In this week's episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, Jessica Vaughan, the Center's Director of Policy Studies, expands on her recent testimony before the U.S. House immigration subcommittee on “Restoring Integrity and Security to the Visa Process”.

Under the Biden administration, the number of visa applications and issuances increased significantly, which created difficulties for vetting and greater opportunity for visa fraud. Along with host and Center Executive Director Mark Krikorian, Vaughan explores various actions that can be taken by Congress or the Trump administration to address these risks.

Vaughan identifies several possible changes that could be made administratively.

• Change the culture of customer service at USCIS and State Department that encourages adjudicators to “get to yes”
• Require mandatory interviews of all visa applicants
• Narrow the default authorized duration of stay for short-term tourist and business visas to 30 days instead of an automatic six months

Vaughan also discusses visa categories that she believes should be reviewed by Congress to decide if they need to be managed more closely, cut back, or eliminated altogether, including:

• Diversity Lottery
• U and T visas
• Special Immigrant Juvenile visas
• Optional Practical Training
• J visas

In his closing commentary, Mark Krikorian looks inside the “Big Beautiful Bill” and what its enactment means for immigration policy.

Host

Mark Krikorian in the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Guest

Jessica Vaughan is a Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Related

Jessica Vaughan’s oral and written statements

Video of the full hearing, plus all written witness statements

Overview of Immigration Provisions in H.R.1, the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’

Intro Montage

Voices in the opening montage:

• Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.
• Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.
• President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.
• Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.
• Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.
• Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.
• Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.
• Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.
• Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.
• Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.
• Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".