US security chief quells fears over visa waiver programme
US authorities have ruled out scrapping the visa waiver programme with the UK despite last month’s security alert.
Right-wing groups in the US had suggested the programme might be stopped, forcing visitors to queue for an interview at the US Embassy before being allowed to travel, because many of those accused of plotting to detonate bombs on transatlantic flights last month had British passports.
But Robert Mocny, acting director of the US-VISIT programme at the Department of Homeland Security, said the scheme would continue to be reviewed every two years.
He said scrapping the visa waiver programme would have a huge economic impact on the US, as it is currently visited by 4.7m Britons each year and this number would drop dramatically if people were forced to apply for a visa.
“You can never say never with any scheme, but we will review it every two years as normal,” he said.
“There are 4.7m visits to the US by UK citizens and that has to be factored in to any discussion. Ending the scheme would cause economic harm.”
Mocny said it would concentrate on tightening up security around the programme. Anyone applying for a new passport after October 26 must have biometric indicators, such as fingerprints and eye scans, in the document to continue using the visa waiver scheme.
Mocny added the number of complaints against immigration officials by visitors to the US had fallen dramatically in recent times.
“It has certainly been the priority of the leadership to make sure that we are a welcoming country and we want to minimise inconvenience to people. Our job is to encourage people to visit the US and also to leave at the right time.”
Report by Jeremy Skidmore (www.jeremyskidmore.com)
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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