Border Security
Stronger Actions Needed to Assess and Mitigate Risks of the Visa Waiver Program Gao ID: GAO-06-1090T September 7, 2006The Visa Waiver Program enables citizens of 27 countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. In fiscal year 2005, nearly 16 million people entered the country under the program. After the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the risk that aliens would exploit the program to enter the United States became more of a concern. This testimony discusses our recent report on the Visa Waiver Program. Specifically, it (1) describes the Visa Waiver Program's benefits and risks, (2) examines the U.S. government's process for assessing potential risks, and (3) assesses the actions taken to mitigate these risks. We met with U.S. embassy officials in six program countries and reviewed relevant procedures and reports on participating countries
The Visa Waiver Program has many benefits as well as some inherent risks. It facilitates travel for millions of people and eases consular workload, but poses challenges to border inspectors, who, when screening visa waiver travelers, may face language barriers or lack time to conduct in-depth interviews. Furthermore, stolen passports from visa waiver countries are prized travel documents among terrorists, criminals, and immigration law violators, creating an additional risk. While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has intercepted many fraudulent documents at U.S. ports of entry, DHS officials acknowledged that an undetermined number of inadmissible aliens may have entered the United States using a stolen or lost passport from a visa waiver country. DHS's process for assessing the risks of the Visa Waiver Program has weaknesses. In 2002, Congress mandated that, every 2 years, DHS review the effect that each country's continued participation in the program has on U.S. law enforcement and security interests, but did not set a reporting deadline. In 2004, DHS established a unit to oversee the program and conduct these reviews. We identified several problems with the 2004 review process, as key stakeholders were not consulted during portions of the process, the review process lacked clear criteria and guidance to make key judgments, and the final reports were untimely. Furthermore, the monitoring unit cannot effectively achieve its mission to monitor and report on ongoing law enforcement and security concerns in visa waiver countries due to insufficient resources. DHS has taken some actions to mitigate the program's risks; however, the department has faced difficulties in further mitigating these risks. In particular, the department has not established time frames and operating procedures regarding timely stolen passport reporting--a program requirement since 2002. Furthermore, DHS has sought to require the reporting of lost and stolen passport data to the United States and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), but it has not issued clear reporting guidelines to participating countries. While most visa waiver countries report to Interpol's database, four do not. Further, DHS is not using Interpol's data to its full potential as a border screening tool because U.S. border inspectors do not automatically access the data at primary inspection.
GAO-06-1090T, Border Security: Stronger Actions Needed to Assess and Mitigate Risks of the Visa Waiver Program
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Testimony:
Before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland
Security, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
For Release on Delivery Expected at 2:00 p.m. EDT:
Thursday, September 7, 2006:
Border Security:
Stronger Actions Needed to Assess and Mitigate Risks of the Visa Waiver
Program:
Statement of Jess T. Ford, Director International Affairs and Trade:
GAO-06-1090T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-06-1090T, a testimony before the Chairman,
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security, Committee
on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate
Why GAO Did This Study:
The Visa Waiver Program enables citizens of 27 countries to travel to
the United States for tourism or business for 90 days or less without
obtaining a visa. In fiscal year 2005, nearly 16 million people entered
the country under the program. After the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the
risk that aliens would exploit the program to enter the United States
became more of a concern. This testimony discusses our recent report on
the Visa Waiver Program. Specifically, it (1) describes the Visa Waiver
Program‘s benefits and risks, (2) examines the U.S. government‘s
process for assessing potential risks, and (3) assesses the actions
taken to mitigate these risks. We met with U.S. embassy officials in
six program countries and reviewed relevant procedures and reports on
participating countries.
What GAO Found:
The Visa Waiver Program has many benefits as well as some inherent
risks. It facilitates travel for millions of people and eases consular
workload, but poses challenges to border inspectors, who, when
screening visa waiver travelers, may face language barriers or lack
time to conduct in-depth interviews. Furthermore, stolen passports from
visa waiver countries are prized travel documents among terrorists,
criminals, and immigration law violators, creating an additional risk.
While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has intercepted many
fraudulent documents at U.S. ports of entry, DHS officials acknowledged
that an undetermined number of inadmissible aliens may have entered the
United States using a stolen or lost passport from a visa waiver
country.
DHS‘s process for assessing the risks of the Visa Waiver Program has
weaknesses. In 2002, Congress mandated that, every 2 years, DHS review
the effect that each country‘s continued participation in the program
has on U.S. law enforcement and security interests, but did not set a
reporting deadline. In 2004, DHS established a unit to oversee the
program and conduct these reviews. We identified several problems with
the 2004 review process, as key stakeholders were not consulted during
portions of the process, the review process lacked clear criteria and
guidance to make key judgments, and the final reports were untimely.
Furthermore, the monitoring unit cannot effectively achieve its mission
to monitor and report on ongoing law enforcement and security concerns
in visa waiver countries due to insufficient resources.
DHS has taken some actions to mitigate the program‘s risks; however,
the department has faced difficulties in further mitigating these
risks. In particular, the department has not established time frames
and operating procedures regarding timely stolen passport reporting”a
program requirement since 2002. Furthermore, DHS has sought to require
the reporting of lost and stolen passport data to the United States and
the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), but it has
not issued clear reporting guidelines to participating countries. While
most visa waiver countries report to Interpol‘s database, four do not.
