Posted on 05/28/2004 5:32:16 AM PDT by Grzegorz 246
OK
Isn't a passport where a visa goes?
All those little rubber stamps that make foreign office/State Department personnel feel so important?
Please bear in mind that my complaint about visas is that they are an unnecessary formality, and that they have nothing to do with security. I have no problem with requiring visas of foreign citizens of those countries that require visas of us. But to require visas from citizens of those countries with which our current security arrangements have made visas obsolete is absurd.
Also, as you correctly point-out, visas are issued by the State Department . . . the last organization on the face of this Earth that you want to handle security.
As an aside, you might not know that your passport information (what exactly, we don't know), is transmitted to the INS by the departing-country before you land here. Note that a visa, in this case, does no good. The Europeans fought us tooth-and-nail on this and lost. If you are arriving from a country that does not have such a security arrangement with us, then expect to be "hassled" on entry (I hope).
Finally, and completely off-point, what makes our Polish friend above upset is that Poland does not require visas of us, but we require visas (with limits) of them. Unfortunately, there's an economic reason. Polish visa-holders, statistically, tend to come here for "legitimate" reasons but end-up staying for economic ones. (I can safely write this because I'm Lithuanian, and my friends "over there" are in the same boat). The current position of the U.S. government is that Polish visas are restricted (and expensive) for that reason.
Please see my reply above.
Thanks for your support.
"Polish visa-holders, statistically, tend to come here for "legitimate" reasons but end-up staying for economic ones."
It's true, but most US citizens (or their parents or...) came some time ago from other countries.
After 1 May we can travel and get legal work in U.K. but we can't get any social subsidy (?) there. I think that it is good situation for both sides (Poland and U.K.).
I think that USA should do the same as U.K. at least for those who are quite well educated and know at leat a little English.
Whatever you think about it I'm sure that it would be good for US economy.
Question: our daughter has a friend from Scotland who is coming here to visit and he has to get a visa. I thought that everyone who comes here had to get one. He is nervous as heck about it (he's 23 -still wet behind the ears) and is afraid they won't let him in. Everytime he talks to someone over there, they give him some story that worries him more.
My gut feeling is that nothing can stop your daughter's friend from visiting other than an arrest-record (in which case you don't want him or her visiting your daughter in the first place). My dim recollection is that he gets three months to visit.
Disclaimer: The above is not intended to be legal advice, not a substitute for legal advice.
"you might not know that your passport information (what exactly, we don't know), is transmitted to the INS by the departing-country before you land here."
Some action on the part of the traveler must kick off this data sharing - issue of a passport won't do it, is it not the visa that would initiate a request?
Also, while I empathies with the Poles - you state that they 'tend' to overstay for economic reasons. Should that not be interpreted as breaking our laws?
This country MUST take control of its borders. It matters not that the traveler is a mexican illegal, a Polish cheater, Canadian, or a Chinese scientist with a tape recorder and laptop; this is not a wilderness anymore and we've seen that everyone does not come here for humane reasons.
You are correct. There are 27 countries which qualify for the visa wavier program. To qualify, a country must meet the following criteria
In order to qualify for VWP participation, the nonimmigrant visitor ("B-1/B-2" visa category) refusal rate for nationals of a country who have applied at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in that country must average less than 3% for the previous fiscal year.
Once a country meets the refusal rate criteria, a number of other factors must be evaluated before a decision on VWP nomination can be made:
Reciprocity
VWP candidate countries must provide reciprocal visa-free travel for U.S. citizens. Passport security
A country must have a machine readable passport (MRP) program in place in order to qualify for VWP participation. In addition, VWP candidate countries must demonstrate that adequate safeguards against fraudulent use of their passports are in place, including proper storage of blank passports and sufficient screening of passport applicants. Consideration will also be given to the ease with which host country citizenship can be obtained. Political and economic stability
Countries under consideration for VWP participation must be sufficiently stable to ensure that conditions which could affect VWP qualifying criteria (such as overstay rates in the U.S.) are not likely to change dramatically in the future. Border controls
VWP candidate countries must demonstrate that effective border controls are in place for all territory under their control.
Factors taken into consideration include the thoroughness and consistency of entry checks as well as the extent to which the country's territory is used as a transit point for alien smugglers. Law-enforcement cooperation
The degree to which host country law enforcement agencies cooperate with U.S. counterparts as well as international entities such as Interpol will be considered. The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, must evaluate the nominee country's interest in enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, and the existence and effectiveness of extradition agreements with the U.S., including extradition of its own nationals who violate US laws.
The Attorney General must submit a report to Congress on the country's qualification for designation that includes an explanation of a favorable determination. Security concerns
Any security concerns that could be raised by a country's admission into the VWP program will be considered.
Countries in the Visa Wavier Program are: Andorra (MRP) Iceland, Norway,Australia, Ireland, Portugal Austria, Italy, San Marino,Belgium (MRP), Japan, Singapore, Brunei (MRP), Liechtenstein (MRP), Slovenia (MRP), Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Finland, Monaco, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand, and United Kingdom.
The program was established by the State Department with Congressional approval to enable easier entrance into the US for tourism and business purposes. It also saves the administrative costs of having additional consular officials and staff overseas.
The action that initiates the transmission is your physical act of boarding the plane.
Actually he does have a "record". His stepfather beat his mom up and he, in turn, beat him (when he was 17) His uncle(pro boxer) knows someone and is going to help him with that. He is just so afraid he'll get turned away. LOL He isn't much of a liar. I told him if he was in mehico, he could come on over with the rest, but he wants to do it legal.
Thanks for your info.
crud! Not boxer but weight lifter - has titles I believe.
One word of friendly (again, not legal) advice: it'd be best if he kept his nose clean while here. If he gets into trouble with the law here, then he might be deported if his previous legal transgression(s) are serious.
He WILL be good. LOL He's already said he's afraid we will lynch him. I told him we wouldn't do that - we'd just strip him nekkid and run him down the street. Poor boy believed me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.