get a new passport now, or before Oct 26th anyway.

After that you'll need a visa ( $100 per person ) and trip to Grosvenor SQ in London for photos, finger prints, and an interview!

All that for a trip to see a mouse.

That's OK, I don't think the mouse will be re-elected this November.

Can't believe the UK will be subject to this rule. Can you imagine the queues over in Westminster?!! :D I'm sure the US and UK will come to a bilateral agreement, although i can see them getting tough on insisting UK passports are only valid if issued within the UK.

The October 26th date is irrelevant for passport renewal, by the way.

Apparently, those with the new "biometric" passports will be able to go w/o visas.

I WON'T be going anyway. The land of the free?? Boll*x!

Sounds like a scam to get folk to upgrade.

Alcazar

Sorry to burst your naive little bubble, but they are a damn site more free than we are here in the UK!

tiggers.

To carry a gun in some States yes.... But it aint that good a life in the states.. You get ill.......... Jesus its going to realy hurt. You get stopped by the cops far more often and fined. The Tax people are far better at doing their jobs than here. The courts much stronger. Everyone has a go at trying to sue you....


Its not easy there...

Typical America they have three domestic flights hijacked because of piss poor security and despite warnings and there solution is to increase security on foreign carriers !!!!!

Luke,

While some of what you are saying is based on some fact here are my experiences of woking over there four months of every year.

If you get really sick and have no medical insurance then you still get treatment - no one is left to die on the streets. Most people have insurance and it is not expensive as you may think (a lot less than our NI payments).

You get stopped by the cops far more often, beacuse they have visible police forces that do their job unlike the UK. You only get fined if you've done something wrong which seems fair enough to me.

You pay a lot less tax than in the UK. e.g. sales tax, the equivalent of our VAT is generally less than half what we pay.

The courts being much stronger is true, but you've nothing to fear unless you break the law whereas in the UK you've nothing to fear if you break the law unless of course you dare to exceed the speed limit :D

These are of course only based on my experiences and I don't live there full time. I'm absolutely sure its not perfect, but on the whole I've been pleasantly surprised with my experiences of living/working there.

Regards,

tiggers.

I've spent some time in the States. The thing that overwhelms me about the U.S is the space. I had no idea what a cramped congested country this is. Regardless of some scoobynetters feelings for the people the States itself really is Gods country.

[Edited by andrewdelvard - 1/8/2004 10:58:24 AM]

Sorry there, Yorkshire is Gods country. ;)

And what about the poverty in the states.... Its worse than Wales!!

Luke,

Agreed - the level of poverty in some parts of the US is not good, but I can't believe it's worse than Wales :D

tiggers.

Yea. You usually find the people who knock America have never been there. I enjoy my visits when I get sent over.

There is definitely a considerable underclass though on the streets of most cities.

UB:)

Tiggers

I would move ther tomorrow if I could... I fancy been able to carry a gun. I love the house prices and find the yanks good fun at heart. But A friend who is self employed there get stuffed buy the IRS year after year.. And he tells me the dentists cost so much... he flys back to the uK and gets the work done on the NHS and it still works out cheaper.

Where are you out there???

Luke,

Arizona, Nevada and California.

You'd like the gun laws in Arizona and Nevada. Funny thing is there's not much car/house crime in these two states - I wonder if there is some correlation there ;)

tiggers.

just asked this below :D

I was in real "Redneck County" near Savannah. had to visit a copshop...I was asked to "Make safe and turn in my gun".... Guy/cop just stood there laughing when I told him i wasnt carrying one. Same thing at a Arms exhibition.!! Some of my friends over there could start world war 3 with what they have and carry!!

I hope we are going to apply similar rules for US nationals here in Europe. See how they like it, Brazil is already fingerprinting US citizens in retaliation for action taken by the US. Let them stay over there.

Don't you think it's strange that the rest of the world could live quite happily without the US whereas they NEED supplies of oil etc from the rest of us to carry on living in "freedom". The rest of the world pays for their freedom by suffering their tyranny. The evil empire has tentacles everywhere. Peronally I reckon the US is a far greater threat to peace and true freedom than any fanatical terrorist group.

