4 ms·

Sorry for making a comment off-topic..but you are wrong! Just for your information, all Europeans can enter U.S. without a visa, through the visa waiver program

Sorry for making a comment off-topic..but you are wrong! Just for your information, all Europeans can enter U.S. without a visa, through the visa waiver program... which is not available option for Arab Muslims. I am talking about entering America, regardless the purpose of travel!

dutchbrit 16y ago
Vacation, sure, but for a work visa it's quite tough!
- ahmedaly 16y ago
  I am talking about entering America, regardless the purpose! It's kind of impossible for a young Arab Muslim to enter America.. or obtain any kind of U.S. visa (tourism, business, study)
  - donohoe 16y ago
    No. You talked about entering America for business purposes.
  - drinian 16y ago
    I spent two summers working in the international services department of a major American medical school, helping with visa applications for foreign medical students and doctors. I can tell you that we had Iranian nationals studying there. (Yes, I know, not Arab). It's certainly not impossible; other posters are right that the biggest barriers are cost, US immigration services' incompetence, and slow response time to applications.
donohoe 16y ago
For vacation only! You cannot use that for business. Being a tourist for a few weeks will not result in funding...
- petercooper 16y ago
  You said: For vacation only! You cannot use that for business. Sorry to nit pick but it's always worth clarifying these issues if people might make decisions based on them.. You can use the VWP for business: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of 36 participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business (visitor [B] visa purposes only) for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. However, you cannot "work." Some things are explicitly allowed, though: consult with business associates, travel for a scientific, educational, professional or business convention, or conference on specific dates, settle an estate, or negotiate a contract Getting funding should fall under a valid B-1 usage as long as you're not doing any work but merely demoing/meeting people/thrashing out contracts. It would take a few words with the folks at your local US Embassy to nail that down though.
  - donohoe 16y ago
    You're right, I'm wrong on that one. Business trips are covered, but you cannot actually work.
    - petercooper 16y ago
      It's funny though because there are some exceptions even to that, if you start digging :-) Last time I checked "repairmen doing in-warranty repairs" can use B-1/VWP. There are a few other odd exceptions too.
      - donohoe 16y ago
        Odd. I imagine its the whole you cannot do anything where money would change hands?
arst 16y ago
The waiver program is tied to citizenship, not ethnicity or religion. Arab Muslims who are citizens of a VWP nation are just as eligible as everyone else.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
ahoyhere 16y ago
It's also not available to Arab Christians, or people from China, Russia, or a lot of other places. Only 36 countries are in the Visa Waiver program, and you'll notice that the representation of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia is very, very bad. I personally hate the way US immigration policy works, and I'm American! I live in the EU and my husband is an EU citizen, and we get hassled every time. But to me, it sounds like you're making excuses - and you're making them personal. That's no problem to me, but it will be a problem to you, because if you're in the habit of excuse-making, you will fail at business no matter what you do.

dutchbrit 16y ago

Vacation, sure, but for a work visa it's quite tough!

ahmedaly 16y ago
I am talking about entering America, regardless the purpose! It's kind of impossible for a young Arab Muslim to enter America.. or obtain any kind of U.S. visa (tourism, business, study)
- donohoe 16y ago
  No. You talked about entering America for business purposes.
- drinian 16y ago
  I spent two summers working in the international services department of a major American medical school, helping with visa applications for foreign medical students and doctors. I can tell you that we had Iranian nationals studying there. (Yes, I know, not Arab). It's certainly not impossible; other posters are right that the biggest barriers are cost, US immigration services' incompetence, and slow response time to applications.

donohoe 16y ago

For vacation only! You cannot use that for business. Being a tourist for a few weeks will not result in funding...

petercooper 16y ago
You said: For vacation only! You cannot use that for business. Sorry to nit pick but it's always worth clarifying these issues if people might make decisions based on them.. You can use the VWP for business: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of 36 participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business (visitor [B] visa purposes only) for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. However, you cannot "work." Some things are explicitly allowed, though: consult with business associates, travel for a scientific, educational, professional or business convention, or conference on specific dates, settle an estate, or negotiate a contract Getting funding should fall under a valid B-1 usage as long as you're not doing any work but merely demoing/meeting people/thrashing out contracts. It would take a few words with the folks at your local US Embassy to nail that down though.
- donohoe 16y ago
  You're right, I'm wrong on that one. Business trips are covered, but you cannot actually work.
  - petercooper 16y ago
    It's funny though because there are some exceptions even to that, if you start digging :-) Last time I checked "repairmen doing in-warranty repairs" can use B-1/VWP. There are a few other odd exceptions too.
    - donohoe 16y ago
      Odd. I imagine its the whole you cannot do anything where money would change hands?

arst 16y ago

The waiver program is tied to citizenship, not ethnicity or religion. Arab Muslims who are citizens of a VWP nation are just as eligible as everyone else.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

ahoyhere 16y ago

It's also not available to Arab Christians, or people from China, Russia, or a lot of other places. Only 36 countries are in the Visa Waiver program, and you'll notice that the representation of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia is very, very bad. I personally hate the way US immigration policy works, and I'm American! I live in the EU and my husband is an EU citizen, and we get hassled every time. But to me, it sounds like you're making excuses - and you're making them personal. That's no problem to me, but it will be a problem to you, because if you're in the habit of excuse-making, you will fail at business no matter what you do.