Originally Posted by
fishferbrains
I, like most Americans and foreigners, get what CBP, Immigration and Agriculture do to protect the country.
The TSA draws most of the ire and complaints.
I take it that you are Canadian. Do you realise what non-Canadian citizens have to endure at CBP? You are not subject to ESTA and can use the US queues; others can not. I don't believe that you can speak for 'most' foreigners.
I cannot think of any other major country in the world so restrictive as the US when it comes to entering the country for holiday travel, except for a handful labelled as 'bad' by the US. Nor can I think of any other major country which has so negatively impacted one major segment of its economy as a result of fear and suspicion, again except for a handful of 'bad' ones. The recent changes in policies which are proposed will hopefully change things somewhat, but it will take a very long time to encourage people who have been discouraged over the last decade to visit. Just look at this thread and FT for the many non-Canadian, non-US posters who will no longer visit the US.
http://travel.usatoday.com/news/stor...ess/52652668/1
Foreign visitor numbers have been flat since the terrorist attacks. The United States issued 7.6 million visas in 2001, compared with 6.5 million in 2010.
Restoring tourism to 2001 levels could create 1.3 million jobs and add $860 billion in economic activity by 2020, tourist and business groups like Dow's say.