In 2014, Chile
will likely become the only Latin American country to be part of the United
States (US) Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The
VWP is one of the few exceptions to the Immigration and Nationality Act that
requires all visitors to the US to have a visa.
This will mean that citizens of Chile who wish to visit the US for 90
days or less for tourism or business will not need to apply for a visa from a
US consulate before their travel. In
2011, over 18.3 million people visited the US as part of this program,
representing over 40% of all overseas visitors.
Chile is not the first Latin American country to be included in the
program. Both Argentina and Uruguay were
once listed, however, they were dropped from the program in 2002 and 2003
respectively because of US concerns over the fallout of the 2001 financial
crisis in Argentina and the prospect of a surge in economic immigration to the
US by visa overstays. For Chileans,
inclusion in the program will facilitate travel and tourism and help to
strengthen bilateral relations.
Under the normal
visa procedure, most tourists and short-term business visitors are required to
apply for a B visa with the US consulate in Santiago. This typically requires filling out an online
visa application, paying a $160 processing fee and completing an interview at
the consulate. Part of the application
requires applicants to demonstrate financial and family links to Chile, such as
owning a house or car, having a job or family members living in Chile. The interview process requires physically
appearing at the US consulate and generally waiting in line. The new procedure will be both shorter and
cheaper. Instead of filing for a visa,
now travelers from Chile will file with the online Electronic
System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
There will no longer be a
background check or a high degree of financial and personal details required of
travelers as under the traditional B visa program. As of 2010, a filing fee of $14 dollars
attaches to the application, thus significantly reducing the fee for Chileans
to seek authorization to travel to the US.
(An interesting side note will be how this affects the reciprocal visa
fee that Chile imposes on US citizens, that is set to equal the fee levied on
Chileans by the US government.)
While the ESTA
system is less burdensome for individuals, it does entail greater obligations
for the Chilean government and is not without restrictions. ESTA does not allow an individual to adjust
status while in the US (similar to the B visa it effectively replaces) and cannot
be extended beyond 90 days without the showing of an emergency, and even then
it can only be extended for 30 days.
ESTA status can be revoked at any time and at most is valid for two
years before it must be updated and re-filed.
Like all other visas to the US, ESTA status does not guarantee admission
into the country because the final determination of admissibility is made by
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the port of entry.
Procuring
inclusion in in the VWP is generally seen as a sign of close bilateral
relations and mutual trust between countries.
A quick review of the current list of countries reflects the closest
allies of the US (a full list is included below). However, this list diverges from the largest
US trading partners, notably excluding China and Mexico as well as Brazil. Despite these important omissions, the VWP is
seen as both a tool for public diplomacy and enhanced border security. A 2007
study found that 74% of people who had visited the US were more likely to
have a favorable view of the US, and 61% were more likely to support the US and
its policies. In 2009, the US government
passed the Travel Promotion Act (as part of a police funding measure) which
launched the BrandUSA program
designed to stimulate tourist travel to the US.
Thanks in part to this tourism campaign and relaxed visa requirements,
the US attracted 10%
more tourists in 2012 than in the 2011.
According to the UN
World Tourism Organization, world tourist
arrivals reached 1.035 billion in 2012 and brought in total exports of US$ 1.3
trillion worldwide. In the US, the VWP
facilitated travel for 17 million visitors in 2010, who, according to the US
Travel Association, spent over US$ 61 billion while in the US, accounting for
US$9 billion in tax revenue and some 450,000 jobs.
Beyond the
economic incentives to promote access to the US, the VWP is also part of
enhancing border security. One of the
primary functions of the VWP, and the ESTA program in particular, is the
promotion of information sharing and the creation of common global security
standards. In order to qualify for the
VWP program, countries must agree to share information about nationals traveling
to the US who may be a threat to the security or welfare of the US. Countries are required to issue tamper-proof
machine-readable passports with biometric identifiers. They must also agree to share information
about lost or stolen passports with INTERPOL.
