WASHINGTON, Nov 9: Men from predominantly Muslim nations will now be required to complete a detailed questionnaire and wait 20 days for visas to the United States, senior State Department officials said Friday.

Starting next week, US consulates and embassies in 25 nations must send names of male visa applicants aged 16 to 45 to be checked against FBI databases in Washington, giving the agency 20 days to respond before processing the application, they said.

Countries affected by the new rules are Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Applicants will also be required to fill out a detailed questionnaire asking about past military service, weapons training, travel and if they have ever lost a passport, they said.

The new requirements are part of a tightening of US visa policies after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Many of the terrorists in those attacks entered the United States legally.

One official said the longer waiting period would only be temporary, rejecting suggestions the new rules clashed with the US argument that its war against terrorism did not target Muslims indiscriminately or was in any way comparable to the controversial practice of racial profiling by police.

“We need to check people against all our databases,” the official said, noting for many years Washington has required “security advisory opinions” for suspect visa applicants.—AFP