Visiting The Us Without A Visa
A citizen of an alien country who pursues to enter the United States (U.S.) normally must first obtain a U.S. visa, which is placed in the travelers passport, a travel document dispensed by the travelers country of citizenship.
Purpose of Visa
Having a U.S. visa permits you to travel to a port of entry, airport or land border crossing, and appeal for permission of the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection inspector to enter the U.S. While having a visa does not promise entry to the U.S., it does indicate a consular officer at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate overseas has identified that you are eligible to pursue entry for that definite purpose.
Who do not need a Visa?
The process of obtaining a US visa is not so easy. Before you take all the time and energy to get a visa to come to the United States, be sure you really need one. The U.S. government lets nationals from 36 countries to stay here for up to 90 days on travel or business trips without requiring a visa with the help of Visa waiver program. The government may also ignore visa necessities for visitors from a number of other countries, among them Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Bahamas, that have special relationships with the United States.
What is the Visa Waiver Program?
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows nationals of 36 partaking countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business (visitor [B] visa purposes only) for stays of 90 days or fewer without procuring a visa. The program was introduced to eradicate pointless obstacles to travel, motivating the tourism industry, and authorizing the Department of State to center consular resources in other areas. VWP qualified travelers may apply for a visa, if they prefer to do so. Nationals of VWP countries must meet admissibility requirements to travel without a visa on VWP, and therefore, some travelers from VWP countries are not fit to use the program. VWP travelers are essential to have a valid approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to travel, are screened at the port of entry into the United States, and are registered in the Department of Homeland Securitys US-VISIT program.
When does a national of a VWP country need to apply for a visa?
Nationals of VWP countries must meet the eligibility requirements for the Visa Waiver Program. Travelers who do not meet these guidelines must apply for a visa.
A visa must be demanded if the traveler:
Wants to continue in the United States for longer than 90 days, or predicts that they may desire to change their status (from tourism to student, etc.) once in the United States;
Wishes to work or study in the United States, or intends to stay back to file a Citizenship Application Form in the United States;
Is a national of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Republic of Korea, or the Slovak Republic AND DOES NOT HAVE an electronic passport with an integrated chip;
Is a national of one of the VWP countries not registered AND DOES NOT have a machine-readable
Proposes to travel by private aircraft or other non-VWP approved air or sea carriers to the United States.
Has a felonious record or other condition making them disqualified for a visa
Has been rejected admission to the United States before, or did not obey with the conditions of earlier VWP admissions (90 days or less stay for tourism or business, etc.).
Finally there is a trivial land border fee for VWP travelers arriving at land ports of entry.
