Comment by flowerthoughts
9 months ago
Even the Visa Waiver/ESTA program is silly. You pay a fee to immediately receive a not-a-visa. The marginal cost of this is a tiny row in a database. It's just silly.
The US made it very clear many years ago that they've had all the visitors and immigrants they need. I guess they reached critical mass, and believes they are invincible at least within the lifespan of the current rulers. "Sheer fucking hubris" as the quote from Star Trek goes.
The ESTA sort of makes some sense. If the algo has you at low risk you immediately receive a not-a-visa but if it flags you as iffy they have time to look you up. I see the EU has copied it now.
To slightly counter the horror stories, I've had US border hassle in the past but the last trip to Austin in 2023 I didn't even have to fill a form at the border, it was just check fingerprints and have a nice day.