GAO report determines most visas denied in 2017 not due to executive action

Though President Donald Trump signed an executive order in 2017 to restrict the issuance of visas and instigate changes to nonimmigrant visa (NIV) screening and vetting, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently found that 90 percent of visas remained unaffected by this change.

Of the 2.8 million NIV applications refused in 2017, only 1,338 were explicitly rejected due to the new visa entry restrictions. These include foreign tourists, students and others seeking temporary admission to the United States.

The number of such NIV applications peaked the year previous, at around 13.4 million people, according to Department of State officials. They decreased by approximately 880,000 people over the course of 2017. Most rejections throughout the year were due to the applicants not qualifying for the visa being sought, with most visas being requested by tourists and business visitors — approximately 80 percent of them. Only a fraction — 0.05 percent — of rejections stemmed from terrorism or security concerns.

The most significant number of rejections came from China, which accounted for 2.02 million failed applicants. It was followed by Mexico, at 1.75 million, then India, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina. The percentage of people refused entry has been steadily increasing for years and saw a sharp increase between 2014 and 2016.

GAO conducted this study following requests to review NIV screening and vetting. It looked at figures from between 2012 and 2017, with particular attention paid to key changes made to the NIV adjudication process by executive action.