US Travel

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7822794.stm

The news that all travelers to the US will be required to fill out an online visa application 72 hours prior to departure struck me as a foolish move for a country in the depths of what can only be described as an economic crisis. While the system itself is not necessarily a bad idea as an alternative to in-flight paperwork, the notion that those needing to travel on short notice will no longer have the traditional option is frankly idiotic. Each weekend airlines fill their empty seats with cheap deals from spontaneous travelers wishing for city breaks in DC, New York, Boston and Philadelphia. A 72 hour cut off will deter many of these travelers, cutting off much needed revenue from hotels and other tourist infrastructure. At a time when hotels are finding themselves empty, such a move could be disastrous. Not all short notice travelers do so for fun. It is unclear what would occur if an individual needed to visit a dying family member or attend a funeral. A restriction of that sort seems morally dubious to say the very least.
The other group of passengers that it harms are business travelers. On many occasions I have found myself in-flight less than 72 hours after being told that the company needed me elsewhere. Business moves quickly and investment is often a decision made on very short notice. In the middle of an economic downturn such an imposition on business travel can hardly be a move that will stimulate economic resurgence.

A third group of passengers could also be harmed – the ill prepared. The foreign office is concerned that many of those traveling will simply not know, or understand the restrictions. This could lead to chaos in US airports and an unfortunate number of deportations. Fears also abound that it will harm the economies of US border towns. Tourists that are visiting Canada (Vancouver for instance) will be far less likely to plan ahead for the US Visa-waiver that they will now need for a day trip to anywhere south of the border (Seattle for instance). As I am sure you can all understand, I have the least possible sympathy for this particular group, though I am not anxious for their woes to impede my travel.

There are several positives to such an online system however. In theory it will speed up the immigration process as agents will know who to question in greater depth, there will be one fewer irritating announcement that disrupts the final attempt at sleep prior to landing and possibly, just possibly, it will increase security in a less invasive manner than other US policies. This can only be a positive. No one is hoping for a repeat of the disasters of the past decade and such security checks are an inevitable part of the peace of mind we all enjoy. That having been said, a system without a provision for spur of the moment or necessity driven travel is a system that is broken and that will inevitably lead to problems.