TRAVELING TO AMERICA

For years, visitors from certain other countries have been able to travel to America without first getting a formal Visa sticker placed in their passport. Enforced in 1998, the "Visa Waiver Program" (VWP) has allowed for visitors of several countries to come to America for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without getting a Visa put in their passport. During 2007, more than 15 million visitors from VWP countries came in the United States.

As of January 12, 2009 America's new ESTA program needs Visa Waiver Program visitors arriving to the U.S.A for tourist or business purposes via a plane or ship to "register" online before getting into the United States to see if they pose a law implementation or security risk to the U.S.A ESTA is not needed for land crossings. Officials are asking that the ESTA registration should be done at least 72 hours prior to leaving, but theoretically it is possible for registration at the last minute. An ESTA Travel Authorization is totally free, valid for 2 years, and also valid for multiple entries.

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for ESTA Travel Authorization:

What Countries Are in the Visa Waiver Program?

The following countries are given below

Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.