KEY PARTS OF SENATOR HIRONO'S VISIT USA ACT INCLUDED IN IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION

Washington, D.C. - Honolulu Civil Beat reports today how the immigration bill introduced this week includes key provisions from Senator Mazie K. Hirono’s VISIT USA Act, a bill she introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would make it easier for foreign tourists to visit and spend money in the United States.

Hirono has been a long-time advocate for changes to foreign visitor visas and the visa waiver system that would increase foreign tourism and create jobs.

You can read the story below:

CIVIL BEAT: Canadian Snowbirds Would Be Able To Stay Longer Under Immigration Bill
Kery Murakami
April 18, 2013

A little-noticed provision in the massive immigration reform package proposed yesterday by a bi-partisan group of senators are provisions pushed by Sen. Mazie Hirono that would allow snowbirds from Canada living in Hawaii to stay longer without renewing their visas.

The provision is a relatively minor portion of the historic and sweeping bill that provides a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. Still Hirono’s office said it would make it easier for tourists to visit the state.

Also included was another provision in the VISIT USA act Hirono sponsored when she was in the House that would ease visa requirements for foreign visitors visiting the United States. A Hirono spokesman said the senator would further try to amend the immigration package to increase the length of visas for Chinese visitors from one to five years.

Under what’s in the immigration bill, Canadian citizens older than 50 years old who own or rent accommodations in the U.S. would be able to stay 240 days under their tourist visas. They can now only stay 180 days.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, a member of the bipartisan Gang of Eight that wrote the immigration bill, credited Hirono in a statement, saying, “Senator Hirono has been a leader in pushing smart foreign visitor visa reforms that create jobs and encourage foreign tourism.”