WASHINGTON, DC — January 2009 will bring another security related mandate for foreign visitors to the U.S., and the governments of 27 friendly foreign nations that will be affected already are voicing disapproval of the new requirement.Beginning in January, residents of the 27 countries from which the U.S. does not require visas will have to register online at least 72 hours before departing their home countries, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff revealed Tuesday. The new scheme, called the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, will affect 22 European nations and Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Brunei.
Visas differ from passports in that visas indicate travelers have been approved for entry by the host country’s consulate prior to travel.
Chertoff said ESTA will allow U.S. authorities to screen suspicious visitors before they ever leave their home countries, thereby increasing U.S. security and easing the burden on immigration officials at international airports, cruise terminals, and other points of entry. U.S authorities currently receive electronic passenger manifests from airlines 15 minutes after foreign flights depart for the U.S., but the added lead time will allow more thorough screenings, Chertoff said. In addition, the electronic filing will cut the amount of paper consumed by the I-94W forms passengers on U.S.-bound airplanes and ships must fill out en route.
The FBI, the CIA and other national security organizations have expressed concern that al-Qaeda is recruiting visa-waiver Europeans because they can enter the U.S. without arousing suspicion.
“The first time we encounter visa-waiver travelers is when they arrive in the United States, and that creates a very small window of opportunity to check them out,” Chertoff told the BBC in 2006. On Tuesday, he added, “Rather than relying on paper-based procedures, this system will leverage 21st-century electronic means to obtain basic information about who is traveling to the U.S. without a visa.”
Travelers who do not have home or business access to the internet may complete the required registration through travel agents or airlines. Authorization will be valid for multiple trips within the span of 24 months. Travelers may begin registering voluntarily on August 1st. Those who are turned down will be denied U.S. entry until they have received a visa from a U.S. consulate.
The plan is not popular abroad. The European Union has called it tantamount to a visa and is considering imposing similar requirements on American travelers.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, called the measure indicative of “an atmosphere of general distrust” that has been growing in the U.S. The Netherlands is among the nations that will be affected by the new rule.
“Transatlantic cooperation between the intelligence services is the only way forward, not the massive collection of data in general,” Hennis-Plasschaert said.
In addition, some U.S. and foreign travel organizations see the system as a potential public-relations nightmare. If the ESTA overwhelms consulates with people applying for visas, especially if the applicantions are from individuals with Arabic surnames, the resulting outcry about unnecessary discrimination could be deafening, they warn.
