For quite a long time, the United States government has made it a little bit easier for citizens from other countries to be able to travel and visit the United States as a visitor eligible to spend a short period in the country through the visa-free travel waiver program. This program is said to be easier because you do not have to go through the long process of visa application in other to visit the United States. In this article, THE PROS AND CONS OF VISA-FREE TRAVEL WAIVERS, we will discuss the pros and cons of visa-free travel waivers.
What is a VISA-FREE TRAVEL WAIVERS:
A visa-free travel waiver is a program that creates eligibility for citizens or nationals of a particular country to travel to other countries, for instance, the United States for business or tourism purposes to spend a stipulated period without the possession of a visa.
QUALIFICATION:
It is important to be aware that all eligible citizens irrespective of age who are traveling to the United States through the visa-free travel waiver program are required and expected to possess an approved travel authorization including non-ticketed infants must provide an authorized travel approval.
To qualify and participate in the visa-free travel waivers some legislative established requirements must be met. Some of the most important requirements include; the rejection rate for non-immigrant visitor visa applications from a national country has been below 3% in the past years, which simply suggests that the majority of citizens who applied for visas from that country were approved to visit another country. Secondly, the percentage of citizens from the national country who travel to the United States as temporary visitors but are either denied entry, withdraw their application, or violate the terms of their admission under the visa waiver program should be less than 2% of the total number of citizens from that country traveling to the United States in the previous years.
PROS:
- Facilitates Travels: Visa-free travel waiver program agreements make it easier for citizens of the involved country to travel without necessarily purchasing a visa, it saves the eligible citizen from the financial cost of purchasing a travel visa.
- Economic Benefits: When there is an increase in tourism and business activities of both the visiting country and the host country, thereby creating more avenues for economic growth, and job creation and also increases revenue for both countries.
- Diplomacy: A visa-free travel waiver program agreement aids diplomacy between the host country and the visiting country by enhancing relationships between people of different countries and also promoting cultural fusion.
- Streamlined Process: By eliminating visa requirements and documentation, eligible travelers find it more efficient to simply engage in travel procedures and reduce paperwork.
- International Cooperation Enhancement: Visa-free travel waiver program agreement provides advanced interaction on issues such as immigration, security, businesses, and trade by encouraging easy movement of people across borders.
- Travel Flexibility: Visitors eligible for traveling to the United States through the visa-free travel waiver program can take a quick trip to countries like Mexico, Canada, or any nearby island and return to the United States during the stipulated period upon their initial arrival in the United States.
Generally, eligible individuals visiting the United States for pleasure or business purposes from another country through the visa-free travel waiver program do not need to apply for a visa at the United States consulate. Also, eligible citizens do not need to be interviewed or are entitled to pay the fee for visa application.
CONS:
- Security Challenges: Visa-free travel waiver programs sometimes trigger security risks by granting easy entrance for potential terrorists, criminals, or even illegal immigrants due to its less strict screening process compared to the visa application process.
- Immigration Pressure: Host country may experience increase in undocumented immigration, strains on social activities and overstays due to admission of citizens of other country into their country without visa requirement.
- Visa Policies: When visa policies between the two countries does not align, it can lead to diplomatic tensions or misunderstanding in negotiation especially when one of the countries offers visa-free access and the other country doesn’t agree to the policy.
- Inadequate Boarder Control: Host countries may experience lack of control and accountancy over citizens of other countries who enter their boarders for either business or tourism purpose, thereby potentially impacting sovereignty and national security. This may be a huge threat to the security of the host country and its citizens in general.
- Economic Effects: In so many cases visa-free travel waivers program agreements often leads to unfair competition and setbacks for local businesses and workers too, especially in industries and companies classified to foreign labor influx. This simply means that local workers might find it harder to find jobs because there are so many people looking for work and are also eligible for the particular work. It creates negative effects on the local economy and job market for the host country.
- Citizenship Status: Qualified individual who enter the United States through the visa-free travel waiver are not eligible or allowed to change their status while in the United State. This simply means that a citizen of another country who entered the United State through this program will not be allowed to file for a change of their status maybe to another non-immigrant visa such as student visa or working visa; rather the individual would have to travel outside the United State and follow the due process of visa application to the United States. Also, the visa-free waiver program does not allow qualified individual to file for the United States legal permanent residency in some situations such as getting married to a United State citizen while the visa-free travel waiver is active.
- Immigration Court Review: It is also important to take note that qualified individuals who travel to the United States through the visa-free travel waiver program are not eligible to make any claims or denial of a petition if reviewed by the immigration court but asylum-related cases as exception. This simply means that when an individual is married to a United State citizen and possess their United States residency petition, if the petition is not approved by the USCIS officials then there is no room or legal avenue to have such decision reviewed by an immigration judge of the United States.