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NYT Columnist Has Been Asleep Ever Since September 11, 2001
By Steven C. Clemons, Executive Vice President of the New America FoundationEven if their applications are rejected, citizens of developing nations must pay $100 for a non-immigrant visa to the United States. Not only is this policy unfair and counterproductive, but it is also unpatriotic. The unfairness is obvious: people should not be charged for something â in this case, a visa to the United States â that they do not receive. And $100 is a huge sum in nations like India, with an annual per capita income estimated at $2,600 in 2002, or even Poland, where it is $9,700. The State Department says these higher fees â increased from $65 in November 2002 â help pay for the cost of running Americaâs consular service around the world. Itâs true that heightened security measures adopted in the wake of 9/11 cost more money. But rejected visa applicants should not have to pay for them. Itâs also true that the higher fees have produced more revenue. But they have discouraged visitors. From October 2000 to September 2001, 6.3 million people applied to travel to the United States for business, pleasure or medical treatment from developing nations. (These include any nations that do not have a reciprocal visa waiver agreement with the United States.) That number dropped to 3.7 million for the 2003 fiscal year. Applications for student visas fell by almost 100,000 over the same two years. Despite the decline in applications, visa rejection rates have risen. The rate for "cultural exchange" visas, for example â used by many medical students â was 5.1 percent for the 2001 fiscal year; two years later it was 7.8 percent. blah blah blah Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-03-31 |
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