The ESTA visa waiver program requires that an individual must have a valid passport for identification. The passport must be one of the newer electronic passports that contain a digital chip which will help the US Customs and Border Department to identify the owner by means of biometric information. There will be no exception when allowing entry to any individual without this type of passport.
An individual will be eligible to apply for the ESTA visa waiver program by submitting an online application. Some of the criteria that you will need to know is that you must be willing to visit the United States for a period of 90 days or less. You can only visit the United States for reasons of pleasure, business, or transit. As mentioned previously, you will need to have a valid passport that has been lawfully issued to you by a country that is currently under the Visa waiver program.
You will need to arrive into the United States by means of a carrier that has been approved by the visa waiver program. You also will be required to have on your person and onward ticket or a return ticket to your original destination. Unless you are a resident of a contiguous territory or adjacent island you will not be allowed to terminate your travel in these locations.
Some of the countries that are listed under the visa waiver program include Australia, Chile, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Japan, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Switzerland, and many others. To see whether your country is listed under the visa waiver program you can visit the website of the US State Department. All of the countries that are eligible for this program will be listed there.
Other important facts about this program in regards to who is eligible is that you will have to be someone who does not pose a threat to the health, welfare, security, or safety of the United States. You will agree to comply with all of the conditions from previous submissions using the visa waiver program. You also will waive all of your rights to appeal or review the admissibility determination from a United States Customs and Border Protection officer.
If you are concerned about security and privacy in regards to filling out an application for ESTA you can be assured that your information will be secure. The US government utilizes modern technology which is in place to prevent any unauthorized access to anyone’s information. The website continues to operate under the regulations and rules that have been established by the United States Privacy Act. This act was put into place to insure the privacy of personal information.