AFP - Bush insists new visa rules for waiver countries not cumbersome

From my archive of press clippings:

AFP

Bush insists new visa rules for waiver countries not cumbersome

Jun 8, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — President George W. Bush argued Sunday that new US regulations for nationals of US visa-waiver countries who want to visit the United States should make trips easier, and not more cumbersome.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The new rules, to take effect in January, will require three days' advance registration and aim to make it more difficult for potential terrorists to enter the United States from various countries, including France, Germany, Switzerland, Britain, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan and Australia.

The government will ask for the same information that travelers currently fill out on the I-94 card which is handed out on the plane and turned in to customs on arrival in the United States.

That includes such information as passport number, country of residence, disclosure of communicable diseases or involvement in terror activities.

Now, however, it will be requested in advance of travel."

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""The visa waiver program was created in 1986 "with the objective of eliminating unnecessary barriers to travel, stimulating the tourism industry," and allowing the government to "focus consular resources in other areas," according to the State Department website."