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Tightening of Visa Rules to Disrupt Travel for Some
August 4, 2003
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
MIAMI, Aug. 3 - Marc Guzman, fresh from Lima, Peru, and
reuniting with his brother in the international-arrivals
section of this city's frenetic airport this afternoon,
rolled his eyes at the mention of the new antiterrorism
measure that will bar citizens of Peru and many other
countries from passing through the United States without
visas.
Mr. Guzman was not passing through this time; he was in
Miami for a two-week visit, and so was not affected by the
restrictions that the Bush administration announced on
Saturday. But he said that he sometimes had layovers in
Miami en route to Europe and other destinations and that
the new rules would make such travel prohibitively
difficult.
"I appreciate what they are doing because everyone wants to
make flying safe, no terrorism" Mr. Guzman said. "But this
is a big problem for when I want a fast visit in Miami on
my way to some place other."
His sentiments were echoed at other large airports today,
even though most foreigners traveling over the weekend were
apparently exempt from the restrictions because they bought
their plane tickets before July 24 and were scheduled to
leave the United States before Aug. 5. Yet lines at some
customs counters were a bit slower than usual, as
immigration officials scoured travelers' documents to
determine whether they were indeed exempt.
Meanwhile, airport and airline officials were bracing for a
potential downturn in business because of the measure,
which took effect on Saturday and will last at least 60
days while it is evaluated.
Travelers from all but 27 nations, most of them in Europe,
will be subject to the new rules, which will require United
States visas even for the briefest of layovers. The
Department of Homeland Security announced this weekend that
it was suspending two programs that waived visa
requirements for foreign travelers making connections at
American airports - one known as Transit Without Visa, the
other as International to International - because of
intelligence reports suggesting terrorists might take
advantage of the programs.
The new restrictions will affect virtually all travelers
from Latin and South America and so will have a huge impact
on Miami International Airport, a hub for travel between
those parts of the world, Europe and Asia.
Cynthia Paul, a spokeswoman for Miami International
Airport, said the number of foreign travelers affected by
the restrictions would be "substantially higher" here than
at most airports, though she added that it was too early to
predict the impact.
Federal officials maintained today that the threat of
hijackers taking over airliners to attack targets in the
United States remained real. Recent intelligence has warned
of five-man teams of hijackers, armed with weapons
concealed in cameras or other tourist gear, who might try
to seize control of airplanes either just before landing or
shortly after takeoff from United States airports.
"There is a level of corroboration that led people to
believe that this wasn't just a stray idea, that this could
be a part of something we need to address very clearly,"
Attorney General John Ashcroft said today on the ABC
program "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."
Mr. Ashcroft said the Bush administration did not feel
compelled to raise the country's state of alert in light of
the intelligence, but rather to address the "narrow"
weakness in airport security.
Dennis Murphy, a spokesman for the Homeland Security
Department, said airlines that let through passengers from
countries that require visas would be fined up to $1,000
per incident. Passengers from those countries who arrive in
the United States without visas will "probably be turned
around on the next available flight," Mr. Murphy said.
At George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, the
tightened security did not appear to create any immediate
problems for international passengers who fell under the
rules. But airport officials predicted the situation would
change.
"There's going to be pressure to get U.S. visas, and that's
only if the people are watching the news," said Patricia
Bernaldez, a representative at Continental Airlines'
international customer service desk today. "Some people
won't even know about it" and will face an unpleasant
surprise when they try to check in for their flights, she
added.
Ms. Bernaldez said that some of the more popular routes
through Houston whose passengers are likely to be affected
by the change, included Tokyo to Cancún, Lima to Tokyo,
Brazil to Canada and Mexico to London. According to the
Department of Homeland Security, the largest number of
people using Transit Without Visa, the most popular of the
two programs being suspended, are from Brazil, followed by
Mexico, Korea, the Philippines and Peru. That program
allows travelers to leave the airport where they arrived
and make a connection on a domestic flight within the
United States.
At Houston's airport, as at Miami's and several others,
connecting international passengers in the program allowing
brief layovers at the airport are closely watched, confined
to secure lounges and escorted to their gates. If they have
long layovers they are usually allowed to wait in transit
lounges. In Houston, such lounges are under the purview of
United States customs and immigration, Ms. Bernaldez said.
At Los Angeles International Airport, there was scant
evidence that the new restrictions were creating problems.
Though scores of passengers were walking through the
in-transit exit on their way to connecting flights, few
appeared to be getting special attention from airport
personnel. A Transportation Security Administration guard
said that passengers connecting to other international
flights normally went to a lounge to await their next
flight.
The guard added that on the rare occasion that a foreigner
with no visa had to leave the terminal to catch a flight at
another terminal, at least one customs agent would
accompany the passenger, as would a privately contracted
security officer who would hold onto the passenger's travel
documents.
Over a three-hour period, three passengers went through the
in-transit exit accompanied by customs officials. But
officials would not confirm whether the passengers had been
affected by the new rules. Several hundred unaccompanied
passengers left from the same door.
Carl Fogg, an Immigration and Naturalization Service
official, would not say how many Los Angeles passengers
would be affected by the new rules, but he said the number
was "very low." The federal government estimates that the
new restrictions will affect 600,000 travelers nationwide.
"If I were under this rule," Mr. Fogg said, "and it had an
effect on me, I might be pretty upset. But the bottom line
is that life will go on for these people we've
inconvenienced, and for the airlines as well."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/04/national/04VISA.html?ex=1061027994&ei=1&en=eb17da053f3889a2
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