V-Flyer

The US government is looking at closing a "loophole" that allows us Brits (aka Terrorists) to enter America without a visa via the Visa Waiver Programme. The cause is all to do with the approximately 800,000 Pakistani Britons apparently - and the increase in terrorist activity on our shores involving those of Pakistani origin. They are considering requiring all visitors to have a Visa, or just those of Pakistani origin.

Source: New York Times

I did read it this morning, in the mail - my CDC driver found it equally pathetic too.

So I take it all Pakistani Americans are subject to the same ridiculous treatment every time they try to re-enter their own country from now on then, are they?


[n]

Maybe they should just brand us all before we step on the plane..

Link to BBC News

I note they is no denial for all UK travellers....

Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
Link to BBC News

I note they is no denial for all UK travellers....

Well if they didn't make it for all Brits, then it would smack of racial profiling, and that's just a not allowed is it [V]

It's a bit like one trouble maker at school flicks a lacky band at teachers head and we all have to stay behind late until someone owns up!

I don't mind visa's per say since i need to get one every time I travel to China (and that's depsite being married to a chinese national), but i do hope it is a simple postal application rather than the week long expedition into london for interviews, FBI checks, CIA checks, phone taps, checks on your parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle and 2nd cousin twice removed!

I guess many of us will just vote with our feet, and not bother going. If I want the florida sunshine I'll go to cuba, if I want the "big sky" I'll go to Canada, and if I want disney land, well, there's plenty of them to choose from too!

What a joke. These guys really are their own worst enemies. Maybe time for me to get an Irish passport...

Sounds like a "suggestion" to HMG that the UK places more controls and surveillance on our citizens travelling to and from Pakistan.

Paul

Oh god how stupid! Weren't the US going to make everyone get a visa if they didn't have a bio-metric passport in Oct 07? Has that been scrapped now? Well if you have to go through all the fuss of getting an interview etc, I won't be bothering to go! Far too much hassle, and many other places to visit, without the hassle!

DMB

Hmmm this is very interesting. I do hope that it some kind of visa such as the electronic ones required for entry into Australia.

I wonder if Britain will do the same in repsonse to the Americans?

I have my own personal thoughts on some of America's actions post 9/11 in comparision to their reacations during the IRA era and so on. Whilst I am very much an Atlantasist these sort of things are begining to slowly turn me off a country that is dear to my heart (schooled in America, parents live in US etc).

One wonders why there would be a need for the visa scheme when all passenger lists are checked prir to departure from the UK persumably looking for any Pakistani Britains who may cause trouble.

First of all this suck's.

Yes it may be a push by the American government to try and get the UK government to police it's citizens more closely...of course this would of failed to stop Richard Ried...

Lastly could we please not let the thread drop into the abyss that is the American foreign policy.

As one who has the dubous pleasure of already having a B1/B2 visitors visa, I find the white form quicker to fill in (plus point[y])

Downsides are:

Entry process still no quicker and often I get some additional questions like "who do you work for?"[n]

What concerns me more is the hassle there will be of actually getting a visa in the first place. When i originally got mine it was a drop off process.

These troubled times understandably bring about personal interviews and the sheer time it will take if all UK citizens are required to undergo the process will have a marked impact on US tourism.

i would not be surprised if there is a rush for visitors to get one now just in case[:(!]


buns

If this happens I wonder where us green card holders will fit in.I sure as heck don't want to do two visas if I can help it.

Originally posted by Scrooge
If this happens I wonder where us green card holders will fit in.I sure as heck don't want to do two visas if I can help it.

As long as your surname is Akhtar or Asif then you will probably be OK!!

Oh lordy this just gets more complicated every day - on TalkSport yesterday they were having the debate about the two guys talking in arabic who were on the charter flight back from Malaga and how the passengers reacted - they were asking people "how would you react"!!

The phone in was "interesting" to say the least