[greatgib]

I like the fact that there is finally reciprocity with the US citizen having to experience the same shitty rules as when we travel there.

But I'm a little bit sad that we will impose the same thing to other visa free travelers. First these countries will probably want to do that also in reciprocity. And secondly it is another marker of the slow decay of public liberties in Europe and the raise of the dictatorial surveillance society.

[eggy]

>finally reciprocity with the US

I remember traveling to European countries in the early 80s and needing to cross immigration at each border, but not having to secure a Visa ahead of time for most if any. You were given 30 to 90 days depending on the country.

Remember though, the US is one of only three countries (Eritrea, Myanmar are the other 2) that taxes its own citizens even if they have not lived in the US for years. I lived in SE Asia over 6 years. I've also worked in KSA and other areas, so I know. Amazingly, you can get a tourist's Visa to KSA online in like a half hour if that as a US citizen. A working Visa is a bit more difficult.

On another note, I believe Europe is in for a big downwards economic spiral worse than for the US, and does not have the geographic isolation or resource richness and flat, free land availability of the US, so this is just another dent to their future income via tourism. The war in Ukraine is not helping that to be sure. I live overseas for years and had to deal with US immigration for my wife, so I know it is lop-sided, but per Hillary Clinton and others with the same viewpoint, it is because the US Passport is the most valuable in the world. It was argued that the advantages bestowed upon US citizens needs to be met with things like FATCA, pressures on foreign countries to report US citizens banking/financial information to the US, and the once-nominal fee for rescinding your US Passport is now more punitive should you choose to give up your US citizenship.

Given the dominance of the US in NATO over the past several decades, where Europe could save money on military spending to boost their own economies, all the while having the world's largest superpower be there to step in when needed, or so goes the theory, maybe wishing to include the US and its tourists in the general Visa rule is not a great idea at this time? We've got millions of illegal immigrants coming to the US every year[1] with Germany, the UK, France, and Italy receiving the lion's share of the EU (sans UK).

[1] https://cis.org/Report/Estimating-Illegal-Immigrant-Populati...

[jgerrish]

> Remember though, the US is one of only three countries (Eritrea, Myanmar are the other 2) that taxes its own citizens even if they have not lived in the US for years.

These are the kinds of things that can be changed relatively quickly if the government wanted to. I understand for people financially struggling now that isn't encouraging. But there are other factors like access to resources and people that are important.

It's those and the larger term trends that we see that can inform personal choices on immigration.

I know, anticipating hypothetical tricky legislation switches seems like a waste of time. I'm truly sorry I'm wasting your time on that.