Further, DHS is not using Interpol‘s data to its full potential as a
border screening tool because U.S. border inspectors do not
automatically access the data at primary inspection.
What GAO Recommends:
In our report, we made a series of recommendations to DHS to strengthen
its ability to assess and mitigate the program‘s risks, such as
providing more resources to the program‘s monitoring unit and issuing
standards for the reporting of lost and stolen passport data. We also
stated that Congress should consider establishing a deadline for the
mandated biennial report to Congress. DHS generally agreed with our
report and recommendations, but did not agree that Congress should
establish a deadline for the biennial report.
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-1090T].
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Jess Ford at (202) 512-
4128 or fordj@gao.gov.
[End of Section]
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
I am pleased to be here to discuss our observations on the Visa Waiver
Program. In fiscal year 2005, nearly 16 million travelers entered the
United States under this program, which facilitates international
travel and commerce, and eases workload for consular officers at
overseas posts, by enabling citizens of 27 participating
countries[Footnote 1] to travel to the United States for tourism or
business for 90 days or less without first obtaining a visa.[Footnote
2] Participating countries were selected because their citizens had
demonstrated a pattern of compliance with U.S. immigration laws, and
the governments of these countries granted reciprocal visa-free travel
to U.S. citizens. The Visa Waiver Program was created as a pilot
program in 1986,[Footnote 3] and it became permanent in 2000,[Footnote
4] about 1 year prior to the 9-11 terrorist attacks. After the attacks,
the potential risks of the program became more of a concern. In
particular, convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and "shoe-bomber"
Richard Reid both boarded flights to the United States with passports
issued by Visa Waiver Program countries. Moreover, the foiled alleged
terrorist plot to board planes at London's Heathrow Airport and fly to
the United States with explosive materials highlights the importance of
having effective tools to ensure that only legitimate travelers enter
the United States. In May 2002, Congress mandated that the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) evaluate and report to Congress at least
every two years on the effect that each country's continued
participation in the program has on U.S. law enforcement and security
interests.[Footnote 5] Effective oversight of the Visa Waiver Program
is essential to find the right balance between facilitating legitimate
travel and preventing potential terrorists, criminals, and others that
may pose law enforcement and immigration concerns from entering the
United States.[Footnote 6]
Earlier this week, we released two reports on the Visa Waiver Program:
the first discusses the process by which the United States assesses and
mitigates the program's risks,[Footnote 7] and the second describes the
process by which additional countries may be admitted into the
program.[Footnote 8] My statement will focus on the first of these
reports. Specifically, I will discuss (1) the Visa Waiver Program's
advantages and potential risks; (2) the U.S. government's process for
assessing the program's risks; and (3) the actions that have been taken
to mitigate these risks. In addition, we have ongoing work examining
international aviation passenger prescreening, including DHS's use of
passport and reservation data to screen travelers and the pilot
Immigration Advisory Program at several airports overseas, and expect
to report on our findings later this fall.
In conducting this work, we reviewed documentation, including the laws
governing the program, relevant regulations and agency operating
procedures, and DHS's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reports. We
also examined 15 of the 25 completed reports from the 2004 review
process that assessed the participation of Visa Waiver Program
countries.[Footnote 9] Additionally, we interviewed political,
economic, consular, commercial, and law enforcement officials at U.S.
embassies in six Visa Waiver Program countries, as well as foreign
government officials in three of these countries. We met with officials
from several DHS component agencies and offices; the Department of
State (State); and the International Criminal Police Organization
(Interpol) in Lyon, France. We conducted our work in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards (see app. I for a list
of related GAO products and ongoing reviews).
Summary:
The Visa Waiver Program provides many benefits to the United States,
including facilitating international travel for millions of foreign
citizens seeking to visit the United States each year, creating
substantial economic benefits to our country. Visa waiver travelers
have represented about one-half of all nonimmigrant admissions to the
United States in recent years. The program also allows State to
allocate resources to visa-issuing posts in countries with higher-risk
applicant pools. Moreover, participating visa waiver countries offer
visa-free travel to U.S. citizens. However, travelers visiting the
United States under the Visa Waiver Program can pose potential security
risks because they are not interviewed by a consular officer prior to
their travel. In addition, border inspectors at U.S. ports of entry may
not know the visa waiver traveler's language or local fraudulent
document trends in the traveler's home country, nor have the time to
conduct an extensive interview. In contrast, visa-issuing officers at
U.S. embassies generally have more time to interview applicants--often
in the applicants' native language--and have more country-specific
knowledge of passports and fraud trends. Furthermore, lost and stolen
passports from visa waiver countries are highly prized among travelers
seeking to conceal their true identities or nationalities, increasing
the likelihood that terrorists and other criminals would attempt to
obtain these documents. DHS officials have acknowledged that an
undetermined number of inadmissible aliens may have entered the United
States using a stolen or lost passport from a visa waiver country. In
fact, passports from Visa Waiver Program countries have been used
illegally by hundreds of travelers attempting to enter the United
States. For example, from January through June 2005, at U.S. ports of
entry, DHS confiscated 298 passports issued by Visa Waiver Program
countries that travelers were attempting to use fraudulently for
admission into the United States. Thus, there is a risk that the
program could be exploited for illegal entry into the United States.
DHS has developed a process for assessing the law enforcement and
security risks of the Visa Waiver Program, but this process has
weaknesses. In 2002, Congress mandated that DHS review the security
risks posed by each visa waiver country's participation in the program
at least every 2 years. In 2004, DHS established the Visa Waiver
Program Oversight Unit within the Office of International Enforcement
(OIE).[Footnote 10] DHS conducted its first mandated biennial reviews
that same year, and subsequently determined that all of the countries
it reviewed should remain in the program.[Footnote 11] However, we
identified several problems with the country review process.
Specifically, key interagency stakeholders,[Footnote 12] such as
embassies overseas and forensic document analysts, were left out of
portions of the 2004 country review process, and the review process
lacked clear criteria and guidance to make key judgments. Also, the
country assessments prepared by DHS were not completed in a timely
fashion and contained some dated information that did not necessarily
reflect current risks; interagency teams conducted site visits as part
of the country assessments from May through September 2004, and
transmitted the final report to Congress more than 1 year later, in
November 2005. The teams collecting information about the visa waiver
countries' risks in 2004 used, in some cases, information that was two
years old; by the time the summary report was issued in November 2005,
some of the data was over 3 years old. Moreover, DHS has not provided
sufficient resources to the Office of International Enforcement to
effectively monitor the risks posed by visa waiver countries on an
ongoing basis. While the Visa Waiver Program Oversight Unit developed a
strategic plan to monitor the program, it has been unable to implement
this plan with its current staff of only two full-time employees. In
addition, DHS has not established Visa Waiver Program points of contact
within the U.S. embassies so it can communicate directly with foreign
government contacts and field officials, who are best positioned to
monitor compliance with the program's requirements and report on
current events and issues of potential concern. Without this outreach,
DHS is not able to leverage the existing resources at U.S. embassies in
all visa waiver countries to obtain current information on potential
risks, as well as countries' progress in addressing these risks.
DHS has taken some actions to mitigate the risks of the Visa Waiver
Program. Specifically, DHS identified security concerns in several
participating countries during the 2004 assessment process, and, for
example, terminated the use of the German temporary passport under the
program. However, the department has faced difficulties in further
mitigating program risks, particularly regarding lost and stolen
passport reporting--a key vulnerability. For example, not all countries
have consistently reported their data to the United States on stolen
blank passports, even though reporting such data is vital to mitigating
program risks. In one instance, a visa waiver country reported to the
United States the theft of nearly 300 blank passports more than 9 years
after the theft occurred. In 2002, timely reporting of such thefts
became a statutory requirement for continued participation in the
program, but DHS has not issued standard operating procedures for
countries to report these data. DHS has also sought to expand this
requirement to include the reporting of data, to the United States and
Interpol,[Footnote 13] about lost and stolen issued[Footnote 14] (as
well as blank) passports; however, the United States lacks a
centralized mechanism for foreign governments to report all stolen
passports, and DHS has not identified the U.S. government entity to
which participating countries should report this information. While
most visa waiver countries contribute to Interpol's database, four do
not. Moreover, some countries that do contribute do not do so on a
regular basis, according to Interpol officials. In addition, Interpol's
data on lost and stolen travel documents is not automatically
accessible to U.S. border inspectors at primary inspection--one reason
why it is not an effective border screening tool, according to DHS,
State, and Justice officials. According to the Secretary General of
Interpol, until DHS can automatically query Interpol's data, the United
States will not have an effective screening tool for checking
passports. However, DHS has not yet finalized a plan to obtain this
systematic access to Interpol's data.
In our report, we made several recommendations to DHS to strengthen its
ability to assess the risks of the Visa Waiver Program, including a
recommendation to create real-time monitoring mechanisms to improve
communication between the department and overseas posts, and to provide
additional resources for the Visa Waiver Program Oversight Unit. We
also made a series of recommendations to mitigate the program's risks,
including communicating clear standard operating procedures for the
reporting of lost and stolen, blank and issued, passport data. Finally,
we included a matter for congressional consideration: to improve the
timeliness of DHS's assessments of the risks of each country's
continued participation in the program, Congress should consider
establishing a deadline by which the department must complete its
biennial country assessments and report to Congress. DHS either agreed
with, or stated that it is considering, all of our recommendations.
Regarding our matter for congressional consideration, DHS did not
support the establishment of a deadline for the biennial report to
Congress. Instead, DHS suggested that Congress should require
continuous and ongoing evaluation of the risks of each country's
continued participation in the program.
Background:
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 created the Visa Waiver
Program as a pilot program.[Footnote 15] It was initially envisioned as
an immigration control and economic promotion program, according to
State. Participating countries were selected because their citizens had
a demonstrated pattern of compliance with U.S. immigration laws, and
the governments of these countries granted reciprocal visa-free travel
to U.S. citizens. In recent years, visa waiver travelers have
represented about one-half of all nonimmigrant admissions to the United
States. In 2002, we reported on the legislative requirements to which
countries must adhere before they are eligible for inclusion in the
Visa Waiver Program.[Footnote 16] In general, to qualify for visa
waiver status, a country must:
* maintain a nonimmigrant refusal rate of less than 3 percent for its
citizens who apply for business and tourism visas.
