US travel industry supports visa-free travel

12 September 2007

Even six years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States, both government officials and the travel business are not fully clear as to how to make travel into the United States difficult for terrorists and simple for visitors from abroad.

Of late, this vexing question has focused on which tourists should be required to have a visa when they come into the country. The travel industry wants to get rid of needless barriers. At the same time, many argue that the visa application process is critical to identifying potentially dangerous individuals.

In August 2007, the travel industry in the United States celebrated “the most significant travel reform since 9/11” – a policy change that will offer visa-free travel to people from more countries.

The new policy will also build new security checks into the system. South Koreans, Czechs, and Israelis are among those who could benefit.

The Visa Waiver Program now allows visitors from 27 countries to visit the United States – but not to work or study – for up to 90 days, without the hassle of applying for a visa and paying a fee of $100.

More countries will now be able to join in, provided they agree to share information about known terrorists and comply with other rules. Travelers would have to register their names, passport numbers, and other information when they make their airline reservation.

When this system is put into practice, travelers will have to apply online to be able to travel, from wherever they are, according to Susan Ginsburg, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington. She served as senior counsel on the staff of the 9/11 Commission, and sits on the Homeland Security Advisory Council’s Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee.

Such a system, already in place in Australia, would add to an existing US system that checks passenger names against a terrorist “watch list” at departure.

Passengers then must clear inspection by the US Customs and Border Protection. The visa system, however, failed to prevent the 2001 terrorist hijackers, mostly Saudi Arabian nationals, from entering the country.

All the 19 hijackers of 9/11 had visas – one had a student visa and the rest had business/tourist visas. All of the men violated some aspect of immigration law, such as presenting manipulated passports or attending flight school without authorization. And, all of them had submitted applications denying that they would engage in terrorist activity.

But, opponents of the Visa Waiver Program point to ‘shoe bomber’ Richard Reid and al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui, who were admitted without visas because they were from Britain and France, respectively, both ‘waiver’ nations.

The immigration-control group Federation for American Immigration Reform said in a recent report that the Visa Waiver Program remains a weak link in US security, and that the new screening system is not a proper substitute for the consular officers who handle visa applications. The new electronic screening, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, “offers protection only against known terrorists traveling with documents in their own name.”

The Travel Industry Association (TIA) argues that the changes will enhance, and not weaken, security.

The visa process mainly tries to screen out “intending immigrants” – that is, those who are pretending to be tourists but intending to stay illegally, according to Rick Webster, TIA’s vice-president for government affairs. In the revamped waiver program, nations would agree to share information about potential terrorists and improve the reliability of passports and other documents.

Travel to the United States from abroad fell by 17% since a peak in 2000, according to TIA, meaning a loss of almost 200,000 jobs and $16 billion in tax receipts.