Journalists hit by new US visa rules Owen Gibson, chief reporter
A crackdown by US authorities on issuing visas to foreign journalists threatens to cause chaos for overseas broadcasters and newspapers just five months before the presidential election.
The new rules, which come into force next week, will ban overseas reporters and news crews stationed in the US from renewing their visas without leaving the country first.
Just five months before American voters decide who will be appointed to the most powerful office in the world, the US state department said it would no longer allow overseas journalists to renew visas from within the country.
From next week the estimated 20,000 foreign journalists stationed in the US, who used to be able to renew their visas with ease in any major city, will be forced to leave the country to do so.
Rather than applying to renew their visas in Washington or New York, they will be forced to leave the country and re-apply at a US embassy or consulate abroad, delaying their application for between four weeks and six months.
The move will prove particularly problematic for the thousands of stringers and correspondents reporting for overseas publications and broadcasters who are based in America on a semi-permanent basis.
The state department said it was taking the action to comply with new homeland security legislation, which requires all visas issued after October 26 to include biometric information, including fingerprints.
It said it would not be "feasible" to collect this information in the US, despite the fact that a separate edict has ruled that all government departments responsible for issuing visas should have the required equipment in time for the change.
In order to minimise the inconvenience, the department added that it would fast track applications from those who had previously had their visa reissued in the US, and would allow some appointments to be made over the internet or by phone. But applicants will still have to turn up in person to be interviewed and renew their visa.
The move has been criticised in the US by the Society for Professional Journalists, which has voiced concerns that in addition to creating logistical problems for thousands of foreign journalists, it could lead to a backlash against American reporters working overseas.
The president of the SPJ, Mac McKerral, told a US trade magazine that it was "very concerned that this action prompts reciprocal actions by foreign governments to American journalists living and working overseas".
While there is little chance of getting the legislation changed before next week, the SPJ has said it will continue to campaign to have the rules amended.
"If you let people know they are unfair and unworkable, hopefully they will fix it somehow," said Mr McKerral.
A spokesman for the BBC said its correspondents in the US tended to be on longer-term visas, so it did not anticipate any "serious disruption" - however, news chiefs will continue to monitor the situation as the changes are introduced.