Folks,
A major change in the rules for traveling to the USA is about to occur, and as usual I doubt whether it will be widely advertised to Americans themselves. However, if you have colleagues, friends or relatives who will be coming here this year from countries that do not require a US visa for tourist travel, they need to know the following:
People who hold passports from countries in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), such as the UK and most other European countries, have up to now filled out and signed a green I-94 form on the plane or at customs on arrival. This was then presented to the immigration people, who (at their discretion) issue a 90-day tourist visa.
From January 12, travelers from VWP countries will have to go online in advance of their trip to the USA and register their passport details and their address (both at home and in the USA), and answer the same questions as are on the current I-94 form. They will then be issued an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) number that confirms that their details have been logged into the US Customs and Border Patrol database. This registration is valid for two years, or until the expiry of the person's passport, whichever comes first.
You can find out more at:
http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/about_esta/esta_faq.ctt/esta_faq.pdf
and at
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/
So to sum up: if you know someone who will travel to the US from a country that up till now has required no visa or other pre-flight authorization, make sure they are aware of the new rules. If they don't get an ESTA, they might not be denied boarding but they will have difficulties.
Regards,
PC.
Paul Callomon
Collections Manager
Malacology, Invertebrate Paleontology and General Invertebrates
Department of Malacology
Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA
Tel 215-405-5096
Fax 215-299-1170
Secretary, American Malacological Society
On the web at www.malacological.org
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