Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
16
January 31, 2008, U.S. and Canadian citi-
zens entering the U. S. at land and sea
ports of entr y fr om within the Western
Hemisphere will need to pr esent go vern-
ment-issued proof of citizenship, such as a
birth certificate, along with a government-
issued photo ID, such as a driv er's license.
A passpor t is not r equired for U.S. or
Canadian citizens entering by land or sea,
but y ou ar e highly encouraged to carr
will need to show passports (if traveling by
air) and proof of residence, however. Note:
Any passpor t issued on or after O ctober
26, 2006, b y a VWP country must be an
e-Passport for VWP travelers to be eligi-
ble to enter the U.S. without a visa. Citi-
zens of these nations also need to present a
round-trip air or cruise ticket upon arrival.
e-Passports contain computer chips capa-
ble of storing biometric information, such
as the r equired digital photograph of the
holder. (You can identify an e-P assport by
the symbol on the bottom center co ver of
your passpor t.) I f y our passpor t doesn 't
have this feature, you can still travel with-
out a visa if it is a v alid passpor t issued
before October 26, 2005, and includes a
machine-readable zone, or between Octo-
ber 26, 2005, and O ctober 25, 2006, and
includes a digital photograph. F or mor e
information, go to www.travel.state.gov/
visa .
Citizens of all other countries must
have (1) a v alid passpor t that expir es at
least 6 months later than the scheduled
end of their visit to the U.S., and (2) a
tourist visa. To obtain a visa, applicants
must schedule an appointment with a
U.S. consulate or embassy , fill out the
application forms (av ailable fr om www .
travel.state.gov/visa), and pay a $131 fee.
Wait times can be lengthy , so it 's best to
initiate the process as soon as possible.
As of January 2004, many international
visitors trav eling on visas to the U nited
States will be photographed and finger-
printed on arriv al at C ustoms in airpor ts
and on cr uise ships in a pr ogram created
by the Department of Homeland Security
called US-VISIT. E xempt fr om the extra
scrutiny ar e visitors entering b y land or
those who don 't r equire a visa for shor t-
term visits. F or mor e information, go to
the H omeland S ecurity w ebsite at www.
dhs.gov/dhspublic .
For specifics on how to get a visa, go to
“Visas” in the “Fast Facts” section of the
appendix (p. 294).
y
one.
For information on ho w to obtain a
passport, go to “Passports” in the “Fast
Facts” section of the appendix (p. 293).
VISAS
The U.S. S tate D epartment has a Visa
Waiver Program (VWP) allowing citizens
of the follo wing countries to enter the
United States without a visa for stays of up
to 90 days: Andorra, A ustralia, A ustria,
Belgium, B runei, D enmark, F inland,
France, G ermany, I celand, I reland, I taly,
Japan, Liechtenstein, L uxembourg,
Monaco, the N etherlands, New Z ealand,
Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and
the United Kingdom. ( Note: This list was
accurate at press time; for the most up-to-
date list of countries in the VWP, consult
www.travel.state.gov/visa.)
Even though a visa isn't necessary, in an
effort to help U.S. officials check trav elers
against terror watch lists before they arrive
at U.S. bor ders, as of J anuary 12, 2009,
visitors from VWP countries must register
online before boarding a plane or a boat to
the U.S. Travelers will complete an elec-
tronic application providing basic personal
and trav el eligibility information. The
Department of H omeland S ecurity r ec-
ommends filling out the form at least 3
days befor e trav eling. A uthorizations will
be valid for up to 2 years or until the trav-
eler's passpor t expir es, whichev er comes
first. C urrently, ther e is no fee for the
online application. Canadian citizens may
enter the United States without visas; they
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