Speech #830231846

For more than 500 of these student visttors. all expenses (roundtrip travel. tuition. living costs) are being paid by the United States Government. Another 8.500 get scholarship help from American schools where they are enrolled. For those obliged to earn part of their way. a clause of the new immigration law provides that. on recommendation of the school. permission for employment will be granted. As a result. more than 5.000 have parttime work. Under previous law. foreign students were limited in attendance to certain "accredited" institutions. This closed the door to many who sought practical. rather than academic. training. Under the new law. vocational. trade and business schools are now approved. How our consular and immigration officials. in their administration of the law. contribute to this American welcome is attested by the head of the Committee on Friendly Relations: "From the time of his application for a United States visa to his final departure from the country. todays visiting student is met with more understanding friendliness from American officials than at any time in my experience." A Bolivian student recently wrote the Immigration Service: "I want to thank you for the excellent service and great kindness that you offered me during my permanence in this great country. I am carrying to my country a wonderful impression and opinion of the United States." Within the necessary conditions laid down In the law. our present policy also increases the convenience with which a foreigner can visit the United States on business or pleasure or en route to another country. Despite the magnitude of our security problem. It takes only about 4 weeks to obtain a visitors A5325 or a transit visa In Western European countries. For the convenience of the traveler who has too little time to get a transit visa. the new law permits passage through the United States without any United States documents whatever. This measure. more liberal than any previous law. was included at the strong urging of the airlines seeking more intransit business. Such a document waiver is issued by the airline without Government supervision.