Speech #910261866

CzechoslovakianAmericans. SlovenianAmericans and many otherswho have been thwarted in their desire to have a loved onea niece or nephew..brother or. sister. cousin. aunt or unclevisit them briefly in the United States. Nonimmigrant visas issued. by American consular officers in 1967 totaled 1.443.786. in 1968 they totaled 1.538.070. and in 1969 they totaled 1.759.608. These figures indicating increased issuance of nonimmigrant visas unfortunately are not very revealing. for they do not tell us how many applicants for visitorsvisas were turned down. State Department records indicate that in 1967. 4.4 percent of those who applied for "nonimmigrant visas were turned down.in 1968. 6.1 percent were turned down. and in 1969. 6.7 percent were turned down. However. in past years. it has been estimated that at some individual U.S. consulates. more than 50 percent of the applicants for nonimmigrant visas have been refused. Our rising standard of living. recent technological advances in air transportation. and the fact that approximately 35 other nations do not require -visas from American tourists. have put foreign travel within the reach of millions of Americans. But while imprecedented numbers of Americans are traveling abroad. the number of foreign� visitors coming to the United States. by contrast. is not increasing by a comparable rate. and consequently. the United States runs a deficit on the tourism account of over $2 billion annually as a difference between what foreigners are spending to come here and what Americans are spending overseas. This trend has continued over the last several years to the point. where the industrygovernment special task force on travel has estimated our annual travel deficit by 1975 could range as high as $5 billion or more annually. The task force has concluded that the most effective way to close this increasing gap is to stimulate and encourage foreign travel to the United States thereby improving our balance of payments and promoting international understanding. By imposing complicated requirements for issuance of nonimmigrant visas to foreign visitors. we not only discourage tourism. but in addition. we impose an unnecessary and increasingly expensive workload on our consulate staffs abroad. My bill. by facilitating the entry of foreign .tourists to the United States first. would improve our balance of payments and strengthen the dollar. second. would treat travelers from abroad more considerately. hospitably. and efficiently. third. would promote a better understanding of America and would improve our image abroad. and fourth. would result in a substantial reduction in manhours of work in processing tourist visas by American consular officers thus reducing the need to hire more and more visa officers to meet the projected increasein tourism within the next decade. Presently. a prospective visitor to the United Statesother than a national of Canada and Mexico---must establish to the satisfaction of the American consul to whom he applies for a nonimmigrant visa that first. he is not ineligible for a visa under approximately 30 specified .grounds of ineligibility. second. ie has a residenice. abroad to. which he intends to return. -and- third. he will not become employed while in the United States. My bill would specifically exempt prospective visitors from all but the most serious of the 30some grounds of ineligibility for nonimmigrant visas. I must emphasize. however. that the security of our country would in no way be jeopardized because foreign nationals who have been convicted of serious crimes .would still be barred and entering aliens would still be required to be examined by immigration and naturalization officials at ports of entry. Furthermore. our immigration laws would not be circumvented because an alien who willfully stays beyond the authorized 90 days would be penalized under my bill by a delay of 2 years of his priority date for issuance of an immigrant visa. Additionally. I want to point out that my bill in no way would prevent a prospective visitor from applying for a regular nonimmigrant visa. but instead. would provide an alternative route for the increasing numberg of bona fide. shortterm visitors who must now" go through timeconsuming and cumbersome procedures in order to obtain nonimmigrant visas. However. persons entering under this 90day program. under the requirements of my bill. must still possess a valid passport. a nonrefundable roundtrip ticket. and cannot change their visitor status while in this country. Launching a strong and positive national effort to increase travel to the United States is long overdue. We must invite citizens of other countries to discover America for themselves. and in so doing. we must insure that all visitors are made to feel welcome. regardless of their diverse backgrounds. and are able to gain entry to the United States for brief visits with a minimum of redtape. An exchange of visitors enlarges our horizons. it renews our faith in each other. and encourages the friendship of other countries we as a Nation have always sought. I urge. therefore. as a positive step in this direction. that the Congress take speedy action in enacting the Nonimmigrant Visa Act of 1970.