[jessaustin]

Off the top of my head, I think it was New Zealand that had that airline notification thing, and I think that got you a 90 day business visa. That was ten years ago, and I lived in Singapore at the time, so perhaps I'm misremembering or they've changed the policy since then.

I think in general the reciprocity policy you mention is a good rule of thumb, although I'm sure there are exceptions.

[FireBeyond]

You are perhaps thinking of the Visa Waiver Program (http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html), though that is specifically NOT for business purposes.