NBTA Urges Delay of New Security Rules

In response to new federal visa and passport requirements for foreign citizens, the National Business Travel Association today submitted written testimony to the House Government Reform Committee during a hearing, expressing skepticism and concern over the policies.


"We believe the proposed policy to require visa interviews and machine-readable passports will lead to increased delays that will keep corporations from conducting commerce," said NBTA president Kevin Iwamoto. "Our concern is that barriers to entry will discourage multinational corporations from coming to the United States to buy goods, build factories and contribute to our economic recovery."

The Travel Industry Association of America also has been active in voicing opposition to the federal policies, claiming that in addition to hampering business travel, they will do little to enhance security.

The U.S. government's new rules--to become effective in waves during the next six months--will mandate machine-readable passports for non-U.S. citizens who do not require visas, as well as fingerprinting of all international travelers and interviews with applicants seeking non-immigrant U.S. visas.

"In order to continue the process of economic recovery, NBTA urges that implementation of the new requirements be delayed until there are sufficient resources to meet the increased volume of visa interviews and passport changes," Iwamoto said. "We believe that gradual implementation phased in by country and security risk might prevent potential disruption in travel to the United States."