VOA慢速英語：美國國務院指示設定簽證新步驟

State Department Directives Describe New Steps for US Visas

美國國務院指示設定簽證新步驟

The United States has told its diplomats overseas to identify groups whose members should be thoroughly investigated when they request a visa. The State Department sent a series of directives to U.S. embassies and diplomatic offices earlier this month.

美國已經(jīng)要求海外外交官確定在簽證時應當進行徹底調查的群體。本月初國務院向美國大使館和外交部門發(fā)出了一系列指示。

The department told them to investigate the social media messages and activities of visa applicants. It said officials should be looking for people who are suspected of terrorist ties or of having been in areas controlled by the Islamic State group.

國務院要求他們調查簽證申請人的社交媒體信息和活動，稱有關官員應該審查涉嫌與恐怖分子存在關聯(lián)或曾經(jīng)身處伊斯蘭國控制地區(qū)的申請人。

Another directive ordered embassies to set up security and intelligence working groups to establish guidance for "population sets." It said these measures would identify which people require a detailed investigation before they are permitted in the United States.

另一項指示命令大使館設立安全和情報工作組為特定人群制定指導方針，并稱這些措施將會確定“哪些人在被允許進入美國之前需要進行詳細調查。”

Even if someone is qualified for a visa, they could still be barred from entering the country if they do not meet the rules set by the working groups.

即使某些人有資格獲得簽證，如果不符合該工作組所制定的規(guī)則，他們仍可能會被禁止入境。

The directives are the first evidence of a Trump administration plan for the "extreme vetting" of foreigners before they are given visas.

這些指示是川普政府計劃對外國人簽發(fā)簽證前進行“極度審查”的第一個例證。

Before becoming president, Donald Trump promised such a plan to American voters during the 2016 election campaign.

在成為總統(tǒng)前，川普在2016年競選期間向美國選民承諾了這樣一個方案。

The four documents sent between March 10 and March 17 do not tell which "population sets" are to be given additional examination.

3月10日到17日發(fā)出的四份文件并未指明哪些人群需要進行額外審查。

But one document says investigators should ask visa applicants about where they worked, who they worked for and where they traveled over the past 15 years. The document also tells investigators to ask applicants for all email addresses and social media names used over the past five years.

但有一份文件稱，調查人員應該詢問簽證申請人他們在哪工作，為誰工作以及過去15年去過那些地方。這份文件還讓調查人員詢問申請人過去五年使用過的電子郵件地址和社交媒體賬戶名。

The State Department said later it was withdrawing the questions until they are approved by another federal agency.

國務院隨后表示正在撤回這些問題，直到被另一家聯(lián)邦機構批準為止。

The Reuters news agency first reported on the series of directives last week.

上周路透社率先報道了這一系列指示。

Rights groups and others have criticized the directives and accused Trump of discriminating against Muslims. They note his recent executive order to block travelers from six countries: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

權利組織和其他人批評了這些指示，并指責川普歧視穆斯林。他們提到了川普最近禁止六個國家旅客入境的行政命令，這六個國家包括伊朗、利比亞、索馬里、蘇丹、敘利亞和也門。

A federal judge has suspended the government's enforcement of the ban.

一位聯(lián)邦法官已經(jīng)暫停了政府執(zhí)行這一禁令。

The rights group Amnesty International wrote a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week. It said the documents "could provide license for discrimination based on national origin and religion. They could provide a pretext for barring individuals based on their nonviolent beliefs and expression. Social media checks, as well as demands for social media passwords at U.S. borders, have significant implications for privacy and freedom of expression."

大赦國際組織上周給國務卿蒂勒森致信。信中寫道，這些文件“給基于國籍和宗教的歧視提供了許可證，也為以非暴力信仰和言論為由禁止個人入境提供了借口。審查社交媒體賬戶，以及要求在入境美國時提供社交媒體賬戶密碼對個人隱私和言論自由帶來了重大影響。”

Law professor Anil Kalhan leads the international human rights committee of the New York City Bar Association. He said the documents "will needlessly worsen visa processing backlogs" and may lead to applications for visas being wrongly denied.

法律教授Anil Kalhan領導了紐約市律師協(xié)會國際人權委員會。他說這些文件“將會不必要地加大簽證處理的積壓”，并可能會導致簽證申請被錯誤地拒絕。

Some refugee aid groups and even State Department workers have said the visa investigation process is already very strong.

一些難民援助團體甚至國務院工作人員都表示，簽證調查程序已經(jīng)很嚴格。

Stephen Yale-Loehr is an immigration law professor at Cornell University's law school. Last month, he told CBS News "we have a terrorist watch database. We have known immigration violators database. We have a criminal background check database that they have to go through. They don't just take the visa applicant's word. They do go through all of these computer databases to verify for themselves that it's appropriate to issue the visa to a particular individual."

Stephen Yale-Loehr是康奈爾大學法學院的移民法教授。上個月他對CBS新聞表示，“我們擁有一個恐怖分子監(jiān)視數(shù)據(jù)庫，我們已經(jīng)了解了移民違規(guī)者數(shù)據(jù)庫。我們擁有一個申請者必須通過的犯罪背景調查數(shù)據(jù)庫。簽證官不只是獲取簽證申請表格上的數(shù)據(jù)，他們會認真檢查所有這些計算機數(shù)據(jù)庫，以驗證向特定個人簽發(fā)簽證是否適當。”

I'm Dorothy Gundy.

多蘿西·甘地報道。