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USCIS Announces New Electronic System for Travel Authorization for Visa Waiver Program

Effective January 12, 2009 all Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers are now required to obtain travel authorization via the Electronic System for Travel…

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The Visa Waiver Program allows individuals from pre-approved countries to enter the U.S. for a maximum 90 day period in order to visit for either personal or business reasons. No extension of this 90 day period is permitted under the law and any individual who chooses to use this program (rather than apply for a visa at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad) agrees to waive any rights to a hearing with an immigration judge. This means if such individual is in the U.S. and chooses to overstay his/her visit and is located by ICE he/she may be immediately taken into custody and summarily deported. However, for those individuals who truly are visiting the U.S. for periods of less than 90 days the VWP is an excellent opportunity to bypass the often long consular processing waiting periods and to proceed directly to the U.S. Individuals from the following countries may use the VWP:

Andorra                 France                    Lithuania                       San Marino

Australia                Germany               Luxembourg                  Singapore

Austria                   Hungary                Malta                               Slovakia

Belgium                 Iceland                    Monaco                          Slovenia    

Brunel                    Ireland                    The Netherlands          Spain    

Czech Republic    Italy                         New Zealand                 Sweden

Denmark               Japan                      Norway                          Switzerland

Estonia                  Latvia                     Portugal                          United Kingdom

Finland                  Liechtenstein        Republic of Korea

 

It is important to remember that in order to utilize ESTA all such individuals must first have an e-passport.

Information regarding this new program appears on the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) website.  CBP provides general guidance as follows:

Log onto the ESTA website at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov and complete an online application. Travelers are encouraged to apply as soon as travel is planned. The web-based system will prompt you to answer basic biographical and eligibility questions typically requested on a paper I-94W form. The website is translated into multiple languages, however all answers must be submitted in English. Applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel.

In most cases, you will receive one of these responses within seconds:

1.    Authorization Approved: Travel authorized

2.    Travel Not Authorized: Traveler must obtain a nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate before  traveling to the U.S.

3.    Authorization Pending: Traveler will need to check the ESTA website for updates within 72 hours to receive a final response.

An approved travel authorization via ESTA is:

•    Required for all VWP travelers prior to traveling to the U.S. under the VWP;

•    Generally valid, unless revoked, for up to two years or until the traveler’s passport expires, whichever comes first;

•    Valid for multiple entries into the U.S.; and

•    Not a guarantee of admission to the Untied States at a port of entry. ESTA approval only authorizes a traveler to board a carrier for travel to the U.S. under the VWP.

 

More specific guidance is provided in the answers to frequently asked questions, found at CBP’s website (http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/about_esta/). Such guidance includes the following:

Q:     How long will ESTA™ application data be stored?

A:     ESTA™ application data will remain active for the period of time that the approved ESTA™ is valid, which is generally two years, or until the traveler’s passport expires, whichever comes first. DHS will then maintain this information for an additional year after which it will be archived for twelve years to allow retrieval of the information for law enforcement, national security, or investigatory purposes. Once the information is archived, the number of officials with access to it will be further limited. Data linked to active law enforcement lookout records, CBP matches to enforcement activities, and/or investigations or cases, including applications for ESTA™ that are denied will remain accessible for the life of the law enforcement activities to which they may become related.

Q:     Will DHS share ESTA™ data with others?

A:     The information collected by and maintained in ESTA™ may be used by other components of DHS on a need-to-know basis consistent with the component’s mission.

Under current agreements between DHS and the Department of State (DOS), information submitted for an ESTA™ application may be shared with consular officers of DOS to assist them in determining whether a visa should be issued to an applicant after an ESTA™ application has been denied.

Information may be shared with appropriate federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign governmental agencies or multilateral governmental organizations responsible for investigating or prosecuting the violations of, or for enforcing or implementing, a statute, rule, regulation, order or license, or where DHS believes information would assist enforcement of civil or criminal laws. Additionally, information may be shared when DHS reasonably believes such use is to assist in anti-terrorism efforts or intelligence gathering related to national or international security or transnational crime.

While carriers will not receive the ESTA™ application information that travelers provide to DHS, they will receive confirmation of a passenger’s ESTA™ status via the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS)/APIS Quick Query system indicating whether an ESTA™ is required and whether authorization has been granted.

