President Wants to Expand Visa Waiver
Posted Dec 08, 2006
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President George W. Bush announced in late November 2006 that he would like to expand the visa waiver program (VWP) to include more countries. This announcement was made during his visit to Estonia, which is a country that would like to participate in the VWP.
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What is the VWP?
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The visa waiver program is designed to enhance the ease of routine travel for visitors to the United States. It is, essentially, an alternative to the B-1/B-2 visa for persons from certain countries with high rates of compliance with the terms of their visas. The country also must have a very low rate of B-1/B-2 visa rejections at the consulates. Other current requirements are set out on the U.S. Department of State (DOS) WebSite. It should be noted that one of the requirements is that the country offer reciprocal travel privileges to U.S. citizens. Thus, there is a benefit to U.S. citizens who travel to VWP countries for periods of up to 90 days.
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Limited Purpose
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The program does not replace the need for other types of visas, such as the H1B, L-1, J-1, F-1, etc. It also only allows visits of 90 days, with no extension of status or ability to file for a change to some other type of work status. Therefore, while it is a significant privilege and makes visiting the U.S. much easier for those from eligible countries, it is in no way an open door to live or work in the United States.
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Eligible Countries
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Currently, the following 27 countries are included within the VWP program: Andora, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, 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 the United Kingdom.
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DHS Caveat : Enhanced Security must be Taken into Account
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U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff supported the potential changes for those countries that would participate in certain enhanced security systems, including transmission of information about travelers prior to airline departure from abroad. Obviously, security is a concern in any such program, and that concern was voiced by critics of the VWP.
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The travel industry, which benefits from VWP visitors, also supported the proposed expansion. As this currently is only a proposal, it does not put any changes into place at this time.