[Marianne]

That is because the United States is requiring visas for all people holding passports issued after September if the document does not have a special biometric chip embedded in it, . . .
Hmmmmmm!
(emphasis added)

[Imal]

$100 for a visa? I would not pay it.

I'm all for making our borders more secure, particularly our porous northern and southern borders, but charging people $100 to get in is an outrage.

[Theresawithanh]

I guess I get more of a "hmmmmmmmmm" type reaction to why some of the passengers worry, "just a little bit" about whether they'll be let in to the United States in the first place.

It's a different world since 9-11-01.

[waterstraat]

If there pilots are not armed(as they insist), and if their plane deviates at all from the flight path, I say shoot them down.

[kitkat]

They'll be welcomed with open arms when they get here. The Brits are America's friends.

As for the $100 for a visa, anyone who can afford a trans-Atlantic flight can go the extra $100.

[VOA]

"Beginning in October, thousands of Britons will be required to first visit the
U.S. Embassy in London, submit to an interview about their plans and background and then
pay more than $100 for a visa, if one is granted. "

Well, if I run into any Brits soon and they still came despite these hoops...
I'll thank them and pay for their meal.

[Batrachian]

The misplaced anger that foreigners feel, not towards the Islamic fanatics that attacked us, but towards the U.S. for implementing security, is contemptible. As always, the news media is ready, willing, and able to act as a megaphone for anyone with any criticism whatsoever for the U.S.

If their anger is justified in any way it's because of the political correctness that says blue-haired old ladies are just as much of a security threat as young Arab men with one-way tickets.

[Uncle Miltie]

They could fly to Tijuana, and walk in. Work too. Marry up after 6 years or so, and stay. What's the problem?

[Cicero]

humm. We visited the UK in 1974 for a year's stay at Cambridge. As I recall, we had to answer all sorts of questions, and had to prove our ability to support ourselves, before entering. When we traveled through Europe we needed passports, had to go through customs as we crossed each border, and in a couple of instances had to open our luggage for inspection.

When I visited Europe earlier, in 1952, I had to leave my passport with the concierge at each hotel I stayed at. And in England I had to report at intervals to the police.

This is pretty much normal. It's the way countries protect themselves. People in recent years have been spoiled by the absence or relative easiness of such customs crossings. Europeans, of course, have dropped customs between their borders. But you pay a price for such carelessness, and after 9/11 the US can no longer afford to pay it.

[kaboom]

This means that, in the interest of international reciprocity, all countries required to provide biometrics will now make it a requirement for US travelers to also provide biometric data in a passport smart chip (even if they don't have the technology to read it).

Furthermore, all biometric data on US travelers abroad will be contained in some database for future abuse. My foil is still in the kitchen drawer, thank you very much.

Go Pat's!!!

[cheesebus]

What a nonsense article. Isn't Britain planning on instituting a national ID card? Don't they have the most security cameras in the world? And these Brits are saying Americans are the ones flipping out with security? As previously mentioned, the $100 visa will only be for those who want to work here. The millions of other Britons visiting the US will undoubtedly have an easier time going through Immigration here than Americans visiting the UK.

[Arpege92]

"And they told themselves to remember to call their parents after they checked in their hotel, because the United States just isn't safe anymore."

If they honestly feel that way about the United States, then why are they complaining about the security measures post 9/11?

[Restorer]

I fly a lot, and I still haven't seen any tanks at an American airport.

BTW, you are six times more likely to be mugged in London than in NYC.

(Still more likely to get killed in the US, but they're closing on us!)

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Coming from the European country where Muslim terrorists made most of their plots; coming from the country that is home to Richard Reid the shoe bomber, coming from the country where Pakistani Muslims chase Vicars out of their rectories; why would we not look more carefully at which Briton is coming to America.

[optimistically_conservative]

http://travel.state.gov/vwp.html#2

The Secretary of State, working with the Department of Homeland Security, has granted a postponement until October 26, 2004, as the date by which visa waiver program travelers from 21 countries must present a machine-readable passport at a U.S. port of entry to be admitted to the United States without a visa. Five countries will continue with the October 1, 2003 deadline. The Patriot Act legislated the machine-readable passport requirement for visa waiver program travelers and additionally gave the Secretary of State authority to postpone the effective date.

Countries With an October 1, 2003 MRP Date - Four visa waiver program countries, specifically Andorra, Brunei, Liechtenstein, and Slovenia, did not request a postponement of the machine-readable passport effective date, because all or virtually all of their citizens already have machine-readable passports.

As of October 1, 2003, visa waiver travelers from Andorra, Brunei, Liechtenstein, and Slovenia must present either a machine-readable passport (MRP) or a U.S. visa at the port of entry to enter the U.S. This includes all categories of passports -- regular, diplomatic, and official, when the traveler is seeking to enter the U.S. for business or tourist purposes, for a maximum of 90 days without needing a visa.

Countries With a October 26, 2004 MRP Date - Travelers from countries granted the postponement can continue to travel, as they have in the past, without a machine-readable passport. On October 26, 2004 a machine-readable passport or U.S. visa will be required at the port of entry, to enter the U.S. without a visa. Countries with the machine-readable passport postponement until October 26, 2004 are:

Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Belgium, which is also a visa waiver country, was not eligible to receive this extension. Belgian nationals who wish to travel under the visa waiver program have been required to present a machine-readable passport since May 15, 2003.

[helives]

hi, Im australian and there are 2 pieces of inforamtion here that are misleading as I understand it, as is always the case when you only get half the facts.

Firstly people from Britain are treated the same as Australians so I pint out the following: a) You do not need a visa for the USA or Canada unless you plan to stay longer than 3 months.

b) You will NOT have to be photographed or fingerprinted unless you plan to stay longer than 3 months.

I dont know about you guys but most of us can only afford trips of this nature for perhaps 1 month, maybe 2 months at the most.

I have been to the US and Canada in the last 3 years and have had a great time and I would not hesitate to go back tomorrow, funds and time permitting. I think the Brits tend to get a little overdramatic about these things, I mean after all their police force still dont carry handguns. We have had armed police here for 10 years. So anyway I think those Brits planning to travel to the US need to keep things in perspective and not make mountains outta molehills

[anonymous_user]

Two words: "Stay home." There's already plenty of whiners on this side of the pond.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..beginning in October, thousands of Britons will be required to first visit the U.S. Embassy in London, submit to an interview about their plans and background and then pay more than $100 for a visa, if one is granted....

Nice way to treat an allies' citizens.

[Sir Gawain]

Anyone living in London that thinks America is dangerous should be in an insane asylum.

[CzarNicky]

No offense to the Brits but when going over to England I fear for my safety in being gunned down in the street by some Jamaican drug gang that doesn't care who they mow down.

[kitkat]

Typical Buffalo Snooze and Baltimore Sun reporting. They used the WORST quotes they could get from travelers, and ignored the good quotes.

As for the travel agent, one might say that she has a vested interest which skews her thinking.