Washington, Nov 11: The new visa rules imposed by US after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on grounds of security against terrorists, is dissuading thousands from coming to the country, hitting industry, research universities, medical institutions, multinational corporations and the travel industry. Because of the new regulations, American universities have lost students and scholars; corporations have suffered production delays, friction with customers and personnel problems; and foreign tourists and conventioneers have decided by the thousands to take their business elsewhere, The Washington Post said in a report today.

Increasingly, says the post, US leaders in education, business and science are warning that the procedural obstacles thrown up to screen security threats have fostered a bureaucratic "culture of no" that discounts the benefits that foreigners bring to the US Many critics also caution that by requiring foreigners to wait weeks or months for visas, Washington is damaging its efforts at public diplomacy. However, Janice L Jacobs, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for visa services, defends the new rules saying: "In the post-9/11 environment, we do not believe that the issues at stake allow us the luxury of erring on the side of expeditious processing."

Bureau Report