For those of us who travel to the United States of America on the Visa Waiver Programme (via ESTA), there have been a fair few changes to it – including who qualifies for VWP/ESTA.
So the key restrictions of travellers who will not be able to enter the USA under the VWP:
- Nationals of VWP countries who have travelled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited exceptions).
- Nationals of VWP countries who are also nationals of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria (Dual Passport/Dual Nationalities holders.
The list of exceptions include:
- Individuals who travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on behalf of an international organizations, regional organizations, and sub-national governments on official duty;
- Individuals who travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on behalf of a humanitarian NGO on official duty; and
- Individuals who travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria as a journalist for reporting purposes;
- Individuals who travelled to Iran for legitimate business-related purposes following the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (July 14, 2015); and
- Individuals who have travelled to Iraq for legitimate business-related purposes.
These individuals will have their ESTA applications processed under the US Visa Waiver Programme on a case-by-case basis.
Those who do not meet the requirements of the Visa Waiver Programme will have their ESTA’s revoked, and will need to apply to a US Embassy or Consulate for a non-immigrant visa.
Perhaps the under-reported element of changes is that all entrants to the USA after 1st April 2016 will require electronic passports.
Electronic Passports/E-Passports/Biometric Passports are ones with chips inside them, and are normally marked with a logo like this on the cover:
These passports contain biometric data embedded in the chip on your passport. There’s an active article on Wikipedia to check if your country issues e-passports.
Thankfully, the US Customs and Border Patrol have published an FAQ which helps a bit.
Most travellers won’t be affected thankfully, but if you have travelled to these regions and you’re intending to travel to the United States of America, it might be worth checking to see if your ESTA under the Visa Waiver Programme is still valid.
Even then, it’s worth heading to the ESTA site (http://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/) to ensure that your ESTA is valid.
ESTA’s last two years at a time, and you get an expiry notice 30 days before it runs expires.
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