Detail has emerged from the US DHS regarding plans to extend the existing I-94W visa waiver program (VWP) with an electronic variant called ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation). The Interim Final Rule was published in the Federal Register 9th June. The Final Rule is expected in Nov '08 for implementation from 12th Jan 2009.
The main points of the rule are detailed below.
Key Points
On Aug. 1, 2008, DHS will begin to accept voluntary ESTA applications through the ESTA Web site.
Initially, the website will be operational in English only, but additional languages will be available no later than Oct. 15, 2008.
Travellers are not required to have specific plans to travel to the United States under the VWP before they apply for an ESTA authorisation. DHS recommends that an ESTA approval be obtained as soon as a VWP traveller begins to plan a trip to the United States, and no later than 72 hours before departure. ESTA has, however, been designed to allow for the accommodation of last minute and emergency travellers. According to US Embassy officials in London, this should mean that passengers could apply for an ESTA as late as at the airport.
Once ESTA becomes mandatory, all travellers from Visa Waiver countries, regardless of their point of embarkation, will be required to obtain an electronic travel authorisation prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the United States under the VWP. VWP travellers who fail to obtain an ESTA travel authorisation after ESTA becomes mandatory may be denied boarding, experience delayed processing, or be denied admission at an U.S. port of entry.
ESTA will be implemented as a mandatory program 60 days after publication of a notice in the Federal Register. DHS anticipates that the Secretary of Homeland Security will issue that notice in November 2008, for implementation of the mandatory ESTA requirements on Jan. 12, 2009.
Carriers will ultimately be responsible for denying carriage to passengers that do not have a valid ESTA approval. It is intended that the ESTA approvals will be linked in with the US APIS Pre-departure & AQQ program and authority to produce a boarding card will be denied in the absence of a valid ESTA.
ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel to the United States, and VWP travellers are encouraged to apply for authorisation as soon as they begin to plan a trip to the United States. If applicants destination addresses or itineraries should change after their authorisation has been approved, they may easily update that information through the ESTA website.
Until ESTA is mandatory for all VWP travellers, however, ESTA applicants will also still need to complete an I-94W form en-route, for presentation at an U.S. port of entry.
An approved ESTA travel authorization is:
valid for up to two years or until the traveller's passport expires, whichever comes first;
valid for multiple entries into the U.S.; and
not a guarantee of admissibility to the United States at a port of entry. ESTA approval only authorizes a traveller to board a carrier for travel to the U.S. under the VWP. In all cases, CBP officers make admissibility determinations at our ports of entry.
Links to DHS website
US CBP ESTA Website - http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/
ESTA Fact Sheet - http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1212498415724.shtm
ESTA FAQs - http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1212501117599.shtm
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks