Manmohan’s team subjected to American profiling

This is not acceptable, if the visa was denied based on further verification, I would understand that, but if the wholesale denial is based on Religion? GD it is not acceptable. As Americans we need to stand up and as Indians we need to stand up, and as Muslims we need to re-set our priorities of becoming a part of the American story. http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2009/04/are-muslims-part-of-american-story.html

Mike Ghouse
http://www.mikeghouse.net/
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Last year the editor of an Assam daily newspaper, who happened to be a Muslim, was denied US visa to cover Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the US as a part of his media entourage. This time after a formal Indian government request the Muslim journalists covering Singh's Pittsburgh visit were granted visas after an initial denial claiming they had been found “ineligible to receive a visa under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.” (For what this section of the law is, go to: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/ineligibilities/ineligibilities_1364.html ;
It is wide-ranging and based on other sections, which are also on this page).


The Hindu
Date:10/10/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/10/10/stories/2009101054711000.htm

Manmohan’s team subjected to American profiling

Siddharth Varadarajan

U.S. rejection of visas for Muslim journalists nearly derailed Manmohan’s visit to G20

New Delhi: A potential crisis in bilateral relations with Washington was averted at the eleventh hour last month when the United States reversed a decision to deny visas to all Muslim journalists who were part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s official media delegation to the G20 summit in Pittsburgh.

The visas, which were denied pending “additional administrative processing,” were only granted one day before the Prime Minister’s departure following a demarche – or diplomatic request — from the highest levels of government.

None of the Indian officials involved in the process wished to speak on record about the incident, which they said was a clear case of religious “profiling” by the U.S. embassy in Delhi.

As always happens during Prime Ministerial visits, the passports of the accompanying official media delegation were sent a few days in advance to the U.S. embassy for the necessary visas to be stamped. But when the passports were returned, three journalists – all of them Muslim – were handed yellow visa denial slips stating that they had been found “ineligible to receive a visa under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

The yellow slips said their application required “additional administrative processing before a final decision can be made.” But there was no indication of how long this could take. The embassy note tersely stated that applicants would be contacted “once this administrative processing has been completed.” U.S. diplomats informally said this process could take anywhere from four to eight weeks or longer.

With the Prime Minister set to fly out in less than two days, this ‘don’t call us, we’ll call you’ message sent alarm bells ringing in South Block. Officials were quick to realise the political consequences of the American side essentially disallowing the only Muslims in the Prime Minister’s delegation from travelling with him to Pittsburgh.

The three individuals concerned were senior and respected journalists who, like other members of the delegation, had been security cleared. One was an editor of a popular regional daily and two of them had travelled abroad with the Prime Minister before.

“No discrimination”

U.S. officials informally told this reporter that the names of three men had triggered a computerised alert for additional verification. But when The Hindu formally asked the U.S. embassy in Delhi whether it was a coincidence that all the Muslims in the delegation were so selected for additional visa screening and that none of the non-Muslims were, embassy officials said “the U.S. Government does not discriminate on the basis of race or religion.”
They added: “Since many applicants are subject to additional administrative proces

sing, the U.S. Government urges all visa applicants to apply for visas as far in advance of the trip as possible. We also routinely expedite cases in which individuals require to travel urgently.”
Asked whether it was U.S. policy to subject visa requests by Indian Muslims to a lengthier process of background checking, they said consular officers “review each application and make a determination regarding whether an applicant … needs additional processing. These decisions are based on the review of each individual’s case.”

With Dr. Singh set to travel again to Washington on an official visit this November, The Hindu asked whether Muslim members of his official delegation could again experience delays in their visa applications. The embassy officials replied: “This question should be directed to the Government of India. They know the dates of the visit and who will be travelling with the Prime Minister. Have they already applied for visas?”

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu

September 22, 2008

US-SOUTH ASIA AFFAIRS: Muslim journalist from India denied US visa
Haider Hussain, the editor of Assam's largest daily, Asomiya Pratidin, wasn't able to get a visa in time for a U.S. visit. From Indo Asian News Service:

The editor of an Assamese daily who was dropped from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s trip to the US and France because he couldn’t get a US visa blames the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and says the treatment meted out to him forced him to feel he was a minority. However, a ministry official said granting visas was the “sovereign right” of a country and there was little it could do.Haider Hussain, editor of Assam’s largest circulated Asomiya Pratidin, was invited by the MEA to be part of the prime minister’s 35-member media delegation for his 10-day visit. He was the lone member from India’s northeast.

But while the prime minister and the rest of his delegation left Monday afternoon, Hussain stayed back since he did not get a visa from the US embassy.

The aggrieved editor has blamed the MEA of religious bias rather than the US embassy for delay in issuing him the visa that would have enabled him to travel with the prime minister.

“I am a victim of being a Muslim and blame the ministry of external affairs for the goof-up rather than holding the US embassy in New Delhi responsible,” Hussain told IANS.

“I reached New Delhi as advised and visited the US embassy for my visa. I was shocked to find the inordinate delay in processing my visa application at a time when other colleagues took just 30 minutes or so for doing their formalities,” Hussain added.

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