* certify that it issues machine-readable passports to its citizens;
and:
* offer visa-free travel for U.S. citizens.
Following the 9-11 attacks, Congress passed additional laws to
strengthen border security policies and procedures, and DHS and State
instituted other policy changes that have affected the qualifications
for countries to participate in the Visa Waiver Program. For example,
all passports issued after October 26, 2005, must contain a digital
photograph printed in the document, and passports issued to visa waiver
travelers after October 26, 2006, must be electronic (e-
passports).[Footnote 17] In addition, the May 2002 Enhanced Border
Security and Visa Reform Act required that participating countries
certify that the theft of their blank passports is reported to the U.S.
government in a timely manner.
Visa Waiver Program Has Benefits and Risks:
The Visa Waiver Program has many benefits. The program was created to
facilitate international travel without jeopardizing the welfare or
security of the United States, according to the program's legislative
history. According to economic and commercial officers at several of
the U.S. embassies we visited, visa-free travel to the United States
boosts international business travel and tourism, as well as airline
revenues, and creates substantial economic benefits to the United
States. Moreover, the program allows State to allocate its resources to
visa-issuing posts in countries with higher-risk applicant pools. In
2002, we reported that eliminating the program would increase State's
resource requirements as millions of visa waiver travelers who have
benefited from visa-free travel would need to obtain a visa to travel
to the United States if the program did not exist.[Footnote 18]
Specifically, if the program were eliminated, we estimated that State's
initial costs at that time to process the additional workload would
likely range between $739 million and $1.28 billion and that annual
recurring costs would likely range between $522 million and $810
million. In addition, visa waiver countries could begin requiring visas
for U.S. citizens traveling to the 27 participating countries for
temporary business or tourism purposes, which would impose a burden of
additional cost and time on U.S. travelers to these countries.
Visa Waiver Program Can Pose Risks to U.S. Security, Law Enforcement,
and Immigration Interests:
The Visa Waiver Program, however, can also pose risks to U.S. security,
law enforcement, and immigration interests because some foreign
citizens may exploit the program to enter the United States. First,
visa waiver travelers are not subject to the same degree of screening
as travelers who must first obtain a visa before arriving in the United
States (see fig. 1). Visa waiver travelers are first screened in person
by a DHS Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspector once they arrive
at the U.S. port of entry, perhaps after having already boarded an
international flight bound for the United States with a fraudulent
travel document. According to the DHS OIG, primary border inspectors
are at a disadvantage when screening Visa Waiver Program travelers
because they may not know the alien's language or local fraud trends in
the alien's home country, nor have the time to conduct an extensive
interview. In contrast, non-visa-waiver travelers, who must obtain a
visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate, receive two levels of screening
before entering the country--in addition to the inspection at the U.S.
port of entry, these travelers undergo an interview by consular
officials overseas, who conduct a rigorous screening process when
deciding to approve or deny a visa. As we have previously reported,
State has taken a number of actions since 2002 to strengthen the visa
issuance process as a border security tool.[Footnote 19] Moreover,
consular officers have more time to interview applicants and examine
the authenticity of their passports, and may also speak the visa
applicant's native language, according to consular officials.
Therefore, inadmissible travelers who need visas to enter the United
States may attempt to acquire a passport from a Visa Waiver Program
country to avoid the visa screening process.
Figure 1: Comparison of Screening for U.S. Visas versus Arrival
Inspection Screening at U.S. Air Port of Entry:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO; Nova Development (clip art).
[End of figure]
Another risk inherent in the program is the potential exploitation by
terrorists, immigration law violators, and other criminals of a visa
waiver country's lost or stolen passports. DHS intelligence analysts,
law enforcement officials, and forensic document experts all
acknowledge that misuse of lost and stolen passports is the greatest
security problem posed by the Visa Waiver Program. Lost and stolen
passports from visa waiver countries are highly prized travel
documents, according to the Secretary General of Interpol. Moreover,
Visa Waiver Program countries that do not consistently report the
losses or thefts of their citizens' passports, or of blank passports,
put the United States at greater risk of allowing inadmissible
travelers to enter the country.
Fraudulent passports from Visa Waiver Program countries have been used
illegally by travelers seeking to disguise their true identities or
nationalities when attempting to enter the United States. For example,
from January through June 2005, DHS reported that it confiscated, at
U.S. ports of entry, 298 fraudulent or altered passports issued by Visa
Waiver Program countries that travelers were attempting to use for
admission into the United States. Although DHS has intercepted some
travelers with fraudulent passports at U.S. ports of entry, DHS
officials acknowledged that an undetermined number of inadmissible
aliens may have entered the United States using a lost or stolen
passport from a visa waiver country. According to State, these aliens
may have been inadmissible because they were immigration law violators,
criminals, or terrorists. For example:
* In July 2005, two aliens successfully entered the United States using
lost or stolen Austrian passports. DHS was not notified that these
passports had been lost or stolen prior to this date; the aliens were
admitted, and there is no record of their departure, according to CBP.
