Electronic System of Travel Authorization (ESTA)

Beginning Monday, travelers under the Visa Waiver Program will be required to obtain an Electronic System of Travel Authorization (ESTA) in order to visit the United States. This means that any national or citizen seeking to travel to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program from one of its 35 participating countries must first go on-line and register for an ESTA. Once approved, the traveler will be authorized to visit our country for up to 90 days for business or tourism without first having to obtain a visa.

Why is ESTA necessary? For starters, it is one of the key security elements of our expanded Visa Waiver Program and an essential tool for identifying potentially high-risk travelers ahead of time. By requiring travelers to register on-line before their journey, ESTA gives authorities more time to screen for threats and ensure that a traveler isn’t a known security risk. ESTA also helps us determine, in advance of travel, whether an individual is eligible for travel under the Visa Waiver Program. This is important because it saves travelers the time, expense, and hassle of flying to the United States only to find out that they are inadmissible under the Visa Waiver Program.

ESTA is quick, easy, and free. In most cases, it provides an almost immediate determination of eligibility for travel. Since its inception, more than one million people have successfully used the system without any problem.

Moreover, each approved ESTA application is generally valid for a period of two years and allows for multiple visits to the United States within that period. ESTA involves no new data collection. All information required for an ESTA application is already collected on the I-94W arrival and departure form that Visa Waiver Program travelers currently provide. And any information submitted through the ESTA website is subject to the same strict controls for similar traveler screening programs governed by U.S. laws and regulations.

Visitors may apply for travel authorization via the ESTA website. If a traveler fails to obtain an ESTA, he or she may be denied boarding, experience delayed processing, or be denied admission to the United States. Travelers who currently have a valid visa for travel to the U.S. are not required to apply for an ESTA.

Michael Chertoff

The Visa Waiver Program Success Story—Our Newest Chapter

Each year, we welcome hundreds of millions of visitors to America. Since 1986, many of them have arrived under our Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which enables nationals of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.

Last month, President Bush announced that seven new nations – the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Korea – have met the requirements needed to enter the program. Starting today, eligible tourists and business people from these nations will be able to travel to the United States without a visa and contribute to our economy, as visitors have from other VWP countries for more than a generation. They will return to their countries with a first-hand impression of America and its people, helping us further enhance our reputation overseas.

The admissions requirements reflect a significantly upgraded and modernized VWP. Acknowledging the need to modernize and to recognize post-9/11 realities, they include new elements, mandated by Congress, such as new security provisions for countries and visitors alike.

Under the new requirements, countries must now provide information about serious crimes, known and suspected terrorists, timely reporting of lost and stolen passport data and cooperation on airport and aviation security.

As for individual visitors, our Department’s new Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) requires all VWP travelers to submit biographical and eligibility information on-line prior to their departure for our country. This will enable us to pinpoint potential security threats ahead of time, identify ineligible individuals before they board (saving them a wasted trip to a U.S. airport and back) and process authorized travelers more efficiently.

For the better part of a year, I have been privileged to work with my colleagues in each of the seven countries that are joining the VWP. I am proud of their accomplishments as free nations that have stood up to tyranny. Their admission to the program is a milestone in their history. It promises to be a boon to our country, while opening a bright new chapter in the VWP success story.

Michael Chertoff