Under the Visa Security Program, the Department of Homeland Security is supposed to provide additional screening to persons in Saudi Arabia applying for a visa. What’s really happening is something different. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 requires that Visa Security Officers review all visa applications in Saudi Arabia before final adjudication by the State Department consular officers. At least, that’s what they’re trying to do.

I’ll let you read the results yourself, straight from the GAO report (PDF):

The VSOs in Saudi Arabia provided anecdotal evidence of their contributions to the visa process; however, DHS does not maintain comprehensive data on the results of their activities, such as the number of cases for which VSOs recommended refusal, and thus is unable to fully demonstrate the program’s overall impact on visa operations. Further, additional factors have limited the impact of the VSOs. Since the initial deployment of VSOs in August 2003 until June 2005, DHS assigned temporary officers to the posts in Saudi Arabia for tours that lasted between 2 and 15 months, which initially hindered continuity in operations. In June 2005, DHS hired and deployed permanent VSOs to Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the mandate requiring that VSOs review all visa applications in Saudi Arabia, including visas preliminarily refused by consular officers and low-risk applicants, limits their ability to perform other tasks that would further benefit consular officers, such as providing additional fraud prevention and detection training. Moreover, security concerns at consular posts in Saudi Arabia limit the number of personnel from DHS, as well as other agencies, that can be stationed at these posts.

Let’s see just how many ways the department screwed up an otherwise great idea. They didn’t bother to keep track of what the Visa Security Officers were doing. They rotated people in and out too frequently, disrupting operations. They sent temps who don’t speak or read Arabic at all. They had to review applications that had been initially rejected, keeping them away from more important work. And they don’t have enough people in the first place.

“The September 11th attacks exposed vulnerabilities in the visa process, particularly the frequent failure to use interviews and application reviews as antiterrorism tools. The Visa Security Program is meant to help prevent those who may pose a threat to our country from entering our borders in the first place,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Along with the GAO report, Collins recommends increased oversight and guidance for the program.

And only Allah knows who got a visa that shouldn’t have.