Clearly thats not what I meant... what I intended to say is that, until very recently in the post 9/11 world, a Saudi had almost all the rights of an American, while in America. I was referring to the fact that a Saudi did not have to apply for a visa to come to the US, he could simply board the plane. US Customs and Immigration tended to treat them with kid gloves.
Saudis have typically been allowed to come and go at will. They were, after all, Saudis.