The source told NewsMax.com the Bureau has fears loophole may have already been exploited -- primarily because the State Department rarely, if ever, verifies whether the successful visa applicant actually shows up at the listed medical center for treatment.
According to the source, who requested anonymity, suspicions about the medical visa loophole were first aroused when an administrator in charge of medical requests at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., contacted the FBI soon after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The hospital had been getting an unusually high number of requests for medical visas from outside the U.S., especially from a specific region of Pakistan, the source says.
As expected, the requests in the case were for children; the visas, however, allow the child's entire family to enter the U.S.
But in a number of cases, said the source, neither the child nor the family showed up at duPont for treatment.
Following 9/11, the administrator contacted the FBI to explain the findings. The source close to the Bureau says agents then discovered a pattern of unusual medical visa requests at other hospitals where patients had also not shown up.
According to State Department information, those seeking to enter the U.S. for medical treatment would apply for a B-2 Visa.
a statement from a doctor or institution concerning proposed medical treatment
"Attempting to obtain a visa by the willful misrepresentation of a material fact, or fraud, may result in the permanent refusal of a visa or denial of entry into the United States," says the department's information Web site.
Stuart Patt, a spokesman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs—the division of the State Department which handles visa applications—told NewsMax.com once the visa holder reaches the United States, he or she then falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security.
At that point, "the Immigration Inspector reviews all of the [visitor's] information again to see whether or not they're actually entitled to enter," said Patt.
According to Homeland Security, the screening process actually begins sooner.
The agency begins screening visa recipients prior to their traveling to the states, via the U.S.-VISIT program, which Homeland Security describes as "part of a continuum of security measures that begins overseas, when a person applies for a visa to travel to the United States, and continues on through entry and exit at U.S. air and seaports and, eventually, at land border crossings."
But officials were unclear as to whether the government routinely verifies that B-2 Visa holders traveling to the U.S. for medical treatment showed up at the hospital.
"There are many times, on these cases—if there is some question about it—that our consular officers abroad will check [in] the United States," Patt said. "They'll call the doctor or the hospital to verify within a few days of the documentation."
Bill Strassberger, a spokesman for Homeland Security, told NewsMax.com the agency does not verify every medical visa.
Nevertheless, he said, via the U.S. VISIT program Homeland Security is making good progress in catching wanted international figures.
"We're not where we want to be yet, but we're getting there," Strassberger said.
Also, he said most Immigration Inspectors have a sixth sense about foreigners entering the U.S. They can spot questionable "visitors," many of whom "believe they're the first ones to come up with a number of excuses" to get into the country.
"Everyone thinks they're the first to use some excuses," Strassberger said.
‘Another Year or Two’
The US VISIT program is helping officials identify and interdict international criminals and terrorist suspects, but it is not yet completely online, he said.
"It'll be another year or two" before the system is operating at all entry points into the U.S., the Homeland Security spokesman said.
Specifically, he said biometric technology—the identification of persons using fingerprints and retinal scans—is finally coming online. Soon, it will be "fully implemented" at all ports of entry.
The source told NewsMax Alfred I. duPont Hospital was the first medical facility to report to the FBI a suspicious increase in overseas requests for treatment, many of which came via email to the hospital.
But James Lardear, a spokesman for DuPont Hospital, said he could neither "confirm nor deny" that.
He did say, however, that foreign visa-related medical requests don't go through one specific physician for approval, but instead are routed to the appropriate medical department.
Also, he said it may not be hard to track whether or not overseas patients actually show up, because "so much needs to be done" to accommodate them before they arrive.
Lardear said hospital officials must often secure a translator so they can communicate with the patient and patient's family, make hotel and living quarters arrangements, and other preparations. "If we did those things and they didn't show, we'd probably know," he said.
Dupont Hospital, a 152-bed facility, is nationally renowned. It is a full-service regional pediatric medical center offering a complete range of clinical programs, according to one corporate description. The hospital performs 12,000 surgeries annually, and more than 300,000 outpatient procedures.
