Visa Waiver: The facts about its benefits for Chile and what losing it would imply
In the face of pressure from U.S. sectors for the country to lose its place in this program, an x-ray of its importance.
The continuity of the Visa Waiver could be at risk. This is due to the fact that the U.S. Republican Party requested last Friday to mark Chile as a “high risk country” and remove it from this benefit, due to the increase of deported nationals and its role in the proliferation of crime in that country. The latest case that has attracted attention is that of Chilean Manuel Antonio Lobos Otaíza, who was arrested at the end of May when he tried to enter the United States through Miami Airport. He was charged with misuse of his passport and Visa Waiver, and could face a 10-year prison sentence if convicted.
This benefit is part of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, and allows citizens from certain parts of the world to enter the U.S. with only an electronic travel authorization and without a visa. Chile joined this plan in February 2014, and it came into effect on March 31 of the same year. It remains the only country in the Western Hemisphere currently participating in this program. The Press Section of the U.S. Embassy explained to Emol Facts that when Chile was integrated into the program in 2014, it was because the country met the requirements to enter the benefit:
- Being under the non-immigrant visa refusal rate.
- Agreeing to exchange information with the United States.
- Issue the electronic passport (called “e-passport”) in accordance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
- Among other requirements requested to enter the program.
“In accordance with the rules stipulated in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), the offices in charge of this program carry out reviews, when deemed necessary, to all VWP countries to ensure that they comply with the requirements established by the program. In this line, delegations integrated by officials in charge of the program carry out the corresponding visits and reviews”, the Embassy points out.
In addition, they indicate that the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) has quadrupled the number of Chileans traveling to the United States since its entry into force. It is estimated that 350,000 Chilean citizens are admitted each year to the U.S. under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
The Visa Waiver allows individuals to enter the U.S. for a maximum period of 90 days for business, transit or tourism without the need for a visa.
“Previously if you wanted to travel to the U.S. for vacation or business you had to apply for a visa which could take 90 days or so. With the visa waiver program, the eligibility process can be done through a web portal and is answered in more or less 72 hours. Obviously this program is not an immediate authorization, it could be rejected or require further investigation”, explains Diego Rojas, Research Coordinator of the Center for International Studies UC (CEIUC).
Entry Process and Collaborative Efforts to Ensure Visa Waiver Program Integrity
In view of this, those who wish to access that country must obtain the digital document delivered by ESTA (Electronic System Travel), the system used by the United States to determine the eligibility of people who wish to visit their country.
After filling out a form and answering certain questions, a total amount of 21 dollars (about $17,000 pesos) must be paid by credit or debit card. If the applicant is accepted, he/she has a maximum of two years to use the electronic travel authorization to visit the country.
“We have been working intensively on this issue, we have had an excellent collaboration with the United States. The basic issue is how to prevent criminals from taking advantage of this benefit, which is very exceptional. And in that sense we are improving all the cooperation procedures that exist between the Chilean police and the U.S. police. And we are even carrying out exercises to test the efficiency with which information is transmitted. We are quite advanced with the United States in this area and we certainly hope that this issue does not become politicized in the United States”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren, last Friday.
The Press Section of the U.S. Embassy emphasizes that the program has been highly beneficial for both countries, arguing that it facilitates exchange and tourism, signs of interest shared by both nations in improving travel safety and expanding their economic and cultural ties.
The causes and implications of the U.S. withdrawing this advantage
Between 2021 and 2022, 553 Chileans were expelled from the US -an increase of 119.4%-, ranking first in the number of deported foreigners belonging to countries that make up the Visa Waiver program, surpassing Spain (165 expulsions), Italy and the United Kingdom (102), and France (55). Most of the nations that have the benefit have less than 10 deportees per year.
Concerns Raised by District Attorney on Chilean Criminal Records and Visa Waiver Program
It is important to mention that the district attorney of Orange County (California), Todd Spitzer – self-styled “champion of public safety” – has expressed the complications and problems that, he claims, the Chilean government has imposed by refusing to provide the criminal records of Chileans entering with a Visa Waiver. “They can enter the United States for 90 days at a time, an unlimited number of times,” the prosecutor said.
In that county alone, 21 Chileans were charged last year. Of these, 14 were released on probation and another seven were released on bail, precisely because of their lack of criminal records. One of the cases being prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is investigating a group of three Chileans, all with two felony counts of residential burglary, one count of possession of burglary tools and one count of resisting arrest.
In a letter issued last Wednesday, Chile’s ambassador to the U.S., Juan Gabriel Valdes, told U.S. Attorney Spitzer that “we are currently finalizing the text of a new agreement that will increase automation and the instantaneous exchange of police information.”
However, following the publication of the letter, in a series of messages on Twitter, the Orange County prosecutor stated: “100% of Chilean citizens who have been released from jail in Orange County after committing residential burglaries never return to court to be held accountable for their crimes (…) We cannot continue to allow Chile to import criminals into this country to commit crimes”.
Previous Expulsions and the Importance of Visa Waiver: Insights from Experts
Diego Rojas points out that there are countries that were previously expelled from the program because of a fear that their domestic situations would imply that the beneficiaries would use the program to enter the U.S. and stay and live irregularly. This happened with Uruguay (2003) and Argentina (2001) when they were affected by internal crises.
“Usually, the beneficiary countries represent countries that have shared interests with the U.S. and whose economic and cultural relationship we seek to strengthen. Evidently these countries represent security in their institutional framework and an attractive population for the U.S. In short, it also has to do with the image that we are a serious country in order to be part of this program (…) Mainly (losing this advantage) is a discredit to the country, it is not good news that in terms of income to the U.S. we are no longer a reliable country”, adds the CEIUC Research Coordinator.
“This crime situation is very worrying for them. I would not say that it is an operation of the Republican Party, as some parliamentarians have said. They are simply protecting their interests. It is not like here, let’s say, that criminals are entering irregularly through the northern border and nothing happens. So, losing this is not good for more than 300,000 people who use this Visa Waiver”, says the former ambassador and former president of the US Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Jorge Tarud.