Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople announced today that he will invite US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone next week to the Department of Foreign Affairs to shed light on the new, more stringent visa rules which the United States government intends to establish as part of its homeland security measures.

Ople said he has received an urgent request from the Philippine Seafarers Promotion Council, which, is composed of different Filipino seafarers’ associations and maritime groups to look into the effects of these new visa rules on Filipino seafarers.

According to the PSPC, the new visa rules include the personal presence of the entire foreign crew to be presented by the ship owner/manning agent to US consular officials for interview before securing a visa.

This goes against the International Maritime Organization’s adoption of a universal seafarers’ identification card and the current crew list visa procedure being observed globally.

“Because Filipino seafarers could never know if the vessel they will board will call on US ports, they are in no position to apply for a US visa even if they are not yet deployed onboard. Being the dominant nationality onboard oceangoing vessels. Filipinos will be most affected by this new restriction,” PSPC Executive Director Lito Dailisan said in his letter to Secretary Ople.

Secretary Ople said he would also like to know the effects of the new visa rules on Filipino tourists to the United States.

A report from the Philippine Consulate General in New York showed that the Travel Industry Association of America had recently warned the US Government on the further weakening of its tourism industry due to a plan to enforce a new and rigorous tracking system for foreign visitors to the United States.

The rules, which will take effect in the coming months, will also require interviews of tourists who seek visas as well as computer-readable passports from Europeans and other countries who do not need visas to travel to the United States.The US government intends to establish the system as part of its homeland security measures to fight terrorism. (END)