In October 2005, CBP referred this case to DHS's Immigration and
Customs Enforcement for further action.
* In June 2005, CBP inspectors admitted into the United States two
aliens using Italian passports that were from a batch of stolen
passports. CBP was notified that this batch was stolen; however, the
aliens altered the passport numbers to avoid detection by CBP officers.
DHS has no record that these individuals departed the United States.
Process for Assessing Program Risks Has Weaknesses:
DHS has taken several steps to assess the risks of the Visa Waiver
Program. However, we identified problems with the country review
process by which DHS assesses these risks, namely a lack of
inclusiveness, transparency, and timeliness. Furthermore, OIE is unable
to effectively monitor the immigration, law enforcement, and security
risks posed by visa waiver countries on a continuing basis because of
insufficient resources.
Initial Steps Taken To Assess Risk of Visa Waiver Program:
In April 2004, the DHS OIG identified significant areas where DHS
needed to strengthen and improve its management of the Visa Waiver
Program. For example, the OIG found that a lack of funding, trained
personnel, and other issues left DHS unable to comply with the mandated
biennial country assessments. In response to these findings, DHS
established OIE's Visa Waiver Program Oversight Unit in July 2004, and
named a director to manage the office. The unit's mission is to oversee
Visa Waiver Program activities and monitor countries' adherence to the
program's statutory requirements, ensuring that the United States is
protected from those who wish to do it harm or violate its laws,
including immigration laws. Since the unit's establishment, DHS, and
particularly OIE, has made strides to address concerns raised by the
2004 OIG review. For example, DHS completed comprehensive assessments
of 25 of the 27 participating countries and submitted a six-page report
to Congress in November 2005 that summarized the findings from the 2004
assessments.
DHS Lacks a Clearly-Defined, Consistent, and Timely Process to Assess
Risks of Visa Waiver Program:
Despite these steps to strengthen and improve the management of the
program, we identified several problems with the mandated biennial
country assessment process, by which DHS assesses the risks posed by
each of the visa waiver countries' continued participation in the
program. For the 2004 assessments, we found the following:
* Some key stakeholders were excluded from the process. After
conducting the site visits and contributing to the reports on the site
visits, DHS and the interagency working group did not seek input from
all site visit team members while drafting and clearing the final
country assessments and subsequent report to Congress. For example,
DHS's forensic document analysts, who participated in the site visits
in 2004, told us that they did not see, clear, or comment on the draft
country assessments, despite repeated attempts to obtain copies of
them. Additionally, at the time of our visits, ambassadors or deputy
chiefs of mission in each of the six posts told us that they were not
fully aware of the extent to which assessments for the country where
they were posted discussed law enforcement and security concerns posed
by the continued participation of the country in the program. Without
this information, key stakeholders could not be effective advocates for
U.S. concerns.
* The reviews lacked clear criteria to make key judgments. We found
that DHS did not have clear criteria to determine at what point
security concerns uncovered during their review would trigger
discussions with foreign governments about these concerns and an
attempt to resolve them. State officials agreed that qualitative and/or
quantitative criteria would be useful when making these determinations,
although DHS stated that the criteria should be flexible.
* DHS and its interagency partners neither completed the 25 country
assessments nor issued the summary report to Congress in a timely
manner. The interagency teams conducted site visits as part of the
country assessments from May through September 2004, and transmitted
the final summary report to Congress more than 1 year later, in
November 2005. OIE, State, and Justice officials acknowledged that the
assessments took too long to complete. The teams collecting information
about the visa waiver countries' risks in 2004 used, in some cases,
information that was two years old; by the time the summary report was
issued in November 2005, some of the data was over 3 years old. As a
result of this lengthy process, the final report presented to Congress
did not necessarily reflect the current law enforcement and security
risks posed by each country, or the positive steps that countries had
made to address these risks.
DHS Cannot Effectively Monitor Ongoing Concerns in Visa Waiver
Countries:
OIE is limited in its ability to achieve its mission because of
insufficient staffing. The office has numerous responsibilities,
including conducting the mandated biennial country reviews; monitoring
law enforcement, security, and immigration concerns in visa waiver
countries on an ongoing basis; and working with countries seeking to
become members of the Visa Waiver Program. In 2004, the DHS OIG found
that OIE's lack of resources directly undercut its ability to assess a
security problem inherent in the program--lost and stolen passports.
The office received funding to conduct the country reviews in 2004 and
2005; however, OIE officials indicated that a lack of funding and full-
time staff has made it extremely difficult to conduct additional
overseas fieldwork, as well as track ongoing issues of concern in the
27 visa waiver countries--a key limitation in DHS's ability to assess
and mitigate the program's risks. According to OIE officials, the unit
developed a strategic plan to monitor the program, but has been unable
to implement its plan with its current staffing of two full-time
employees, as well as one temporary employee from another DHS
component. Without adequate resources, OIE is unable to monitor and
assess participating countries' compliance with the Visa Waiver
Program's statutory requirements.
