EU to require visa for vistors from US
 

http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs...plate=printart

I see "may be required" - and in response to the latest lunacy from the DHS

It's more lunacy from the paranoids now running the country unfortunately for travellers.

I tell you, retina scans are coming.

And I hope the Europeans do reciprocate and also introduce fingerprinting and picture taking requirements for Americans entering their countries. When Americans are subject to this garbage, hopefully they will realize how idiotic our country looks to others.

To go online and ask for a visa 48 hours before to me is no problem and it's OK - as long as i don't get rejected.

Believe it or not there are people who don't go online and therefore couldn't get an electronic visa.

Personally I'd sell any shares you have in tourist infrastructure you have if either proposal goes through

Tit for Tat!

"To go online and ask for a visa 48 hours before to me is no problem"

You know that, like passports, there would be a 3 month delay in processing...

Yes, retina scans are definitely coming. The last time I landed in London, while waiting in the Immigration line, someone came through handing out brochures for fast tracking with retinal scans. I accepted the brochure, but have yet to accept the offer.

The UK Home Office tried out retina scans a few years ago - unfortunately they discovered that there was a high failure rate which included the then Home Secretary David Blunkett

Interesting, because the brochure was handed to me this year. The guy was pushing the plan pretty heavily.

Good initiative. If the us treats Europeans like criminals, then we return the favour.

I started reading the article and thought about Australia, which they mention in the article. It'd be pretty painless if the system were like Australia's. I had to do this before I went a few months ago.

One downside -- potential visa fees. And I wonder if each country would have separate authorization. I hope not.

Revenge at last! I agree with many of you!

We have British UK passports (with US visas in them) and we are subjected to checked-in baggage search many times (empty bags, search, repack) whenever we leave the USA.

alanrow's remark on David Blunkett is too funny!

Retinal scans do have quite a high failure rate - as does "face recognition software" - I believe the latter is particularly ineffective when targetted at darker skinned people with beards (Oh the Irony !) and is one of the major problems to be considered in the UKs proposed ID card scheme.

<<< It'd be pretty painless if the system were like Australia's. >>>

Oz system is more or less name & passport number, US already requires several dozen items of information before you are allowed to fly to the US without landing at Bangor

So I think you can safely say that any future system will require even more and that they can ask what they like as you'll be giving the information "voluntarily"

I really don't understand these comments. How can I be so out of synch with people I seem to have so much in common with?!

Why do so many of you seem to think the US should simply overlook increased "extremist" incidents in Europe? The incidents in Britain these last two summers have been very serious. Do you not think so?

I'm not arguing here. I'm trying to understand what you think the US <i>should</i> be doing? As for me, I'll gladly get a visa if it helps security personnel focus on those who may need the scrutiny.

JeanneB.

It is easier to cross border now in the EU. It used to be much more difficult, at least for the ordinary traveler. Yet if you read a memoir like Jorge Semprun's <i>Quel Beau Dimanche</i>, you will discover that the &quot;revolutionaries&quot; who wanted to cross borders apparently did so with impunity. Remember that some of the 9/11 terrorists were here with legal visas, and I suspect that this was alos true of the doctors involved with the plots in the U.K. All this type of visa information, particularly personal identification (prints, eye scan, etc.) will only help after the fact. Today's N.Y.Times has an article on two towns on the Canadian-U.S. border, where, if I understand the article properly, U.S. residents (probably citizens) living in the U.S. must report to the border officers each time they leave their house because the street their house is on is in Canada.

JeanneB, I am with you! I really feel out of sync w/ the above posters---I too do not understand what they think the correct protocol should be after the events in London, Spain, NYC...

It's very easy..I want a protocol where everybody is a good , honest and above all innocent citizen till another thing could be proved, and right now, it seems we all travelling are possibly guilty till they find out we are not.

Well, helping &quot;after the fact&quot; is still helping. And if it <i>did</i> help beforehand---thus there was no &quot;incident&quot;---then we would likely hear little about it (our media can only maintain interest if it goes &quot;boom&quot;).

As for the citizen who's street is in Canada, they probably knew that might cause problems when they bought their house. I would've been leery of such an arrangement.