kubwasana

I thought this might interest you if you visit relatives or friends in the States, or pass through the US heading for other destinations. I was appalled at the long, weary wait at Houston last year en route for Costa Rica. We had to disembark, stand in line for ever being processed through Immigration and Customs although we were not even entering the country...just transferring to another aircraft. It seemed such a waste of passengers' time and patience filling in the relevant forms and going through this routine apart from the enormous cost to the American taxpayer! . Why not direct such passengers directly into a transit lounge? They've already been through security checks at the airport of departure.
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TIGHTER RULES FOR INTERNATIONAL VISAS PROPOSED
From Kelli Arena
CNN Justice Correspondent
Wednesday, July 30, 2003 Posted: 3:30 PM EDT (1930 GMT)
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- International air travelers on flights that make short stopovers in the United States will be required to obtain a visa under proposed changes that would have to be approved by the White House, CNN has learned.
Government officials told CNN Tuesday that the step is intended to prevent entry into the United States by non-American travelers who might not qualify for a visa for a variety of reasons.
The move is partially in response to new intelligence suggesting terrorists might hijack planes in the United States as they travel through to other countries.
There is concern that airline customers might have to cancel flight plans because of the new rules, putting more financial pressure on airlines -- already hobbled by post-September 11 fears and the economic slowdown.
If approved by the president, the new rules could be announced as early as this week.

Vicky88

The reality is the American Government seems to think we are all terrorists.

We have just returned from the UK where we had our visas renewed. It was the first time ever we have had to go for an interview and it was a total farce and waste of our money. Asked two trivial questions, which they could have read from the paperwork and that was it. Our longest wait was for the cashier who had disappeared somewhere on her morning break and didn't come back for 20 minutes.

Think this may all rebound on them in the long run. People will start looking at alternatives for study/vacation/employment if they continue with this kind of treatment.

nathan barley

Everyone'd be screaming bloody murder if they actually did hijack a plane like that.

Airport security in certain other countries, ala Brazil, etc, is fairly lax, and the intelligence pointed to it being an exploitable weakness which Al Qaeda may utilize. Quality of security is not the same in every country in the world.