In addition to resource constraints, DHS has not clearly communicated
its mission to stakeholders at overseas posts, nor identified points of
contact within U.S. embassies, so it can communicate directly with
field officials positioned to monitor countries' compliance with Visa
Waiver Program requirements and report on current events and issues of
potential concern. In particular, within DHS's various components, we
found that OIE is largely an unknown entity and, therefore, is unable
to leverage the expertise of DHS officials overseas. A senior DHS
representative at one post showed us that her organizational directory
did not contain contact information for OIE. Additionally, a senior DHS
official in Washington, D.C., told us that he may find out about
developments--either routine or emergent--in visa waiver countries by
"happenstance." Due to the lack of outreach and clear communication
about its mission, OIE is limited in its ability to monitor the day-to-
day law enforcement and security concerns posed by the Visa Waiver
Program, and the U.S. government is limited in its ability to influence
visa waiver countries' progress in meeting requirements.
DHS Faces Difficulties in Mitigating Program Risks:
DHS has taken some actions to mitigate the risks of the Visa Waiver
Program. However, though the law has required the timely reporting of
blank passport thefts for continued participation in the Visa Waiver
Program since 2002, DHS has not established and communicated time
frames and operating procedures to participating countries. In
addition, DHS has sought to expand this requirement to include the
reporting of data, to the United States and Interpol, on lost and
stolen issued passports; however, participating countries are resisting
these requirements, and DHS has not yet issued guidance on what
information must be shared, with whom, and within what time frame.
Furthermore, U.S. border inspectors are unable to automatically access
Interpol's data on reported lost and stolen passports, which makes
detection of these documents at U.S. ports of entry more difficult.
DHS Has Taken Some Actions to Mitigate Risks of the Visa Waiver
Program:
As previously mentioned, during the 2004 assessment process, the
working group identified security concerns in several participating
countries, and DHS took actions to mitigate some of these risks.
Specifically, DHS determined that several thousand blank German
temporary passports[Footnote 20] had been lost or stolen, and that
Germany had not reported some of this information to the United States.
As a result, as of May 1, 2006, German temporary passport holders are
not allowed to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver
Program without a visa. In addition, DHS has enforced an October 26,
2005, deadline requiring travelers under the Visa Waiver Program to
have digital photographs in their passports.
DHS Lacks Standard Procedures for Obtaining Stolen Blank Passport Data:
A key risk in the Visa Waiver Program is stolen blank passports from
visa waiver countries, because detecting these passports at U.S. ports
of entry is extremely difficult, according to DHS. Some thefts of blank
passports have not been reported to the United States until years after
the fact, according to DHS intelligence reports. For example, in 2004,
a visa waiver country reported the theft of nearly 300 stolen blank
passports to the United States more than 9 years after the theft
occurred. The 2002 Enhanced Security and Visa Entry Reform Act provides
that the Secretary of Homeland Security must terminate a country from
the Visa Waiver Program if he and the Secretary of State jointly
determine that the country is not reporting the theft of its blank
passports to the United States on a timely basis. However, DHS has not
established time frames or operating procedures to enforce this
requirement. While the statute requires visa waiver countries to
certify that they report information on the theft of their blank
passports to the United States on a timely basis, as of June 2006, DHS
has not defined what constitutes "timely" reporting. Moreover, the
United States lacks a centralized mechanism for foreign governments to
report all stolen passports. In particular, DHS has not defined to whom
in the U.S. government participating countries should report this
information.
Some Participating Visa Waiver Program Countries are Resisting
Additional Reporting to United States and Interpol:
In addition to blank passports, lost or stolen issued passports also
pose a risk because they can be altered. In June 2005, DHS issued
guidance to participating Visa Waiver Program countries requiring that
they certify their intent to report lost and stolen passport data on
issued passports by August 2005. However, DHS has not yet issued
guidance on what information must be shared, with whom, and within what
time frame. Moreover, some visa waiver countries have not yet agreed to
provide this information to the United States, due in part to concerns
over the privacy of their citizens' biographical information. In
addition, several consular officials expressed confusion about the
current and impending requirements about sharing this data, and felt
they were unable to adequately explain the requirements to their
foreign counterparts.
In June 2005, the U.S. government also announced its intention to
require visa waiver countries to certify their intent to report
information on both lost and stolen blank and issued passports to
Interpol. In 2002, Interpol developed a database of lost and stolen
travel documents to which its member countries may contribute on a
voluntary basis. While most visa waiver countries use and contribute to
Interpol's database, four do not. Moreover, some countries that do
contribute do not do so on a regular basis, according to Interpol
officials. Participating countries have expressed concerns about
reporting this information, citing privacy issues; however, Interpol's
database on lost and stolen travel documents does not include the
passport bearers' biographical information, such as name and date of
birth.[Footnote 21] According to the Secretary General of Interpol, in
light of the high value associated with passports from visa waiver
countries, it is a priority for his agency to encourage countries to
contribute regularly to the database.
