visa applicants to help them vet whether a traveler poses a terror threat to the country, Reuters reported on Friday. If a country fails to comply with the protocols within a 50-day period, travel sanctions could be imposed.
The new consular directives were released by the State Department to all US consulates on Wednesday. With the new visa procedures, President Donald Trump’s travel ban could extend to nations other than the six Muslim-majority countries. On June 30, Trump’s ban on travellers from these nations came into effect.
As per the new requirements, countries will now have to provide biometric images on passports, biographical information about the travels, and their criminal records, the cable said. It asks consular officials to explain the plan to foreign governments.
“Underscore that while it is not our goal to impose a ban on immigration benefits, including visas, for citizens of any country, these standards are designed to mitigate risk, and failure to make progress could lead to security measures by the [US government],” the cable read, according to Politico.
The cable further says that an initial check showed that some countries did not meet the new standards of protocols. However, the cable did not name the countries.
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