A Practical Step Towards Improved Anglo-American Cooperation

The U.S. Should Pursue Visa Liberalization with the United Kingdom, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #3461, January 10, 2020. "The term “visa liberalization” refers to a policy of making it easier for defined categories of foreign nationals to obtain valid visas to live and work in the United States. Visa liberalization with nations whose citizens respect the terms of their entry to the U.S. is not part of U.S. immigration policy. Rather, it is a way of reducing barriers to trade with foreign nations and increasing investment in the United States. The U.S. has pursued a policy of visa liberalization toward different foreign nations in different ways, including through U.S. statute, through a free trade area agreement, and through legislation associated with such an agreement. In spite of the Trump Administration’s “Hire American” policy, it has supported visa liberalization with New Zealand. Both the British and the American governments are eager to negotiate a free trade area agreement after the U.K. leaves the European Union. As part of this area, the U.S. should support, and the U.K. should seek, uncapped reciprocal visa liberalization for nonimmigrant professionals seeking to live and work in the U.S. or the U.K."