United States Diplomatic Mission to Italy

INTRODUCTION

Millions of foreign visitors travel to the United States each year for business or pleasure. They come for tourism or to visit family and friends. Others come for specific purposes, such as business, scientific, educational, or professional conferences and conventions, training, or consulting with business associates. Other foreign visitors come for medical treatment, for voluntary programs conducted by charitable organizations, for religious purposes, or as personal/domestic employees, under certain conditions. Some foreign athletes and sports teams may come to the U.S. with visitors visas. Most of these visitors need B-1/B-2 visitors visas to enter the United States.

Foreign visitors add greatly to our nation’s cultural, education and economic life. We welcome citizens from around the world who genuinely want to visit, study, and do business in the United States. We are dedicated to protecting their safety and keeping our doors open to them. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we made some changes in our laws governing visitor entry and exit. Changes in visa procedures reflect our concern for ensuring the safety of U.S. residents and visitors alike. In order to avoid travel delays and disappointment, the U.S. Embassy in Rome and the U.S. Consulates General in Milan, Florence, and Naples strongly encourage nationals and residents of Italy to apply early for their visas. Students and exchange visitors, in particular, should apply as soon as they have their required documents.

We encourage you to plan ahead to allow enough time to process your visa before your trip. During the summer months, we recommend that travelers begin the visa application process at least one month before they plan to travel. This will ensure that there is time to schedule your appointment, conduct your interview, review your application, determine whether we can issue a visa, and arrange for delivery. Final travel plans or the purchase of non-refundable tickets should not be made until the visa is issued.

These webpages will help you learn if you need a visa for your travel to the U.S. and, if you do, how to apply for the correct type of visa.

DO YOU REALLY NEED A VISA?

The Visa Waiver Program

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) 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, as long as they meet specific requirements.

By carefully reading this page and answering the following four questions, you will learn if you meet all requirements to travel under the Visa Waiver Program.

If you are traveling with your children , please read the paragraph about “Individual passports” at the end of this page.

1) First of all, your nationality:

QUESTION: Are you a national of Italy or of a Visa Waiver Program Country?

The Visa Waiver Program Countries are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and The United Kingdom.

2) The purpose of your travel to the United States:

Question: Are you traveling to the U.S. for tourism and/or business, or for transit to another destination?

3) The duration of your stay:

Question: Are you planning to stay in the U.S. for less than 90 days??

4) Your passport:

Recent regulations allow only certain travelers to go to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program, depending on the type of passport they hold and its issuance/renewal date.

You can check if your passport is valid for travel under the VWP by carefully reading the following pages. Click on the sample pictures to get a bigger image of the different types of passports.

Question: What kind of passport do you have?

	"Electronic" Passport (click on the image for a description)	If you hold an e-Passport you don’t need a visa to travel to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program.
"ELECTRONIC" Passports The new Italian "e-Passports" contain an electronic chip and are easy to identify because they carry the International e-Passport symbol on the front cover: E-Passports have an integrated computer chip that stores biometric information of the holder. The chip allows faster data acquisition during the inspection process at ports of entry. The data page, which includes the photograph of the holder, is similar to that of photo digitized passports, except that the "ghost image" is now located in the top right corner of the data page. The chip is embedded in the passport and is invisible. The front cover of the passport carries the e-Passport symbol and looks like the picture on the left. In Italy, these passports have been issued starting October 26, 2006.   Close
	"Photo Digitized" Passport (click on the image for a description)	If you hold a photo digitized passport issued before 26 October 2006, you don’t need a visa to travel to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program.
"PHOTO-DIGITIZED" Passports Sample of a photo digitized passport: (1) Machine-readable bands Like in older machine-readable passports, there are two optical bands at the bottom of the data page. (2) Digital Photo The digital photo is printed directly on the page, not glued or laminated onto the passport. (3) Reproduction of the Photo The digital photo of the holder is digitally reproduced as a faded image on the background of the data page. Close
	"Machine-readable" Passport (click on the image for a description)	If your machine-readable passport was issued before October 26, 2005, and –if renewed- it was renewed before October 26, 2005, you don’t need a visa to travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). If your Machine-readable passport was issued or renewed on or after October 26, 2005 you need a visa for travel to the United States. Keep in mind that if you renew this type of passport you will be required to apply for a visa in order to travel to the United States.
"MACHINE-READABLE" Passports Sample of an Italian machine-readable passport: Two Optical Bands You can recognize a machine-readable passport by the two optical bands containing a set of number and letter characters underneath the photo. The information contained on these bands can be read by a machine-readable-device at ports of entry. Close
	"Non Machine-readable" Passport (click on the image for a description)	You will not be allowed to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) on a non machine-readable passport. You will need to obtain a visa OR the new e-passport. Additional information can be found at:"Nonimmigrant visas".
"NON MACHINE-READABLE" Passports Sample of a non machine-readable passport: The photo of the bearer is glued on the upper left-hand corner of the second page. Close

NOTE:

Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)

All travelers wishing to enter the U.S. on the Visa Waiver Program need to obtain an ESTA authorization BEFORE boarding. All information about how to request and ESTA authorization are available in the ESTA webpage of this website.

Individual Passports

To travel under the Visa Waiver Program, each traveler must have his or her own passport.

If you are traveling under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) with your children, each child must have their own individual passport, which must meet the requirements listed above.

Children who appear in their parents’ passport must have a visa to travel to the United States.

How to apply for a new passport

Information on how to obtain a new Italian passport is available on the Polizia di Stato website (in Italian).

Visa Waiver Program - Additional Information

Additional information on the Visa Waiver Program is available on the Department of State "Visa Waiver Program" webpages.