US Travel Alerts : visa waiver

Visa Waiver Travel Extended

Mike Leco — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:40:00 GMT

President Bush recently announced that the visa waiver program, for travel to the USA without a visa, will be extended to seven more countries. There are currently 27 countries in the visa waiver program that allows its residents to visit the USA for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. By mid November 2008, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, South Korea and Slovakia will join that list.

Residents from these seven countries will be able to visit the USA for up to 90 days without a visa as long as they posess a biometric passport and they register online through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

This new online travel registration system is now fully active, and available for all visa waiver visitors to the USA. So far, it has been a voluntary convenience, but in January of 2009 it will become mandatory for all visa waiver visitors.

You can get information about ESTA in nine languages at this US Customs and Border Patrol webpage.

Or you can register directly on this ESTA webpage.

New Visa Waiver website

Mike Leco — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:53:00 GMT

The new Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is now active. If you live in a visa waiver country, and intend to visit the USA without a visa, you no longer need to fill out a I-94 form on the airplane. You can go online to the US Homeland Security webpage and obtain your entry authorization before you depart.

For now, this convenient method is optional. On January 1, 2009, it will be mandatory to obtain your entry authorization on line at least three days before you depart. Once you obtain an authorization, it will be valid for two years.

Here is a link to the ESTA webpage.

Visa free travel changes

Mike Leco — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:09:00 GMT

The US Homeland Security Agency recently announced a change in the visa waiver program that continues to allow residents of 27 countries to visit the USA without a visa. The list of countires covered under the visa waiver program includes most Western European nations and various other countries that have established reciprocal agreements with the USA to allow visa-free travel.

Under the new program, all visitors to the USA, that come without a visa, will be required to register on the Internet at least two days before departure. Currently, all visitors coming to the USA without a visa are required to fill out a written document en route, and have it inspected by a security officer at the point of entry. The US Homeland Security Director said that this new procedure will allow them to check the visitors against their terrorist watch list prior to departure.

Visitors entering the USA without a visa will only need to register once every two years. One on-line registration could cover multiple trips to the USA. It is unclear whether this new policy will result in any improvement of service or any added convenience to the traveler.

The new on-line registration will be available by August 2008, but will not become mandatory until January 2009. Welcome all to the United States of Paranoia!