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Dawie wrote:What about Brazilians, with money to spend on holidays, who avoid going to America because of the visa requirement?
Why should an American just be able to waltz into any country they wish without having to get a visa, whereas most people around the world have to beg and plead to get a visa to enter America? Just so they can spend their money in our countries?
http://www.iadb.org/mif/remittances/index.cfm
Not everyone who attempts to enter the U.S. (for one example) is a tourist ready to spend money.
The link above is one example of legal immigrants/migrants sending money out of the country (which is a perfectly acceptable and expected behavior). The illegal entrants send a vastly larger percentage out compared to their positive economic impact, and they largely violate tax laws in the process.
Visa waiver agreements are based upon treaties and upon the percentage of illegal over-stays and other violations from a country. The more people who violate immigration law, the more likely their country does not qualify for favored status.
In the case of the U.S., when more than 3% of nationals from a particular country violate immigration laws, that country is subject to visa requirements.
There are other factors, treaty, political and economic, but this is the baseline threshold golden rule. Countries that refuse to accept their illegal nationals back tend not to receive favorable treatment in negotiations, also.
No mystery about it.
The Admin