COLUMN - Coming to America: Bernd Debusmann

By Bernd Debusmann

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has been displaced by China as the world's third most-visited country. In 2007, overseas visitors to the United States numbered 23.2 million, 11 percent fewer than in 2000. Visits from Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Brazil are all still down.

These are the latest statistics from the Travel Industry Association (TIA), a Washington-based lobby group which says the government is not doing enough to dispel worldwide perceptions of the United States as unfriendly to international travellers.

As a result, billions of tourist dollars go elsewhere at a time when global travel is booming.

Since the United States began tightening security after Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. visa requirements and airport entry procedures have become the stuff of legend.

Citizens of all but 29 countries need visas to travel to the United States. This is a process that requires making an appointment for a visa interview. Once that is granted - it can take months, depending on the country -- the applicant has to report for a face-to-face interview at an American consulate.

Forget travel at short notice. Or even long notice, if you are a citizen of Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Chile, or Venezuela (where you have to wait 162 days for an interview). For an official list of wait times, see the U.S. Department of State's Web site here

The site features a list of reassuring promises which speak volumes about how the process is perceived by many: "We will treat you with dignity and respect ... We will treat you as an individual ... We will remember that, to you, a visa interview may be a new or intimidating experience and that you may be nervous."

Many are equally nervous once they arrive at a U.S. airport, where all foreigners are photographed and fingerprinted. In a 2006 survey commissioned by the travel industry, more than half of those polled said immigration officials were rude. Two thirds feared they might be detained for saying the wrong thing or making a simple mistake.