Originally Posted by
GUWonder
People pay a lot for foreign politicians to speak in the US. A buddy of mine used to handle the likes of Nelson Mandela's contracts for speeches in the OECD world; and it wasn't cheap. FWdC, his counterpart who released him, was more available and cost less, but it was big bucks too. They got paid big bucks to speak and frequently had their travel costs often covered on top of that.
True, but they were acting as private citizens. I was thinking of politicians coming in their guise as Prime Minister, President, and the like. To pick a current example, when Netanyahu is speaking to the US Congress, it could increase the sales of his book. Is he therefore required to have a visa which allows employment in the US? (and yes, I know I am going to extremes, here. I am just taking certain lines of thinking to their logical, though extreme conclusion. It is a rhetorical question).