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it is probably 20% of the hassle the Chinese need to go through in order to get a US visa.
Not a surprise. There are even Chinese coming in illegally through Mexico. How many Westerners want to immigrate illegally to China ? The U>S. is simply too attractive. You can't just give anyone who walks in a visa. China could. So do many other countries ( see "visa on arrival").
Just because Argentina is upset that they didn't make the visa waiver list, I'm not gonna pay 150 Dollars for their retaliatory fee.Especially Brazil. If I remember correctly, half of Brazilians in the U.S. live there illegally.
The U.S. visa fee might be high, but at least it's genuine and they actually do something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eureka1
If the cost of a visa is a real concern to you, you can't afford the trip.
I certainly is a consideration for a lot of people You can't charge people high fees and expect them to shut up and pay up. That works only to a certain degree for countries that are very attractive to tourists.
5 Dollars isn't a lot of money, but it is when you have to pay 5 Dollars for a slice of bread. You want to get what you pay for, right ?
And Brazil seems to realize that ripping off (American) tourists isn't good for business.
Not a surprise. There are even Chinese coming in illegally through Mexico. How many Westerners want to immigrate illegally to China ? The U>S. is simply too attractive. You can't just give anyone who walks in a visa. China could. So do many other countries ( see "visa on arrival").
Just because Argentina is upset that they didn't make the visa waiver list, I'm not gonna pay 150 Dollars for their retaliatory fee.Especially Brazil. If I remember correctly, half of Brazilians in the U.S. live there illegally.
The U.S. visa fee might be high, but at least it's genuine and they actually do something.
And Brazil seems to realize that ripping off (American) tourists isn't good for business.
I agree you can't let anyone in the USA as many may choose to stay illegally.
But I don't understand why you claim Brazil is ripping off Americans. You charge Brazilians $150 and ask them to fill out complicated forms, don't you? Or you think just because I am from a rich country, I should receive better treatment, the thing is, America has 315 million people and not everyone is well off. There are plenty of Americans China and Brazil don't want into their country and there needs to be a screening process. Imagine a completely jobless American with $200 in his pocket can travel freely to China or Brazil to "teach English", while hundreds of wealthy Chinese and Brazilian people might not receive American visa due a variety of reasons. Do you think that's fair, that people should be judged solely based on the passports they hold?
True not many Americans will stay in those countries illegally. But that's NOT the only concern for visa purposes. China and Brazil need to know if this person has a legitimate reason to enter their country, whether he might cause trouble, and whether he has enough money to finance its travel. Do you think these shouldn't be considered? Or just because you are American, everything should be made easy? Not every country looks up to America like that.
I agree you can't let anyone in the USA as many may choose to stay illegally.
But I don't understand why you claim Brazil is ripping off Americans. You charge Brazilians $150 and ask them to fill out complicated forms, don't you? Or you think just because I am from a rich country, I should receive better treatment, the thing is, America has 315 million people and not everyone is well off. There are plenty of Americans China and Brazil don't want into their country and there needs to be a screening process. Imagine a completely jobless American with $200 in his pocket can travel freely to China or Brazil to "teach English", while hundreds of wealthy Chinese and Brazilian people might not receive American visa due a variety of reasons. Do you think that's fair, that people should be judged solely based on the passports they hold?
True not many Americans will stay in those countries illegally. But that's NOT the only concern for visa purposes. China and Brazil need to know if this person has a legitimate reason to enter their country, whether he might cause trouble, and whether he has enough money to finance its travel. Do you think these shouldn't be considered? Or just because you are American, everything should be made easy? Not every country looks up to America like that.
No, it isn't. I get that. so there is no point complaining "Why do we Americans even have to go through the humiliating visa process like those poor country people". Other countries respect US's visa policy and Americans should respect theirs.
No, it isn't. I get that. so there is no point complaining "Why do we Americans even have to go through the humiliating visa process like those poor country people". Other countries respect US's visa policy and Americans should respect theirs.
If I was travelling to the southern cone and Brazil/Bolivia I would use my Mexican passport instead of my US passport to avoid the ridiculous visa fees. Otherwise I don't really pay attention to visa fees. For my long-ish trips to Asia I assume US$200-ish in total visa costs when I am making my rough draft budgets, and that is what it typically comes out to. Not a major part of the budget.
If the cost of a visa is a real concern to you, you can't afford the trip.
That's not your call. It's like saying if you can't afford a 5-star hotel, you can't afford the trip.
In the case of, say, Bolivia, the visas cost as much as about five days hotel and meals. Nigeria, maybe two or three weeks. Doesn't a traveler get to decide for himself which of those are more in line with his purposes of travel?
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