Inefficient Access to Interpol's Database on Lost and Stolen Passports:
Though information from Interpol's database could potentially stop
inadmissible travelers from entering the United States, CBP's border
inspectors do not have automatic access to the database at the primary
inspection point at U.S. ports of entry--the first line of defense
against those who might exploit the Visa Waiver Program to enter the
United States. The inspection process at U.S. ports of entry can
include two stages--a primary and secondary inspection. If, during the
primary inspection, the inspector suspects that the traveler is
inadmissible either because of a fraudulent passport or other reason,
the inspector refers the traveler to secondary inspection. At secondary
inspection, border inspectors can contact officials at the National
Targeting Center, who can query Interpol's stolen-travel-document
database to determine if the traveler's passport had been previously
reported lost or stolen, but is not yet on CBP's watch list.[Footnote
22] However, according to DHS, State, and Justice officials, because
Interpol's data on lost and stolen travel documents is not
automatically accessible to border inspectors at primary inspection, it
is not currently an effective border screening tool. Moreover,
according to the Secretary General of Interpol, until DHS can
automatically query Interpol's data, the United States will not have an
effective screening tool for checking passports. According to Interpol
officials, the United States is working actively with Interpol on a
potential pilot project that would allow for an automatic query of
aliens' passport data against Interpol's database at primary inspection
at U.S. ports of entry. However, DHS has not yet finalized a plan to do
so.
Recommendations to Improve Program Oversight and DHS's Response:
In our report, we made a series of recommendations to improve the U.S.
government's process for assessing the risks in the Visa Waiver
Program, including recommending that DHS provide additional resources
to strengthen OIE's visa waiver monitoring unit; finalize clear,
consistent, and transparent protocols for the biennial country
assessments and provide these protocols to stakeholders at relevant
agencies at headquarters and overseas; create real-time monitoring
arrangements for all 27 participating countries; and establish
protocols for direct communication between overseas posts and OIE's
Visa Waiver Program Oversight Unit. In addition, we made
recommendations to improve U.S. efforts to mitigate program risks,
including requiring that all visa waiver countries provide the United
States and Interpol with non-biographical data from lost or stolen
issued passports, as well as from blank passports; developing clear
standard operating procedures for the reporting of lost and stolen
blank and issued passport data; and developing and implementing a plan
to make Interpol's stolen travel document database automatically
available during primary inspection at U.S. ports of entry. Given the
lengthy time it took for DHS to issue the November 2005 summary report
to Congress, and to ensure future reports contain timely information
when issued, we also proposed that Congress establish a biennial
deadline by which DHS must complete the country assessments and report
to Congress.
DHS either agreed with, or stated that it is considering, all of our
recommendations. Regarding our matter for congressional consideration,
DHS did not support the establishment of a deadline for the biennial
report to Congress. Instead, DHS suggested that Congress should require
continuous and ongoing evaluation. With continuous review, DHS stated
that it would be able to constantly evaluate U.S. interests and report
to Congress on the current 2-year reporting cycle on targeted issues of
concern, rather than providing a historical evaluation. We agree that
continuous and ongoing evaluation is necessary, and that is why we
recommended that DHS create real-time monitoring arrangements and
provide additional resources to the Visa Waiver Program Oversight Unit
to achieve this goal. Regarding the mandated biennial country
assessments, we believe that they can serve a useful purpose if they
are completed in a timely fashion.
In closing, the Visa Waiver Program aims to facilitate international
travel for millions of people each year and promote the effective use
of government resources. Effective oversight of the program entails
balancing these benefits against the program's potential risks. To find
this balance, the U.S. government needs to fully identify the
vulnerabilities posed by visa waiver travelers, and be in a position to
mitigate them. It is imperative that DHS commit to strengthen its
ability to promptly identify and mitigate risks to ensure that the Visa
Waiver Program does not jeopardize U.S. security interests. This is
particularly important given that many countries are actively seeking
to join the program.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. I will be happy to
answer any questions you or Members of the Subcommittee may have.
Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
For questions regarding this testimony, please call Jess T. Ford, (202)
512-4128 or fordj@gao.gov. Individuals making key contributions to this
statement include John Brummet, Assistant Director, and Kathryn H.
Bernet, Joseph Carney, and Jane S. Kim.
[End of section]
Related GAO Products and Ongoing Reviews:
Issued Reports:
Border Security: More Emphasis on State's Consular Safeguards Could
Mitigate Visa Malfeasance Risks. GAO-06-115. October 6, 2005:
Border Security: Strengthened Visa Process Would Benefit From
Improvements in Staffing and Information Sharing. GAO-05-859. September
13, 2005:
Border Security: Actions Needed to Strengthen Management of Department
of Homeland Security's Visa Security Program. GAO-05-801. July 29,
2005.
Border Security: Streamlined Visas Mantis Program Has Lowered Burden on
Foreign Science Students and Scholars, but Further Refinements Needed.
GAO-05-198. February 18, 2005.
Border Security: State Department Rollout of Biometric Visas on
Schedule, but Guidance Is Lagging. GAO-04-1001. September 9, 2004.
Border Security: Additional Actions Needed to Eliminate Weaknesses in
the Visa Revocation Process. GAO-04-795. July 13, 2004.
Border Security: Improvements Needed to Reduce Time Taken to Adjudicate
Visas for Science Students and Scholars. GAO-04-371. February 25, 2004.
