Re: US, EU and science.

From: Stou Sandalski (stou.sandalski_at_gmail.com)
Date: 08/28/04 

Date: 27 Aug 2004 17:44:26 -0700

Rene Tschaggelar wrote:
> Stou Sandalski wrote:
>
> > Rene Tschaggelar wrote:
> >
> >>While the US does almost everything to keep tourists, students
> >>and skilled workers away from the US.
> >>
> >
> > I am not really sure where you get that information from, last i
heard
> > the US is something like ~80% in the services industry (which
includes
> > tourism)... and if you go to most science departments at major
> > universities here (at least in California), there is very few if
any
> > "non-foreigners"...
> >
>
> Personal experience.
> As swiss, I one had a lifetime valid US visa. Upon my first
> entering that was invalidated, back in 97 or so. Some new policy
> I was told.
> Nowadays I should go for an interview just for a tourist visa.
> The embassy is in the capital and takes a full day.
> Further I should replace my brand new passport to get a future
> version with biometrics in it.
> This is all bull***, as the couple airplane crashers had valid
> visa's, were screened and everything.
>
> I'm not planning to go to the US at the moment.
>
> Rene

With all due respect your statement is still invalid. A good friend of
mine is swiss and has a double citizenship of some sort, as far as i
know he's never had any problems getting in or out of the country
(however he has told me some interesting things about switzerland that
makes your statements ironic at best). Secondly the US has
reciprocitive (sp?) visas, meaning if Japan doesn't require a visa from
US citizens, the US does not require visa's from Japanese nationals.
For south america US citizens pay around 100$ entry fee because the US
charges their citizens as much... furthermore I am working at a hotel
during the summer and we get a couple of thousand european and asian
tourists a week, some come by themselves and i've looked at some EU
passports and they just have a crazy looking US sticker (like the stamp
in other countries) as a tourist visa.

There is no law requiring hotels here to see passports for tourists...
but in Argentina and Chile every hotel I stayed in required to not only
SEE my passport but most also wanted to HOLD it (in case i decided to
take the TV home or something). I understand its similiar in europe,
but i have not been to my 'homeland' for 10 years so i really don't
know for sure.

Also The people on those planes were on expired student visas and other
things that set off alarms that were ignored by the FBI and so on,
which is part of the reason there was a lot of investigations and such
and 9/11 commission had its million page report.

Stou