HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

202

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

urging hawaii's congressional delegation to introduce federal legislation to provide additional resources to expand visa processing capacity in the consular section of the united states embassy in seoul in the republic of korea and to include the Republic of Korea in the Visa Waiver Program.

 

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii remains one of the premier visitor destinations in the world and tourism remains the backbone of Hawaii's economy; and

WHEREAS, the United States and the Republic of Korea have a long history of friendly relations; and

WHEREAS, the Republic of Korea has been a trusted ally for over fifty years, is a major trading partner of the United States, and is the thirteenth largest economy in the world; and

WHEREAS, January 13, 2003 marked the centennial of the first arrival of Koreans in the United States; and

WHEREAS, in the past, the number of visitors from the Republic of Korea had reached as high as 100,000 annually; and

WHEREAS, however, this number has drastically decreased, in part, due to new security requirements prompted by the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, and the fact that the Republic of Korea is not among the Asian countries currently included in the Visa Waiver Program for visitor entry into the United States; and

WHEREAS, in fact, among the Asian countries, only Japan and Singapore currently benefit from the Visa Waiver Program through which citizens from those countries may enter the United States without needing to obtain visitor visas; and

WHEREAS, due to increased security it has become much more difficult for citizens of the Republic of Korea, especially those living outside the capital city of Seoul, to obtain visitor visas that allow travel to the United States; and

WHEREAS, as part of the required security measures, the Republic of Korea is in the process of installing the equipment needed to enable passports to be machine-readable; and

WHEREAS, while the Republic of Korea is doing its part in facilitating the processing of travel requirements for its citizens, the United States should do its part in facilitating visitors from the Republic of Korea to travel to this country; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature urges the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation to introduce federal legislation to provide additional resources to expand visa processing capacity in the Consular Section of the United States Embassy in Seoul in the Republic of Korea, and to include the Republic of Korea in the Visa Waiver Program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, the Secretary of State, the Secretary for Homeland Security, and the Governor.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Korea Visitor Waivers; Expand Visa Processing Capacity