In effect, VWP promotes a common standard of documentation and control
in exchange for easier access to the US.
The Department of State (DoS) favors the VWP because it streamlines the
visa process for high-volume, low-risk countries allowing DoS to cut costs and
focus limited resources on areas deemed to be high-risk. However, the savings in time and work-hours
at the consulate where visas were once issued has been shifted to the CBP and
officers working at US ports of entry.
Additionally, there is a fear that due to the transnational nature of
terrorism, classifying visa applicants by their country of origin is not an
effective means of screening visitors to the US.
The VWP is an
important diplomatic tool which can both strengthen and undermine bilateral US
relations. Currently, 23 of the 27
European Union (EU) countries participate in the program, but this unequal
treatment violates the solidarity clause of the EU charter which requires that
all members be treated equally.
Additionally, these four excluded countries require a visa for their
citizens to travel to the US, whereas US citizens traveling to their country,
by virtue of being part of the EU, do not require a visa. This imbalance violates the visa reciprocity
clause of the EU charter and could be grounds for a formal complaint. Political pressure within the EU has tamped
down any such inclinations with Greece noticeably never filing a complaint
despite the fact that it was only just added to the VWP in 2010 after 18 years
as a member of the Schengen agreement for free mobility in the EU. However, newer members of the EU have been
more outspoken about their exclusion from the program. In March 2013, two former secretaries of
Homeland Security (Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff) wrote
to Congress urging them to expand the VWP and highlighted the negative
impact the exclusion of Poland has had on this vital NATO ally.
To be included
in the VPW, Chile must meet the statutory prerequisites set down in 8 U.S.C. §
1187, including a visa refusal rate under 3% of total visas for the past two
fiscal years. The current DoS figures show that in fiscal year 2010 the refusal
rate was 5%, in 2011 the
rate was 3.4% and in
2012 the rate was 2.8%. Therefore, if 2013’s figures keep in line
with this trend, Chile will be eligible to participate in the waiver program. After the DoS submits a formal nomination of
Chile to the program, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will conduct a
comprehensive review including an in-country inspection. The DHS report will then be submitted to
Congress for approval. The timeline for
these steps is not mandated, but Chile’s expected acceptance
was mentioned in a recent meeting between President Piñera and President Obama. Once
accepted, Chile’s continued participation may be terminated at the discretion
of the Secretary of DHS based on the occurrence of an “emergency” in the
country. An emergency is defined by the
Immigration and Nationality Act section 217(c)(5)(B) as: (1) the overthrow of a
democratically elected government; (2) war; (3) a severe breakdown in law and
order in the country; (4) a severe economic collapse; and (5) any other
extraordinary event in the program country where that country’s participation
could threaten the law enforcement or security interests of the United States.
Additionally,
countries are required to maintain a low visa rejection rate and may be placed
in a probationary period if the data reflects an increase in visa
rejections. These figures reflect only
visa applications submitted at U.S. embassies and consulates. People travelling under the VWP are not taken
into account. Thus, VWP country refusal
rates tend to be higher than they would without the VWP. This is clearly reflected in the high number
of adjusted visa refusals of such countries as Great Britain (20.6%), France
(13.4%), Germany (16.4%) and Italy (13.3%). Despite these high rejection rates, these
countries continue to participate in the VWP.
Section 711 of
the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007
(P.L.110-53)18 allows the Secretary of DHS to waive the refusal rate
requirement based on other factors including: the totality of the security risk
from the country, country’s cooperation with the US in counter-terrorism
activities, passport and airport security and the overstay of its nationals
once they are admitted into the US. Given
Chile’s close cooperation and trade agreements with the US, it stands to reason
that once Chile enters the program it will not be terminated barring any
extraordinary occurrences. This means
that Chilean nationals will enjoy much easier access to the United States. This will further promote trade and travel
between the two countries and marks yet another step for Chile in its social
and economic growth.
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Current VWP Countries
Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei,
Czech Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco,
the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia,
Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom
