Ranjini

Racist isn't quite the word you should have used. Especially, in conjunction with "white" and "European". Isn't it more likely that people from Latin American countries are being refused tourist visas because statistics show that they have also been guilty of misuse in the past?
The United States must have security issues with countries in the Middle Eastern region, for obvious reasons. Again nothing to do with racism. I really don't understand what racism has anything to do with any of this It's easy to point fingers.....

jeffreyhy

cowboy,

You are correct, Monaco is a European country, I stand corrected on that.

Having Brunei, Japan, and Singapore on the list of visa waiver countries does indeed make a difference on your charge or racism. If race is the criteria, how do you explain that these countries made the list?

And how do you explain that there are some European countries that are not on the list?

If, on the other hand, one accepts that the list excludes countries whose people have demonstrated abuse of our immigration laws, then it is easy to see why Central and South American countries, along with many others, are not on the list. This arguement has no exceptions, while your arguement does.

Regards, JEff

Mrtravelkay

utopiacowboy wrote:

    > No, it's not a quota thing. It's a racist thing. The only people who are
    > freely able to travel to the United States are citizens of white
    > European countries.

Nonsense. There are many white Europeans in non VWP countries (Russia,
for example), and a lot of non whites (Japan, for example) in waiver
countries. But, don't let the facts confuse you.

Mrtravelkay

jeffreyhy wrote:

    > cowboy,
    >
    > You are correct, Monaco is a European country, I stand
    > corrected on that.


And mainly white. How in the world did you get Monaco on the list?
It is safely surrounded by France and the sea.

jeffreyhy

Mrt,

I violated one of my 'rules of engagement' and failed to verify my thought before posting. I had Monaco on the wrong side of the Mediterranean, thinking of Morroco.

Tegards, JEff

meauxna

And having a successful visa use history (individually) makes each visa application more likely to succeed. Go, use it as you said you would, return.
It's getting that first B1/B2 that's so hard!
I've read at alt.visa.us that having a good visa-use history to countries other than the US can help your US application as well.

Mrtravelkay

jeffreyhy wrote:

    > Mrt,
    >
    > I violated one of my 'rules of engagement' and failed to verify my
    > thought before posting. I had Monaco on the wrong side of the
    > Mediterranean, thinking of Morroco.

Oh, Morrocco.. Lovely place. When I was in the Navy, we stopped there
(Tangiers) for a couple of days. I traded a watch cap (black knit cap
aka "stocking cap") for a camel leather belt.

utopiacowboy

Since there is one large non-white country (Japan) in the VWP and several former Communist East European countries that are white which are not in the VWP, I guess you can use these "facts" if you choose to believe that our immigration policy is not racist. Of course anyone who has been a reader of the postings on this board can readily observe the differences in treatment between those applying for K-1 or K-3 visas from London and those like my wife from Bogota. After having experienced it myself, I could understand why many people from Third World countries hate the United States. If you are applying for a tourist visa from a country like Colombia, it does not matter how many "facts" you have on your side to show that you are likely to return home - they don't even look at the documents. All that matters is that you are a Colombian - so if that's not racist, what is?

Leslie

There IS a lot of profiling that goes on, but it is not all necessarily racial.

I have a Moroccan (not Monaccan ) in-law that travels to the U.S. frequently on a tourist visa. She is elderly and has bad knees along with numerous other age related ailments (she's in her 80's).

Apparently, (other than terrorists of course) they are mainly looking for people who would come to the U.S. and work illegally.

To the OP: In what age range are your future in-laws? Unfortunately, if they are relatively young (40's or 50's) I would think it could negatively impact their chances.

Ranjini

What you are suggesting is insane. I had no more trouble getting my K1 visa (as I said before I'm from South East Asia) than anyone coming through London. My K1 was approved through Nebraska in 60 days back in 1999 and I was issued my K1 visa the same day. I had it better than the people coming through London because I was allowed to call the Embassy and make an appointment for my visa interview at my convenience. That should tell you something.
And talking about tourist visas, the plane I travelled in from Narita, Japan to Seattle was full of Japanese tourists. And no, I don't hate the United States. My immigration has been a breeze and I became a US citizen in four years. I have absolutely no complaints.

Hypertweeky

I am so sorry to hear that!!
Keep us updated!!

utopiacowboy

I am glad that you had a positive experience and I think it's wonderful that the Japanese can visit us easily. I just wish these same considerations applied to people from other countries as well. My own experiences and those of my wife's family and friends do not correspond with yours.

Hypertweeky

Like Romania!

Hypertweeky

It is ok Jeff

meauxna

Great example country to use, Hyper. Why do you think that Romania is not on the VWP list of approved countries?