Darrell Issa Questions State Department Official on Visa System and Embassy Construction

Visa System Harmonization

• 🎯 Darrell Issa questioned Acting Under Secretary José Cunningham about the State Department's dual relationship with Homeland Security regarding visas, which has been problematic for over 20 years.
• ⚠️ Issa highlighted that the State Department interviews individuals, but the visa then disappears into Homeland Security for an undetermined period, lacking clear accountability.
• 🤝 Cunningham stated that the State Department and Homeland Security work together, but Issa urged him to re-examine the system with a focus on individuals unable to get timely answers.
• 💡 Issa proposed harmonizing the authority to a single place of accountability to resolve the current issues.

Embassy Construction and Reorganization

• 🏗️ Issa raised concerns about the State Department's embassy construction projects, noting that many are delayed and significantly over budget, citing the Lebanon embassy as an example of extreme cost and time overruns.
• 🏢 He criticized the trend of building