Some parts north of Atlanta are like huge great big open Mental Hospitals (Thats next weeks thread , as I'm going to one for 5 days!!) All living in trailers and walking around with free jars of peanut butter...

Nacro,

You've obviously been in France for far too long :D

tiggers.

[Edited by tiggers - 1/8/2004 11:39:51 AM]

If the page in your passport containing your laminated photograph contains a machine readable section at the bottom (usually surname, passport number, lots of > characters etc.) you won't need a Visa or a biometric passport (for the time being anyway).

This will affect:
- Those who renew a passport after Oct 26th 2004, but who receive a conventional rather than biometric passport because of delays in issuing them
- Those with non-machine readable passports.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3378717.stm

[Edited by class_A - 1/8/2004 12:12:02 PM]

I saw this on the BBC World news last night.

I think the terrorists have won. Why? well, from what I recall, terrorisim means to instil fear into those you are terrorising, and it would look to me like the US has fallen to that fear, putting sky marshals on planes, increased security at airports and now this visa thing.

A little paranoid to say the least!

Can someone confirm to me exactly what and when one needs to do to get into the USA? I currently have a valid passport, which does not expire for some time yet, and I heard mention that if the passport has a barcode readable 'thing' on it, which mine does, have had it scanned at US customs & immigration many times, that you'd be ok.

One assumes that if the British Embassy in Canada (where I am currently living) would be able to issue a new passport and this would be accepted by the paraniod spoilt brats? If not then it'll be interesting as I'd have to return to the UK to get a passport to allow me to enter the US.

I think it is totally appaling that the UK is not included in the exclusion list. Tony has bassically been licking Bush's arse and you would have thought that would count for something.

I do think that this might slightly effect the US travel industry, who is going to fork out 100 bucks per passport to go to disneyland? not me for one? and can you imagine what the queues at immigration are going to be like? I've very very nearly missed a couple of flights due to all the new hightened securitiy, and I dread to think what it's now going to be like.

Just another reason for the world to see America as the spoilt brat of the world who stamps his feet until he gets his way.

So America wants to be able to access the police records of every person on the planet?

I hope they have considered the international legal ramifications of that!

Mark, you scare me sometimes. I was about to post exactly the same thing! mentioning that does this not contravene the data protection act?

Whilst we are on the subject of VISAs, in one of my old, "Blue" passports, i still have a nonimmigrant VISA stamp for "multiple" entry "indefinitely" (from the days when you did need a VISA).

I believe that the theory is that i can use my old passport VISA stamp, in conjunction with my current valid passport, to gain entry - as the old VISA should still be valid.

However, when a friend of mine entered the US a couple of years ago and showed his old blue passport avec stamp (out of interest, not because he had to), they grabbed it, ripped the page out then handed it back.

So, do the old VISA stamps count as valid, or not??

mb

If you consider the shoe bomber was from Britain and the fact we are sooooooo lax on immigration any old terrorists could be here I would do the same thing as the US is doing right now. Christ it's probably more risky letting someone from Britain into the US than Afghanistan at the moment.

Im off out there again in april !!(work) was out in mexico last year,, (work again) its a different world down there!!! there cops do not look friendly!!!!



Mart

Markus,

If you don't like it don't go there. It's their country so it's up to them what immigration checks they do not you!

If the UK was perhaps just a little more stringent regarding immigration then maybe we would be excluded from the new US rules, but while it is still virtually an open house I don't blame the US
for their stance.

Maybe try thinking about it logically rather than from a narrow minded anti American stance - September 11th 2001 did happen you know!!!!:rolleyes:

tiggers.

Thats rich coming from someone who lives in the North West. You need to get out a little more boyo;)

As for Luke, well isnt he from London. Must be hard for him living with a million asylum seekers.

Chip.

Chip,

What's wrong with NW England - we've got Manchester and Liverpool ... OK point taken :D

Tell you what we haven't got that Wales has - that **** Brunstrom - he alone is reason for going nowhere near the place or at least the Northern part anyway.

tiggers.


[Edited by tiggers - 1/11/2004 12:36:02 PM]