Comments on: Washington’s twisted tourism logic

By: New U.S. entry fee for visitors from Visa Waiver countries | Karen Fawcett

New U.S. entry fee for visitors from Visa Waiver countries | Karen Fawcett — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 23:27:02 +0000

[...] Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said, “Creating a tourism promotion program to encourage international visitors to vacation in America will help spur economic growth and create more jobs.” Not everyone agrees with this new approach. [...]

By: No free entry to the U.S. for visitors from Visa Waiver countries? Will the fee discourage tourists from coming? Or will they grin and bear the $14 extra charge?

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:31:57 +0000

By: Italia Mia Lodge » Blog Archive » Got Moral Turpitude? You Better if You Come to the US!

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:01:20 +0000

[...] they’re given the privilege of embarking. I give thanks to by Charlie Leocha who penned Washington’s twisted tourism logic for this incredible insight into the insanity the US government makes visitors sweat [...]

By: MeanMeosh

MeanMeosh — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:08:01 +0000

I hate to break it to you, but you have to answer those questions on the I-94, anyway. Whether they’re intrusive or not is open for debate, but it’s not like this is anything new.

And to play the devil’s advocate on those questions – think about this scenario. A person enters the U.S. with the intention of committing some kind of crime or terrorism, and of course answers the question “no”. They then get caught in the act of trying to plan whatever it is they’re attempting to do. Now all the cops have to do is pull their immigration form, and viola – said perp has committed a felony by falsifying an immigration form, and can now be deported (or the prosecutor can use it as a bargaining chip in trying to extract a plea agreement and/or information on that person’s cohorts). I’m not saying this is a valid reason for asking these question – but I can see a logical basis for asking them.

By: Dalit

Dalit — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:56:29 +0000

I’ve answered those questions many times, and to tell you the truth they don’t bother me personally. I do agree with the OP that people think they are stupid, I mean, I’m sure everyone just marks “no, no, no..” without reading too much.
Of course it would be a shame to ask the mayor of Paris those questions, but hey, there are a lot of people that should actually answer “yes” to some of those questions, not that they would.
Now the fingerprints, pictures, and sending you to the little back room for further checking (I have 2 passports and 2 visas (student and visitor) so that happens to me every time I visit, around twice a year) is in my opinion an exaggeration, and they are checking the wrong people. I’m against racial profiling, but not against common sense!

By: Charlie Leocha

Charlie Leocha — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:59:52 +0000

@Ralph I re-read the post. Thanks for letting me know about the problems with grammar.
Obviously at 4:30 am this morning, I wasn’t tip-top. But it wasn’t that bad, though there were errors.
Glad you agree with the meat of the article and that you like my prose. I’ll try to do better on the syntax and grammar.

By: Carrie Charney

Carrie Charney — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:53:07 +0000

A friend of mine was complaining the other day about the entrance fees she was going to have to pay on her tour of South America later this month. I told her that that’s because we charge citizens of those countries to come visit us. She didn’t know that and was more understanding of the loss from her pocket book!

By: Graham Harrison

Graham Harrison — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:51:09 +0000

The questions – they’re not new. I’ve been answering the same set of questions since 1968 when I first visited the USA. I hate to tell you guys but most people I know think the questions are simply stupid. They just laugh when they fill the form in.

Most countries simply ask name, sex, age, why you’re visiting and either your home address or a contact address in the country you’re visiting. New Zealand adds to that questions about bio hazards because they’re worried about certain crop and animal diseases and then x-rays all incoming baggage.

The USA is by no means the only country charging an entry or visa fee.

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:40:17 +0000

… and you wonder why the 2016 Olympics are going to Rio instead of Chicago?

By: Arizona Road Warrior

Arizona Road Warrior — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:21:31 +0000

This shows how out of touch the government is.