Tourists need not apply

[question everything]

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-lucas19feb19,0,3027646.story

From the Los Angeles Times

Tourists need not apply
A crass, rude and greedy U.S. is missing out on a worldwide travel boom.
By Eric Lucas

February 19, 2008

'You guys are from the States, yes?"

Our interlocutor, speaking in the crisp cadences of the British Caribbean, was a woman in her mid-50s with a food stall along the Rainbow Highway in Belize. "We're from Seattle," I acknowledged. "Have you been?"

She sighed.

"My daughter lives in L.A. I've been trying to go visit her -- I'd love to see Disneyland -- but my visa application has been rejected twice. It costs $100 to apply, and that's about as much as I make here in a week. One has to go to the embassy in person, and that takes up a whole day. I can't afford to try again. They keep your money whether you're accepted or not."

Travel is booming worldwide -- except in the United States. And that woman's experience represents just one reason why. Overseas arrivals to the U.S. have declined 11% this decade, to 23 million in 2007 from 26 million in 2000. Travel is the world's largest industry, currently worth $5 trillion, and it is growing 6% a year. It employs almost a quarter of a billion people. And yet the U.S. is missing out on this wonderful human commerce.

(snip)

Why? American arrogance. The United States is a crass, greedy and rude host.

To start, we treat foreigners as criminals until proved otherwise.

These are the 29 countries whose citizens may visit the U.S. without a visa: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain. It's a near lily-white list. The rest of the world's people -- all 5 multicolored billion of them -- are suspect. And overseas, they know the U.S. thinks that.

(snip)

For those still determined to visit the U.S., the visa process involves going in person to a U.S. Embassy or consulate for an interview. And as the woman in Belize learned, there are no refunds if your visa application is rejected. Why are people turned away? Scruffiness, unsuitability, past contributions to Greenpeace or general ickiness. Read the State Department guidelines -- visitors must satisfy consular officers that they deserve to enter. But consular officials do not have to explain reasons for rejection, and they don't.

(snip)

Eric Lucas is a Seattle-based travel and business writer whose work appears in Michelin guides, Westways magazine and other publications.

[gateley]

1. K&R - We're making sure every single person in the whole world will hate us. nt

[trusty elf]

2. Just the other day I got a call from an old friend of mine,

a fine and admirable artist (musician) who is Japanese and lives in Switzerland. He was concerned that he wouldn't be able to play a concert in the States early next month because of visa hassles. He wanted to know whether I could go play the concert in his place, since I, being an ex-pat gringo, wouldn't have to deal with the daunting red tape.

I'm so proud to be an Amurcan I could :puke:

[question everything]

5. I hope that you will, and before you start will mention this story (nt)

[BB1]

3. I'd rather not come over despite all my good reasons

I have family in Missouri that I would love to see again. But since I'm a foreign journalist, it will be quite a hassle. Yes, I'm from the Netherlands (one of those tiny lily-white countries that don't have the Visum-requirement), but then still... I don't know. Flying is cheap these days, really cheap in dollars, but why waste money on a holiday gone rotten at the border?

[AlertLurker]

4. I live 10 minutes from the US Border. I will NEVER visit.

[carla]

6. We used to travel regularly

to the US, but ever since your government decided to make us into "suspects" by fingerprinting us and trying to collect data on our finances, political history, charitable links, etc. we have decided that your country is a no-go zone.
I find it truly ironic as it is your legal tradition that declares all to have a presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. This is quite daunting, even to people like us that would fit the exact definition of good citizens. We lament the loss of idealism in your domestic political culture, especially when replaced by concepts reminiscent of stale European dictatorships.

Our average expenditure in the US during our 6 week vacations...250.00$ daily.
Perhaps if things returned to normalcy, we would be happy to visit again, but the chances seem slim at best.

"Jammer, en tot hoor..."

[MattSh]

7. Hey, my WIFE and son were rejected for visas.

Got married to a lady in Kiev February 2006. Since most of my family did not make it to our wedding, we applied for a visa in April to visit. They were turned down. Why?

Apparently the embassy thought that 6 months in a foreign country was too much for the average American, and that I wanted to flee back to the comfort and safety of the US and bring my wife and child, without going through the proper procedures. Although I had already sold my house and quit my job in the states.

I wrote a fairly scathing appeal letter, got our case reconsidered, and eventually got visas. But I have little desire to go through that again any time soon. And little desire to go back myself.

:grr: :grr: :grr: