Visa Waiver Program

TRAVEL TO USA WITH ESTA

Travelers must meet the following requirements to enter the U.S. under the VWP USA:

Travelers must meet the following requirements to enter the U.S. under the VWP USA:

  • You must be a citizen of any of the above countries and possess a VWP-compliant
    passport.
  • The ESTA authorization is required.
  • You can stay in the U.S. for no more than 90 days.
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Travel Purposes should be:

Travel Purposes should be:

  • Business – Your purpose for your planned business travel is to consult business associates, travel on specific dates for a scientific or educational conference or professional convention or conference, settle an estate, or negotiate a contract.
  • Pleasure/Tourism: The purpose of your planned traveling is to have fun. This includes vacation (holiday), tourism, amusement, visits, rest, medical treatment, and activities of a fraternal or social nature. Amateurs won’t receive any remuneration for participating in musicals, sporting events, or similar contests.
  • Transit – If you’re transiting via a city in the United States.
If you are entering the U.S. via air or sea, your passport must include:

If you are entering the U.S. via air or sea, your passport must include:

  • A return or onward ticket must be carried. A copy of the itinerary must also be brought if you travel with travel authorization access. Legal residents of these countries must travel with onward tickets that terminate in Mexico, Canada, or Bermuda.
  • You can enter the United States on an air or sea carrier participating in the VWP. This includes any aircraft of a U.S. company that has signed an agreement with Homeland Security to transport passengers under the Visa Waiver Program.

ESTA Visa Waiver Program

ESTA Visa Waiver Program (ESTA VWP), which allows citizens and nationals from participating countries* to travel to America for business or tourism for stays of less than 90 days without needing a visa, is available to most people. Travelers must obtain a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization approval (ESTA) before travel. They also need to meet the requirements outlined below. You can still apply for a visitor visa (B) if you do not currently hold a visa.

As of January 12, 2009, 41 Visa Waiver countries require an approved ESTA travel authorization to enter the United States by air or water. Under certain conditions, individuals with passports from these countries can visit the United States through the Visa Waiver Program. A B-1 or B-2 Visitor Visa must be obtained in advance by any traveler with a passport issued from another country. Travel authorizations (ESTA) must only be requested online before travel, while Form I-994W can usually be completed at the U.S. port-of-entry or while on the plane.

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ESTA Visa Waiver Program

Electronic System for Travel Authorization

ESTA is an automated system that determines whether a visitor is eligible to travel to the United States as part of the Visa Waiver Program. Authorization via ESTA doesn’t determine whether a traveler can be admitted to the United States. At the time of arrival, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials determine whether a traveler is admissible to the United States. The US visa waiver form gathers biographic information and answers questions about eligibility for the VWP ESTA. Applications can be submitted at any moment before travel. However, it is highly recommended that travelers apply as soon after they start planning their travel or purchasing tickets for flights.

Electronic System for Travel Authorization

Ineligibility for Visa Waiver Travel

The US VWP may not allow certain travelers to enter the U.S. visa-free. This includes people who were arrested even though they did not have a criminal record, persons with certain serious infectious diseases, and those who have been denied admission to the U.S. or deported. These travelers will need to apply for a visa. They may be denied entry to the U.S. if they travel without an entry permit.

The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act (2015) prohibits travelers from Iran, Iraq, and Libya from traveling to or being present in Iran or Libya on or after March 1, 2011. There are limited exceptions for travel to or military purposes in the VWP country service. Also, travelers who are citizens of Syria, Sudan, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan are not eligible to travel on this program. For details regarding changes under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 (the Act), please visit the http://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/visa-waiver-program website.

Minor traffic offenses that did not lead to an arrest or conviction may allow travelers to travel visa-free if they have the right qualifications. Suppose you are convicted of a traffic offense while in the U.S., have an outstanding penalty against you, or did not appear at your court hearing. In that case, you may face problems applying for admission to the U.S. You should address the problem before you travel by calling the court where the offense occurred. Information is available online at www.refdesk.com if you don’t know the address.

Visa waiver program ESTA does NOT apply to those who intend to stay in the U.S. to study, work, or visit for more than 90 days or to alter their status (from tourist to student). Once you arrive in the U.S., these travelers require visas. An immigration officer may refuse admission to a visa-free traveler if they believe the traveler will stay more than 90 days to study, work, or other reasons.

VWP Countries list

Andorra Denmark Ireland Malta Singapore Australia Estonia Italy Monaco Slovakia Austria Finland Japan New Zealand Slovenia Belgium France Republic of Korea Netherlands Spain Brunei Germany Latvia Norway Sweden Chile Greece Liecthenstein Poland Switzerland Croatia Hungary Lithuania Portugal Taiwan Czech Republic Iceland Luxembourg San Marino The United Kingdom
Andorra Australia Austria Belgium Brunei Chile Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Japan Republic of Korea Latvia Liecthenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Monaco New Zealand Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal San Marino Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan The United Kingdom
Applicants from Canadian, Mexican, and Bermuda

Applicants from Canadian, Mexican, and Bermuda

Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda do not participate in the Visa Waiver Program. Other provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act allow for visa-free travel by nationals of Canada and Bermuda, but only under certain conditions. Citizens of Canada, Mexico and Bermuda are not eligible for the Visa Waiver Program. Therefore, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda are not ESTA visa countries. It is important to note that certain nationals from Canada and Bermuda who travel to the United States may require nonimmigrant visas.

Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015

The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act 2015 requires that travelers from the following categories obtain a visa before traveling to the United States. They are no longer eligible for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

  • VWP nationals who have visited or been present in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen since March 1, 2011 (with some exceptions for travel for diplomatic and military purposes in service of a VWP nation).
  • The VWP nationals, who are also citizens of Iran, Iraq, or Sudan, can apply.

They can apply for visas through regular appointments at the U.S. Consulate or Embassy. U.S. Consulates and Embassies are available to assist those who need access to travel urgently to the United States.

Individuals exempted from the Act due to their diplomatic, military, or other presence in any of the seven countries may have their ESTA denied. They can visit the CBP website or contact the CBP Information Center. A nonimmigrant visa may be applied for at any U.S. Embassy and Consulate.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection strongly suggests that all travelers to the United States verify their ESTA status before making travel arrangements or traveling to the United States. You can find more information throughout the pages on our website.

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ESTA Passport Requirements

Regardless of their passport age or type, all VWP travelers must possess a machine-readable passport. Other passport requirements may apply depending on the date that VWP travelers’ passports were issued, such as:

  • Machine-readable passports issued, renewed, or extended after October 26, 2006, require an integrated chip containing information from the data page (ePassport).
  • Digital photographs are required on machine-readable passports issued between October 26, 2005, and October 25, 2006.
  • There are no additional requirements for machine-readable passports that were issued, renewed/extended before October 26, 2005.

Passport Validity: All visitors to the U.S. must have valid passports for at least six months beyond their intended stay. Citizens from the six-month Club Update countries are exempted from the six-month rule. They only need to have valid passports for the duration of their stay. Your passport must be valid for at most 90 days if you travel visa-free under the Visa Waiver Program and admitted into the U.S.

If your passport is not compliant with VWP requirements and you are a VWP traveler, it may be worth asking the passport issuing authority of your country to issue a new VWP-compliant passport. You cannot travel under VWP if your passport is not valid. If you don’t have a VWP-compliant passport to enter the U.S., you will need a visa.

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