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***Client Alert***
Visa Waiver Program (VWP) |
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announces implementation of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which will begin to accept voluntary ESTA applications starting on August 1, 2008. ESTA is a new fully automated, electronic system for screening passengers before they begin travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel to the United States, and VWP travelers are encouraged to apply for authorization as soon as they begin to plan a trip to the United States. It is anticipated that ESTA will become mandatory for VWP travelers on January 12, 2009. For assistance with your ESTA application, please click here to contact Ayers Immigration Law Firm.
International travelers seeking to travel to the United States without a visa, who are nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries, should review this important information on traveler passport requirements under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). All VWP travelers, regardless of age or type of passport used, must present a machine-readable passport. In addition, depending on when VWP travelers’ passports were issued, other passport requirements apply:
1. Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended on or after 10/26/06 – requires integrated chip with information from the data page (e-Passport).
2. Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended between 10/26/05 and 10/25/06 – requires digital photograph printed on the data page or integrated chip with information from the data page.
3. Machine-readable passports issued or renewed/extended before 10/26/05 – no further requirements.
Temporary, emergency, official and diplomatic passports are exempted from biometric digital photo and chip requirements, but must be machine-readable. Note that German temporary or emergency passports are not included in this biometric e-passport exemption. Therefore, holders of German temporary or emergency passports must either obtain a valid, machine-readable regular German passport for VWP travel or apply for a U.S. visa to travel to or through the United States. If a traveler cannot meet all of the requirements, he/she must obtain a visa for entry to the United States, and cannot travel without a visa on VWP. Please click here to contact Ayers Immigration Law Firm for assistance with your application for a visa for entry to the United States.
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