PRIME Minister Najib Razak’s visit to the White House today could get Malaysians a waiver for visas to the United States as early as next year, sources told The Malaysian Insight.

It is understood that the Trump administration is looking into granting the waiver as early as next year as Malaysians have fulfilled almost all conditions for the privilege given to select countries.

The visa waiver is seen as more significant as US President Donald Trump has been clamping down on granting visas, particularly to Muslim-majority countries, since taking office last January.

“The visa-waiver programme should come into effect next year – 2018,” said sources familiar with talks between US and Malaysian officials ahead of Najib’s visit to the White House.

The Najib government has been pushing for the visa-waiver programme during the previous Obama administration, a move seen as a catalyst to improve trade and tourism ties between both countries.

Malaysian ambassador to the US Zulhasnan Rafique told Malaysian reporters travelling ahead of the Najib visit that Malaysia met all other conditions to be part of the visa-waiver programme “long ago”, except for the rejection rate in filling up the US visa forms.

He disclosed that Malaysia fulfilled six out of the seven statutory requirements:

* No visa requirement imposed on US citizens travelling to Malaysia;
* Use of e-passport as per International Civil Aviation Organisation specifications;
* Deportation of Malaysians who overstay in the US;
* Signing of the Homeland Security Presidential Directive No. 6 Arrangement;
* Signing the Preventing and Combating Serious Crime Agreement; and
* Exchange of information on Stolen and Lost Travel Documents.

Under the visa-waiver programme, Malaysians will be able to travel to the United States for tourism, business or transit for up to 90 days without applying for the visa.

US ambassador Kamala Shirin Lakhdir confirmed that Malaysia was just short of the approval rate required to qualify for the programme as it had a 96.7% approval rate for the US business (B1) and tourist (B2) visas.

NBC news reported last May that travel to the United States has dropped as much as 16% in the months since Trump took office – and there was no sign of recovery.

It said analysing data gathered from more than 50 million mobile users across the world, location intelligence company Foursquare found that the American share of international tourism to leisure locations declined by an average of 11% since October 2016, with a low of 16% in March.

The US visa waiver is part of a slew of issues that will be discussed between Najib and Trump at their private meeting and with their respective delegations at the White House later today.

Najib is also expected to discuss trade, investment, military cooperation and the sharing of intelligence between both nations in his talks with Trump. – September 12, 2017.