Money Grabbing Yanks!!!!!!

[Willy The Londoner]

The US is to start charging UK travellers nearly £10 to apply for permission to enter the country.
 From September 8, people will have to pay 14 dollars (£9) to use the compulsory Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (Esta). Of the fee, 10 dollars will apparently go to a fund to promote US tourism with four dollars covering administration.

The Esta form takes up to 72 hours to be approved and gives air passengers prior approval for entry to the US. It is currently free to obtain, and lasts for two years. People who already have a valid form will not have to pay until their current one expires.

Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com, has urged anyone even considering a trip to the US to apply for a form now in order to avoid the charge.

He said: "The security authorisation lasts for two years, so do it now and it'll be free if you travel in that time. Yet leave it for a month and you'll have to pay for it.

He added: "It is rather strange that this fee is mainly going to promote US tourism. You would have thought keeping it cheaper to get in would help more - after all, it's free for most Americans to come here."

The Esta scheme was introduced in January 2009 but made mandatory from January 2010.

It applies to 35 countries with US "visa waiver" status, and replaced the green I-94 card which passengers used to fill in on their flight to the US.

An estimated four million Britons visit the US each year.
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My comment

1 dollar each to enter the UK will put off most from going there.  May we should put it up to 20 and stop them all going.
 
Helping Tourism what a load of Bo----s!!!
 
Willy
 

[Arnold]

Mmmmmm .. can we also charge them leaving the US again ? Oh .. I better not mention this to them .. or else ?

Yeah , Gov. short on Money .. they think of something to get Money from the Public anyway they can . Kick us into the hole
and keep us there is their Policy .

[David S]

I think two things are at play here.  One grab money where you can from who you can.  The second is raise the price so you can sell it at a discount later.  Like the fees for checked baggage.  They have been in place for several years, with people complaining about it, but nothing being done about them.  Two things have come from these "Mystery" fees.  One, the airlines have shown record profits because of these fees.  The second being that I've heard advertisements recently from one of the major credit card companies that by using their card and traveling on the airline they have buddied up with that you can forgo those baggage fees.  So they tag on the fees so they can use removing the fees in future promotions. 

[ttwjr32]

must cover the cost of translation when there hahahah

[shaun]

It seem  to me they are only making the tourism tax public now and charging more for it.  It has always been embedded in your airplane ticket, hotel room and car rental.  They could do it as David suggested and tax you to leave the US.  There are countries that do that.  Pissed me off the first time it happened to me.

I wasn't going to say it but how else are we going to be able to pay for the health care reform act?   furiners!!!! I didn't say that.

[ttwjr32]

this is also JUST for the people who enter the country on the visa waiver program!!! if you apply the
normal channels and recieve your visa to enter the country then this is not needed by the traveler!!!




Any person who intends to visit the United States under the Visa Waiver Program and is entering the U.S. by air or sea.
Any person transiting through the United States under the Visa Waiver Program.
Children and infants who are visiting or transiting under the Visa Waiver Program are also required to have an approved ESTA application.

[Willy The Londoner]

I have never had a Visa to get into the USA.

But must admit it gets more difficult every time.

Some one keeps repairing the chain link fencing I cut through by the Rio grande.

It pisses me off having to keep cutting it on every visit.

Willy

[Vince G]

Willy I'll give you directions to one of the tunnels. Let me know which town your coming from in Mexico.

[shaun]

Willy,  There are places where the fence is non existent.  For a small fee... what am I saying?  For a fee I can give you those locations.  Remember unlike Vince I grew up on the border.   In fact in my younger days I may have made one or two tunnels that Vince talks about. 

[Rhonald]

Willy the 49th Parallel is a lot longer and easier to cross over to the USA, especially during one of our white outs. I'll have the dog sled team ready for Ya.

[Paul Todd]

" In fact in my younger days I may have made one or two tunnels " Was this during your smokey period shaun?