Computer Systems:

Types and Sources of Department of State Lookout Records

IMTEC-89-71FS: Published: Sep 29, 1989. Publicly Released: Sep 29, 1989.

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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of State's Automated Visa Lookout System (AVLOS), which allows officials at consular posts to screen out undesirable immigrants or identify those of interest to other law enforcement agencies.

GAO found that: (1) AVLOS is a computerized name matching system which checks information entered by consular officers against about 2.65 million lookout records; (2) the individual records include name, date of birth, and a code indicating why the individual is of interest; (3) consular officers review visa and passport applications; (4) consular posts without access to AVLOS use a microfiche version of the AVLOS files; (5) State reported that, as of July 1989, 94 of its 256 consular posts were using AVLOS; and (6) State was developing a new system to improve name matching capabilities.

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