Trump order will slow down vetting process for travelers to United States

WASHINGTON — President Trump has taken a small step toward "extreme vetting" of foreign travelers to the United States, signing an executive order that will have the effect of slowing down visas for tourists, business travelers and other short-term visitors.

The order, signed late Wednesday with no fanfare or advance notice, updates a 2012 executive order by President Barack Obama. That order tried to boost the U.S. travel industry by speeding up the process for vetting people entering the country on non-immigrant visas. 

Obama's goal was to ensure that 80% of those short-term visas applicants were interviewed by a State Department consulate within 3 weeks. Trump's order eliminated that goal.

The State Department processed nearly 10.4 million of those short-term visas last year.

"This is a very straightforward step that removes an arbitrary requirement and ensures the State Department has the needed discretion to make real-world security determinations," said assistant press secretary Michael Short. "The president expects careful, accurate vetting of visa applicants, not a rushed process to accommodate an arbitrary deadline."

The order comes as the Department of Homeland Security begins its 90-day review of vetting procedures ordered by Trump's controversial executive order temporarily banning travel from six predominately Muslim countries. That order has been held up by the courts, but a San Francisco-based appeals court said last week that the behind-the-scenes review could begin.

Contributing: Alan Gomez in Miami and Bart Jansen in Washington.