RIYADH, Oct 6: Saudi Arabia is expected to start finger-printing Americans entering the kingdom in response to a similar measure introduced by the United States last week, the US embassy said on Sunday.
“The embassy wishes to advise American citizens that in the near future the government of Saudi Arabia may start requiring American citizens to be fingerprinted as part of their visa or entry process,” the embassy said in a new warden message.
“There also is the possibility that the duration of visas to Saudi Arabia will be shortened for American citizens and visa fees increased,” the message added.
New stringent US immigration checks on nationals from several Muslim countries went into effect last Tuesday.
The measures, which require Saudi male visitors to the United States to undergo digital fingerprinting and photographing, and to provide information on travel plans, has angered Saudis who decried it as discrimination.
Under these rules, male visitors from the countries concerned, aged between 16 and 45, are required to register with the authorities upon entering the United States.
Such visitors are also required to appear for an interview at immigration offices if they wish to stay in the United States for more than 30 days. They must notify the authorities within 10 days of any change to their place of residence.
The US embassy said the expected Saudi measures are in “response to the introduction...of the National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS).”
There are between 30,000 and 40,000 Americans living and working in the oil-rich kingdom, down from about 60,000 a decade ago.
Since September 11, 2001, the US embassy in Saudi Arabia has stiffened procedures for issuing visas to Saudi citizens, including students.
It has abolished a system by which Saudis could submit visa applications through certain travel agencies and required that almost all applicants appear for personal interviews.
The embassy also required Saudi women, normally veiled in public, to submit applications with photos showing their faces. Saudi men were asked to submit pictures without the traditional headcover.
Last month, the national oil giant Saudi Aramco was forced to send some 100 students to Europe after the US embassy refused to grant them visas.
The number of Saudi travellers to the United States has sharply dropped following the plane bombings in New York and Washington in which 15 of the 19 hijack suspects are Saudi.
The countries whose citizens are subject to the extra US checks 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.—AFP