Guide to Getting into the US - What you need to know before you fly to America
So you want to see the world's largest ball of paint, visit the National Museum of Funeral History, help celebrate Frozen Dead Guy Day in
Colorado or enjoy a Duchess of York sandwich at the Stage Deli in
Manhattan. The United States really does have it all, but following the attacks
on September 11, 2001, immigration procedures have confused and infuriated some
travellers. Never fear flyers, Cheapflights presents the definitive guide to
travelling to America.
Is your passport machine readable?
Since April 26, each person wishing to visit the USA must have either a
machine readable passport and a visa waiver form (obtained at the airport on
departure) or a valid visa, which must be obtained before travel from the US
authorities. A machine readable passport has the holder's personal details, ie,
name, date of birth, nationality and their passport number contained in two
lines of text at the bottom of the photo page. This text may be read by machine.
Parents should note that if they want their child to travel with a visa waiver
form, they must hold their own machine readable passport.
What about
biometric data?
Thanks to pressure from European governments, the US
has extended the deadline for countries to issue biometric passports by a year.
The delay comes after European Union countries said they needed more time to
introduce the new technology, which includes fingerprints and other personal
data. The original deadline was October 26, 2005. The move means that British
and Irish holidaymakers will not have to visit the US embassy for face-to-face
interviews to obtain a visa.
The extension of the deadline to October
26, 2006 will apply to 27 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore
and Japan.
Are you eligible for the visa waiver programme?
The nationals of the following countries are eligible for the visa
waiver programme: Andorra*, Australia, Austria, Belgium*, Brunei*, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein*,
Luxembourg*, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino,
Singapore, Slovenia*, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. * Nationals of
these countries must hold a machine readable passport in order to travel under
the visa waiver programme. Holders of non-machine readable passports must obtain
a US visa prior to travelling to the US.
Other requirements if
travelling on the visa waiver programme are: travelling for business, pleasure
or transit only; staying in the US for less than 90 days; holding a confirmed
return or onward ticket (or e-ticket receipt); presenting a completed I-94W form
to the authorities on arrival in the US. (These forms can be obtained at
check-in or on the airplane.) You must have the address and zip code for where
you are staying to ensure you are able to complete fully the I-94W Immigration
form when you land.
Once you land, get in line
The
US-Visit Programme was introduced after September 11, 2001 to improve the safety
and security of visitors to the US, as well as US citizens, by registering each
visitor by collecting unique data (digital fingerprinting and mug shots) on
arrival and collating this data again on departure. The biographic and biometric
data is used to match the visitor with the travel documents and is compared
against watch lists. This process applies to all passengers aged between 14 and
79 travelling to the USA holding a visa, and since September 30, 2004, to all
visa waiver passengers too.
On arrival in the US, the immigration
officer will fingerprint and photograph each visitor. This takes place at the
normal immigration desk as part of the entry process, and is estimated to take
about 15 seconds although there have been reports of three-hour queues at main
airport hubs including New York JFK, Miami and Chicago.
While all
international airports and some land and sea borders have US-Visit technology on
arrival, not all points of departure have a registration facility. Passengers
will be advised on arrival whether their departure airport has a departure
process in operation. From next year, travellers will be expected to check out
of the US, with mandatory digital fingerprinting and a photograph when they
leave the country. Read
more …
Or get in line in Ireland and save time
Travellers to the US can clear US immigration (with the photograph and
fingerprints) at Dublin and Shannon Airports before flying, cutting down on
waiting times when they land. Aer Lingus, the national carrier, flies to Boston, Chicago,
New York and Los Angeles and offers good connections from several UK airports.
Useful Links: Guide to Getting into the US
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