United States Visa Information
Travelling to the US or to onward destinations via the US:
Visa Waiver Programme
The US operates a Visa Waiver Programme (VWP), available to most British Citizen passport holders travelling from where they normally reside and who intend to stay in the US for less than 90 days. The VWP is not available to other categories of British nationals and you should check the data page of your passport which indicates whether you are described as a British Citizen. If you are not, you should consult the information on the Visa Waiver Programme on the US Embassy website www.usembassy.org.uk for further information. See also the section on ESTA below.
Please note, visitors, including children, will only be permitted to enter the United States if they hold a printed passport with a machine-readable strip at the bottom of the data page. New passports issued after 26th October 2005 must contain a digital photo image to enable the holder to travel to the USA visa free. Hand-written passports will not be accepted, anyone without a Machine Readable Passport, including children who are currently on a parent's passport, will need a visa to travel to the USA. If you are in any doubt about your passport, British passport-holders should contact the British Passport Office (0870 5210410).
All British Passports currently issued in the UK and at British Missions overseas, are machine-readable, however some older passports issued by British Missions overseas are not, and not all issue digital photographs, please therefore do check if you are unsure.
Before travelling to the US and seeking entry under the VWP, you should check your passport. A British Passport is machine readable when the foot of the personal information page (at the back of the passport) bears 2 lines of text as letters, numbers and "<"s. If there are no lines of text, then the passport is not machine-readable. Further information on UK passports is available from the UK Passport Service website: www.ips.gov.uk
There must be at least 90 days validity remaining on your passport when you enter the USA.
ESTA - Electronic System for Travel Authorisation
New entry requirements for the USA: Under the visa waiver program, all travellers staying in or transiting the USA will require an electronic travel authorization prior to boarding the aircraft. This is available online and, until 11 January 2009, is on a voluntary basis. However, it is COMPULSORY for anyone travelling from 12 January 2009 onwards. Applications can be submitted at any time prior to travel however we recommend no later than 72 hours before departure. For further information and to apply on-line visit the website: esta.cbp.dhs.gov.
Transiting
Those passengers eligible for the VWP should complete their on-line ESTA application in the normal way but should put the words ‘In Transit’ when asked for the destination name and address in the USA.
Those travellers who are passing through the United States ‘in transit’ but are not eligible for the Visa Waiver Programme must obtain a visa prior to travel.
Passengers not travelling on a British passport might well require a visa for entry into the USA. If so, it is your own responsibility to obtain this visa. Please contact your embassy for further details or call our visa department on 0845 166 7040.