Border Security: New Policies and Procedures Are Needed to Fill Gaps in
the Visa Revocation Process. GAO-03-798. June 18, 2003.
Border Security: Implications of Eliminating the Visa Waiver Program.
GAO-03-38. November 22, 2002.
Technology Assessment: Using Biometrics for Border Security. GAO-03-
174. November 15, 2002.
Border Security: Visa Process Should Be Strengthened as an
Antiterrorism Tool. GAO-03-132NI. October 21, 2002.
Ongoing Reviews:
Review of International Aviation Passenger Prescreening. Requested by
the Chairman and Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary, and the
Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security, House of
Representatives. Report expected in the fall of 1006.
Review of the Department of State's Measures to Ensure the Integrity of
Travel Documents. Requested by the Chairman, Committee on the
Judiciary, House of Representatives; Chairman John N. Hostettler and
member Darrell E. Issa, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security
and Claims, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives; and,
Chairman Lamar S. Smith, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and
Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judiciary, House of
Representatives. Report expected in the spring of 2007.
Review of the Department of State's Effort to Address Delays in Visa
Issuance. Requested by the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee
on Government Reform, House of Representatives. Report expected in the
spring of 2007.
Review of Immigrant Visa Processing. Requested by the Ranking Member,
Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives. Report
expected in mid-2007.
FOOTNOTES
[1] The participating countries are Andorra, Australia, Austria,
Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
[2] The United States also issues visas to those who intend to
immigrate to the United States. In this testimony, we use the term
"visa" to refer to nonimmigrant visas only.
[3] The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, P.L. 99-603.
[4] The Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act, P.L. 106-396.
[5] Prior to this change, DHS was required to report at least once
every 5 years. See the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform
Act, P.L 107-173.
[6] Since September 11, 2001, the visa issuance process has taken on
greater significance as an antiterrorism tool, as we have previously
reported. GAO has issued a series of reports on the visa issuance
process. See GAO, Border Security: Strengthened Visa Process Would
Benefit from Improvements in Staffing and Information Sharing, GAO-05-
859 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 13, 2005); Border Security: Actions Needed
to Strengthen Management of Department of Homeland Security's Visa
Security Program, GAO-05-801 (Washington, D.C.: July 29, 2005); and,
Border Security: Visa Process Should be Strengthened as an
Antiterrorism Tool, GAO-03-132NI (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 21, 2002).
[7] GAO, Border Security: Stronger Actions Needed to Assess and
Mitigate Risks of the Visa Waiver Program, GAO-06-844 (Washington,
D.C.: July 28, 2006).
[8] GAO, Process for Admitting Additional Countries into the Visa
Waiver Program, GAO-06-835R (Washington, D.C.: July 28, 2006).
[9] As of June 2006, the remaining 10 assessments were pending
classification review, and assessments of the remaining two
participating countries--Italy and Portugal--were in process.
[10] OIE is located in the Office of Policy Development under the
direction of the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Policy.
[11] DHS's Office of Policy began this review in early 2004, several
months before the Visa Waiver Program Oversight Unit was established in
July of that year.
[12] The interagency working group charged in 2004 with assessing
participating countries' adherence to the program's statutory
requirements comprised officials from Justice's Office of International
Affairs, State's Bureau of Consular Affairs, and several components
within DHS, including the Intelligence and Analysis Directorate, Custom
and Border Protection's Office of Field Operations, and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement's Forensic Document Laboratory, among others.
Representatives from some of these agencies formed the in-country site
visit teams.
[13] Interpol is the world's largest international police organization,
with 184 member countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border
police cooperation, and supports and assists all organizations,
authorities, and services whose mission is to prevent or combat
international crime. In July 2002, Interpol established a database on
lost and stolen travel documents. As of June 2006, the database
contained about 11.6 million records of lost and stolen passports.
[14] Issued passports have been officially personalized with the
bearer's biographical information.
[15] P.L. 99-603.
[16] See GAO, Border Security: Implications of Eliminating the Visa
Waiver Program, GAO-03-38 (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 22, 2002).
[17] Travelers with passports issued after the deadline that do not
meet these requirements must obtain a visa from a U.S. embassy or
consulate overseas before departing for the United States. In general,
e-passports will contain a chip embedded in the passport that will
store the same information that is printed on the data page of the
passport, such as name, date of birth, gender, place of birth, dates of
passport issuance and expiration, place of issuance, passport number,
and a photo image of the bearer.
[18] GAO-03-38.
[19] GAO-05-859 and GAO-03-132NI.
[20] German temporary passports are valid for one year, and are less
expensive than standard German passports. In addition, they are issued
at more than 6,000 locations across Germany, whereas the Ministry of
Interior issues the standard passports centrally.
[21] Interpol's database includes the passport's identity number, the
country of issuance, and the country where the loss or theft occurred.
According to officials from Justice's Interpol-U.S. National Central
Bureau, it is particularly important that countries report this
information, as well as the date of the theft and the issuance date.
[22] Interpol's data on lost and stolen passports are not available
when border inspectors screen travelers' passports at primary
inspection unless Interpol has shared this information with the United
States in separate reports and it has been manually entered into DHS
watch lists.
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