On Tue 26/10/10 9:40 AM , Suresh Ramasubramanian [email protected] sent: > On Tue, October 26, 2010 2:05 pm, Eugen Leitl wrote: > > Somehow he doesn't sound too happy... > ;) > And clearly hasn't applied for a US visa. Or maybe one from Argentina > (which, for indian citizens at least, needs an affidavit sealed by a > notary public) > Suresh makes the point I was just about to make, but to add to it: I know on an intellectual level why we need to make it easier for foreigners to visit India (I even wrote an op-ed in the Indian Express a couple of years ago arguing for visa free travel to India for more countries - it's a perennial argument in the Indian government with the Home ministry usually winning on "security" grounds). But whenever I hear stories like this, my first reaction is usually "Welcome to my world" and a touch of schadenfreude. There's even a reality TV show (I'm not kidding) called UK Border Force which is all about the way in which the UK border authorities hassle people trying to enter the country (I imagine there is a similar US show somewhere). And to illustrate the attitude of the average US citizen to travel, I can do no more than to mention the signs at Heathrow airport in London. When you arrive at immigration you see a short, fast moving line at a sign saying "UK/EU nationals" and an *enormous*, slow moving line at a sign saying "All other passports". I think the attitude of the average US citizen is summed up by the fact that the second sign also says in big letters "This includes US citizens". Badri
