[vidarh]

Do you have an actual point that doesn't involve me divulging private information of people who are not part of this conversation? My identity is on my profile; identifying the people in question would be rather easy.

If what you're suggesting is that the US is not being more draconian than most, you're free to make an actual claim about how.

I'll note that this article is about people eligible for the visa waiver program, which does not include any African countries - travelling to the US from African countries is also far more draconian than what is outlined in the article, so it's unclear why you think the comparison is relevant.

[andsoitis]

For one: the US is way more permissive than the EU when it comes to visa duration.

Common to get a 10 year US visa. Schengen visa? For the duration of your visit (for which you have to have bought plane tickets and accommodation before showing up for a visa appointment). The EU also charges pretty hefty fees for a Schengen visa, which I view as a racket and/or xenophobia.

Don’t even get me started on the requirement to hand over your passport at hotels in Europe!

My point is that characterizing the US as “more draconian than most” is quite far from reality, which is a lot more nuanced.

[vidarh]

> Common to get a 10 year US visa. Schengen visa? For the duration of your visit

Both of these are possible. Neither are nearly that simple.

For starters the validity period depends on the country, and the type of visa, and since you mentioned Africa, applicants from the vast majority of African states are limited to single entry visas with 3 months validity for B-visas. A few can get 4-5 years, and a handful (I think Morocco, Botswana, South Africa) can get 10 years.

Given that, it's rather odd that you used specifically African countries as the basis for comparison and then pulled out 10 year duration.

On the other side, it is reasonably uncommon to be limited to just the stay for Schengen visas, though it can certainly happen, especially for applicants from poorer countries. And validity can be up to 5 years. But you certainly can

> The EU also charges pretty hefty fees for a Schengen visa, which I view as a racket and/or xenophobia.

The standard cost for a Schengen visa is 90 euros or 105 USD. If you've paid more that has been service fees to application centres, not the EU fees.

The application fee for a US B-visa is 185 USD, in addition there is an issuance fee for some countries, most of them African.