Monetization of DHS ESTA
 

I always said that the barn door was wide open on monetizing the ESTA systems for the visa waiver and here's confirmation of it. Looks like they snuck it in under the guise of a $10 'tourist tax' to stimulate the economy....

The only question I can think of is how I'm considered to not need a visa when I need pre-authorizaton to board the flight? IMO, visa waiver means the visa fee is waived. It seems like that's not really true anymore.

No, visa waiver means you are waived of the need to have a visa. As a visa waiver candidate you don't need to present yourself at a consulate or embassy to get a visa before you travel.

I predicated the monetization of the system, much like the Aussies do but it's not too bad considering some countries charge an arrival or departure tax for each trip. Right now this is only $10 every two years.

Congressional idiocy
 

Soon, most countries will retaliate against us and charge us to travel to their countries too.

The USA is the USSR of the 21st Century!
Can we stop it?

A friend of mine has a "A visa". He doesn't have to answer any questions at the port of entry and isn't fingerprinted. My visa type is called "WT". I apply on the internet but answer questions. Other visa types go to the embassy for an interview before the visa is approved. We all have a visa because we needed pre-authorization before we could travel to the USA.

It's called a visa by the Australians. How is their system different from ESTA? The fee will be higher after a while. Soon we'll have to submit our credit card numbers to DHS...

Other countries *already* charge, by various names, even with reciprocal visa waivers. I think though they should just call it an arrival tax, something all Europeans are familiar, comfortable, and approving of.

We're going to attract more foreigners to come this country...by taxing them!

I'm pretty cynical about the value of foreign tourism promotion boards (the ones that operate outside the country, not the offices actually at tourist sites in-country).

The Australian Electronic Travel Authority doesn't cost anything. Most places you can get it from charge a fee to process it. You are able to get it for free.

Amongst other things that is what they want. Our government is obsessed with getting as much financial information as it can about as many persons as it can. If that means acquiring (including via coercion or even stealing) information from travel providers, international banking parties, the likes of Amex/Visa/Mastercard and/or from governments, it's been done depending on how interested our government is in getting its hands on whatever it deems useful for whatever purpose it has in mind.

It creates an opportunity for some politically/bureaucratically-connected people to earn some miles from international travel that they wouldn't otherwise get.

European taxes are levied on everybody, including Europeans. The US fee is charged to foreigners only, not to USers.

As I've said before, this is nothing but a back-door visa. Hope the EU introduces a reciprocal measure for USers ASAP.

But you have to input your personal information into an obscure online system, answer the same type of questions as on a visa application, and wait for approval or rejection of your application. Now, also, you'll have to pay for all of that. What part of this does not have "visa" written all over it? :rolleyes:

Voodoo economics.

It's no different than (in my better judgement I won't post the comparisons as this will spin off into omniland).

I'd read about the Travel Promotion Act some 4 months ago... it finally became true :(. Any guesses on when they'll start charging the fee?

LOL, luckily I submitted mine just a few weeks back.

I won't be going for a few months but at least I miss one tax lol

This is misleading - and parts of it are completely wrong. The "WT" status is not a visa. It means waiver for tourist. The ESTA process is certainly not a visa application - the process for applying for a US visa is significantly more onerous than the ESTA process. In fact the only difference between ESTA and the previous process is that they now collect the information in advance - previously you could arrive in the US on the assumption that you would be approved for a visa waiver. Logically that part actually makes sense - there are always going to be people who show up, are found to be ineligible under the visa waiver, and need to be sent back on the next plane. I do disagree with charging a fee for ESTA though.

Regarding your friend with an "A" visa (Diplomatic) - this certainly does not make him exempt from answering questions, having a photograph taken or getting fingerprinted on arrival. It may not happen every time, but it certainly can (and does) happen.

I believe you are wrong on this - it changed last year and there is now a $20 fee. There is a different programme called eVisitor for certain European countries which is free.

I thought that the charge is a service fee set by whoever does it for you but the ETA is free: http://www.germany.embassy.gov.au/beln/eta_engl.html (at the bottom)