Citing an opportunity to advance national security, economic competitiveness and public diplomacy, the U.S. Travel Association is urging President Obama to discuss prospects for including Brazil and Chile in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) when he visits South America this month.
The VWP permits business and leisure travelers from 36 participating countries to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days without obtaining a non-immigrant visitor visa. The program facilitates and promotes overseas travel to the U.S. while simultaneously allowing the State Department to shift visa screening resources to higher risk countries.
Adding Brazil and Chile to the VWP would allow visitation from those countries to double, quickly generating $10.3 billion in spending and supporting 95,100 American jobs, according to a letter to the President sent recently by Roger Dow, U.S. Travel’s president and chief executive officer.
