En esta noticia
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is an initiative of the U.S. government that allows eligible citizens of participating countries -currently 42 nations- to travel to the United States for tourism or business without needing to have a U.S. visa.
In this way, qualifying people who want to travel to California (CA), New York (NY), Texas (TX), Florida (FL), Illinois (IL) or any other state can do so without going through the visa application process, as long as they plan a trip no longer than 90 days.
Which countries are currently part of the VWP
According to the official list shared by the authorities, the participating countries are:
- Andorra
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brunei
- Chile
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- South Korea
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- San Marino
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- United Kingdom
“The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows citizens of designated countries to travel to the United States for business or tourism for stays of up to 90 days without a visa. In exchange, those countries must allow U.S. citizens and nationals to travel to their countries for a similar period without a visa for business or tourism purposes,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says.
Which citizens of the aforementioned countries are eligible for the VWP
One of the fundamental points for eligibility is to meet a travel purpose that aligns with a B-type visitor visa.
In the case of traveling for business, examples of permitted activities are:
- Visiting business partners
- Attending conferences
- Attending short-term training that does not include compensation
- Negotiating an agreement
If done for tourism, the following are permitted:
- Visiting attractions
- Going on vacation
- Visiting loved ones
- Receiving medical treatment
- Taking part in social events
- Participating in musical, sports or any kind of events, as long as there is no payment involved
- Enrolling in a short recreational course
You cannot travel under this program to study, work or reside permanently in the country.
You will also be required to have an electronic passport and to meet the maximum validity requirements established for each nation.
ESTA application: a key step to travel under the VWP
The ESTA application must be submitted by all travelers who use the program, and for this they will need the following documents and requirements:
- A valid passport from a participating VWP country
- Acceptable photograph
- An active email address
- Home address and contact phone number
- Emergency phone and email
- Ability to pay the $40.27 application fee. Accepted methods include MasterCard, VISA, American Express and PayPal.
In total, this travel authorization will last two years, during which multiple visits to the country will be allowed. If the passport expires before that time, the authorization will only be issued until the international identification is valid.