I'm thrilled with President Bush's announcement on Friday that seven new countries will be added to the U.S. government's Visa Waiver Program. The Visa Waiver Program allows travelers from certain qualifying countries, like the UK, Japan and Australia, to visit our country without having to get a visitor visa. The U.S government plans to add South Korea, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia. It's a great first step to attract more international travelers to visit the United States, which is a key part of stimulating our economy.
In 2007, the U.S. welcomed two million fewer visitors than it did in 2000, despite the weak dollar and the millions more people that are traveling. The number of people traveling has been growing and the U.S. has been getting a smaller piece of the action. I'm hopeful that adding these new countries to the Visa Waiver Program will help turn the tide and bring more visitors to the United States.
I've blogged before about visa processing and wait times at consulates and embassies overseas - sometimes it's not a welcoming or very efficient process. By expanding the Visa Waiver Program, the State Department will be able to reallocate some of the resources currently being used in these seven countries on visa processing. They could shift staff and funding to countries with visa back logs - like Brazil.
Visitors to the United States have proven they like spending their money here, so let's help them continue to do it!
I'm Bill Marriott and thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the move.
Making It Easier for Travelers to Visit the US
hi sir.. i am dwarika prasad from india..
thanks a lot send to me this great information...
Posted by: dwarika prasad | 10/22/2008 at 12:54 AM
You're right, the visa process is inefficient in most countries, and the processes are antiquated. Australia has a great one (I'm a US citizen, currently on a business trip that includes Oz), which allows you to apply for the visa online, is approved within seconds, and doesn't require any paperwork. Why can't more countries do that, in this supposedly global age?
Posted by: Barbara Gibson | 10/21/2008 at 06:52 PM
Dear Mr. Marriott,
If you're a young man here in Amman Jordan, it's much more easier for you applying and training on an austronaut's
mission to the moon and actually getting on that mission and visiting the moon than processing an application
for a visa to the US. You see through the past decades many Jordanians have used their visit visa's as a gateway to go to
the US and mingle with the crowds well through their visit permit dates till they found a legal way to authorize
a permenant stay. This caused the US embassy to tighten up the Visa criteria to an unbearable extreme.
An applicant would have to have land or real estate in jordan, a strong bank account and a statement from his/her present
employer stating that he/she is on vacation to get passed an interview with the counselor. At least this is the criteria the embassy asks the applicant
to prove when filling the application on the net. needless to say an interview can be as much as two months into
the future. I have attended American Schools from my first elementary school year all the way till my senior high school
graduation year in 1992. Seeing that this criteria being very unattainable for my circumstances I honestly applied on the net twice but never went to the interviews fearing an application refusal for my inadequate papers. I do maintain the will to visit the States very much. I'm a free lance writer and by next summer maximum I will have finished my first novel. An English cheif editor for a magazine read my short stories and articles that I wrote for her magazine and published them once for me. She encouraged me a lot to write. That was why I embarked on my first novel in the hopes of finding a publishing chance for it in the US. However according to the criteria in the US embassy here in Jordan I may never have a chance to visit the US and find out if my novel will be convincing enough for any publisher. The whole irony of the situation is that for thirteen years I learned the language and culture of a country that I might never have a chance to visit. My hopes are high that the Lord will enlighten me with the means to fulfill my ambitiions at some point in the future.
Posted by: Feras Werr | 10/21/2008 at 06:38 AM