Easy In -- Easy Stay : America’s temporary-visa system is a scandal; urgent reform is needed

Detailed descriptions of how foreign terrorists are able to sneak into the United States fuel the plots of countless thrillers. As clever as these fictional accounts may be, we now know that in real life elaborate and costly subterfuges to gain entry can often be largely unnecessary.

The easiest way to enter the country is by obtaining a visa or other entry permit from a U.S. mission abroad. Each year tens of millions of foreigners do so. Most conduct their business or go to school or enjoy their vacations and then return home. Some do not. Who these people are, and what becomes of them is, literally, anyone’s guess, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s.

The World Trade Center bombing, as well as the attack in January on CIA employees outside the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Va., are chilling evidence of how poorly visa regulations are enforced. Mir Aimal Kansi, a Pakistani who is the prime suspect in the CIA killings, entered the country legally in late 1990. He delayed his departure when his visa expired by applying for political asylum. He also bought--legally--the AK-47 rifle allegedly used in the two murders at CIA headquarters.

Mohammed A. Salameh, arrested in connection with the World Trade Center bombing, similarly entered the country on a visa obtained at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan. Like countless others, he failed to depart when his visa expired. But authorities had no way of knowing that, or of locating him once his stay became illegal. Visa applications, which contain a lot of relevant information, are destroyed after only one year. Claims about places of residency in the United States aren’t checked, nor are departure documents required. As a result, INS has no idea how many visitors actually leave when their visas expire.

Two recent tragedies have exposed an approach to visa monitoring that is astonishing in its lax record-keeping and enforcement. No doubt, as with most such shortcomings, the problem is insufficient funding and, possibly, skewed priorities. Here in any case is a system in need of urgent overhaul and modernization--a fact that Congress and the INS can no longer evade.