Q:     Will DHS use application data for any purpose other than determining eligibility for an ESTA™?

A:     DHS will use the application data to screen the individual before granting authorization to travel to the United States under the VWP. As part of this screening process, information that identifies suspected or known violators of the law and other persons of concern will be provided to the appropriate law enforcement, national security, and/or counterterrorism agency. 

Q:     Do nationals or citizens of countries that participate in the VWP require an ESTA™ if they are only transiting the United States en route to another country?

A:     Yes. The United States no longer has a Transit Without Visa program, so eligible nationals or citizens of countries that participate in the VWP will require either an ESTA™ or a visa to transit the United States. If a traveler is only planning to transit through the United States en route to another country, when he or she completes the ESTA™ application, the traveler should enter the words "In Transit" and his or her final destination location in the address lines under the heading “Address While In The United States”.

Q:     If a traveler from a VWP country already has a valid B1/B2 or other classification of visa, does he or she need to apply for travel authorization via ESTA™?

A:     Individuals who already posses a valid B1/B2 or other classification of visa will still be able to travel to the United States on that visa for the purpose it was issued. Individuals traveling on valid visas will not be required to apply for an ESTA™.

 

Q:     When can a traveler apply for travel authorization via ESTA™?

A:     Any time, but preferably as soon as a VWP traveler begins to plan a trip to visit the United States. Travelers may file ESTA™ applications through the ESTA™ Web site at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov.

Q:     May a traveler, whose ESTA™ application is not approved, travel to the United States under the VWP?

A:     VWP travelers who submit an ESTA™ application that is not approved, who then attempt to travel to the United States, may be denied boarding, experience delayed processing, or be denied admission at a U.S. port of entry. Therefore, it is recommended that all VWP travelers who are denied an ESTA™ apply for a U.S. visa.

Q:     What happens if a VWP traveler flies to the United States after ESTA™ is mandatory, but somehow does not have an ESTA™?

A:     Once ESTA™ is mandatory, all nationals or citizens of VWP countries who plan to travel to the United States for temporary business or pleasure under the VWP will require an approved ESTA™ prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the United States under the VWP. Travelers who have not received ESTA™ approval by the mandatory compliance date may be denied boarding, experience delayed processing, or be denied admission at a U.S. port of entry.

Q:     What is the cost to the traveler?

A:     DHS is not currently collecting a fee for ESTA™ applications. 

Q:     There are Web sites that charge for information about ESTA™, or to apply for an ESTA™ on behalf of VWP travelers. Is there any benefit to utilizing one of these services?

A:     No. The U.S. government maintains a Web site where visitors seeking to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) can apply directly for travel authorization via ESTA™ at no charge. [https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov]. The ESTA™ application Web site is available in 16 languages and includes a help section that provides additional information for VWP travelers to guide them through the application process.

Q:     Can prospective travelers apply for an ESTA™ without specific travel plans if they want to be able to travel to the United States later on short notice?

A:     Yes. VWP travelers are not required to have specific plans to travel to the United States before they apply for an ESTA™. VWP travelers are not required to complete the travel itinerary and destination details before submitting an ESTA™ application. If a traveler’s destination address in the United States is unknown when he or she completes the ESTA™ application, the traveler may enter the name of the hotel or approximate location he or she intends to visit. Travelers may update this information when their plans are finalized, but they will not be required to update their destination addresses or itineraries should they change after their ESTA™ has been approved. DHS recommends that ESTA™ applications be submitted as early as possible, as soon as, or even before travel is planned. ESTA™ will accept applications from last minute and emergency travelers – those VWP travelers that arrive at the airport without an approved ESTA™.

 Q:     What information is needed in order to complete the ESTA™ application?

A:     The traveler must provide (in English) biographical data including name, birth date, and passport information. The traveler will also be required to answer VWP eligibility questions regarding communicable diseases, arrests, and convictions for certain crimes, and past history of visa revocation or deportation, among others.

Clearly, ESTA will be a burdensome process for VWP travelers. However, it is a necessary first step in

controlling our ports of entry and keeping America safe.

 

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