The United States has instituted several requirements aimed at detecting terrorists disguised as tourists since September 11, which some argue have done little more than create a blow to the US economy tourism industry. Under a new security procedure, the United States has screened more than 125,000 visa applications in an attempt to screen terrorists.  This procedure requires security reviews for all males between the ages of six and 45 from a list of 26 mostly Islamic countries. Not one of these applications, however, has been denied.

In addition, the State Department also requires personal interviews for all visa applications. Certain other visitors are also subject to FBI and CIA screening. Next year, the department will begin to collect fingerprints from all applications. This year, it is estimated that the United States will conduct more than 6 million background checks, compared to 2 million before 2001.

Consequently, travelers to the United States since September 11 must wait approximately 30 days for a background check and pay higher fees as well. As a result, the number of visitors to the United States has fallen nearly 20 percent since 2001, and according to an estimate by a Florida travel industry official, that decline has cost the United States economy more than $15 billion.

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Asa Hutchinson, the undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said DHS has denied entry to 200 foreign nationals who attempted to enter the country as students, who "posed a risk to America." Hutchinson told attendees at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference that the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which tracks foreign students, assisted the government in assessing and rejecting the applicants.

In some cases, Hutchinson said, the schools had no record of the student applicants, and in other cases the students had been expelled.

SEVIS has recently come under fire by the General Accounting Office and in congressional hearings, for its persistent technical problems. About 800,000 individuals are now listed in SEVIS.

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The Department of State issued a press statement early last week designating Dhamat Houmet Daawa Salafia as a foreign entity that has committed or poses a significant risk of committing acts of terror threatening the U.S. national security, under Executive ORder 13224. The designation, effective October 17, 2003, blocks the group's assents in the U.S. and bars U.S. citizens from engaging in transactions with the group.

According to the statement, the group is previously known as Katibat el Ahoual, which splintered from the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), which was previously designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The group is said to have ties to al-Qaida.