US Visa Waiver for Australians under Trump threat

Santa Fe, NM, USA - October 15, 2016: Artist Kim Crowley's sculptural rendition of Donald Trump beginning to crumble and fall apart. White background with copy space. Shot in the artist's studio.

Australians have long enjoyed being able to travel to the US visa-free, but US President Donald Trump could put a spanner in the works.

The result could radically effect tourism to the US in droves, with over a million Australians holidaying each year across the Trump-led nation.

Instead of the easy online form, Australians could potentially soon be forced to take an in-person interview with American officials under strict new border rules Trump is considering, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

According to an AAP report, the US-paper cites a draft copy of an executive order on immigration and refugees Trump is deliberating. In it, the current visa waiver program, which enables Australians to visit the US on a 90-day tourist visa by submitting biographical information online, could be suspended.

Australians and citizens from 37 other countries which currently enjoy the easy access, could instead have to sit for an in-person interview before entering the US, should POTUS go ahead with the reforms.

“The Secretary of State shall immediately suspend the Visa Interview Waiver Program and ensure compliance with section 222 of the INA (Immigration and Nationality Act), which requires that all individuals seeking a nonimmigrant visa, undergo an in-person interview, subject to specific statutory exceptions,” the draft executive order states, the AAP reports.

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