The citizens of thirty-five countries, who qualify for the United States visa waiver program, will be required to register online before arriving for their flight. The new program, starting today, will use that registration in lieu of in-flight paperwork. The measure was initiated by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security in order to provide for increased security.
Visa Stamps © © Mikael Colville-Andersen
Travelers, who already find the entry process too laborious, will be discontented. Despite the new rules, it’s unlikely that tourists will alter their plans for a trip to the United States.
Read about passport cards for speeding border crossings
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Gennaro Salamone is the founder and editor of Enduring Wanderlust. Feel free to contact him with questions, comments, or inquiries with reference to contributing a travel article or photograph for publication.
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AnnaE
I thought that the on-line registration requirement was only for the new visa waiver countries – Latvia, Estonia, etc…
Gennaro
@AnnaE
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security extended it to all VWP countries starting today.
Nomadic Matt
Just found your website. I like it a lot and I’m a big fan of the revolution themes too!
Gennaro
@Nomadic Matt
Welcome aboard. Agreed, they do a great job. Enjoyed your site too, by the way 🙂
Tim
I guess this means I won’t have to spend the last 30 minutes of the flight trying to find a pen to fill out the forms!
LN
@ Tim
Except for the customs forms!
Tim
@ LN
Crushed.
Gennaro
@Tim & LN
The pen gets me every time too. It’s always in the overhead bin.
Ryan | LifeGawker
Having a friend in Germany that comes to the US from time to time, I was made aware of this about the same time you posted this article. My friend was pretty excited about this new process as it was going to allow him to buzz right through customs. Well, when he flew into Detroit after this process was initiated, and things did not go as planned. The computer system crashed and they could not pull up the Visa information for any international passengers entering the US, needless to say they had to wait around for a while until the system came up. But, once the computers were up and running he got right through. Aside from any bugs, this seems to be a great program for international travelers. Just like anything else new, there are always a few hiccups to work through.
Ryan
Gennaro
@Ryan
Thanks for sharing. Nothing better than a first-hand account! Welcome aboard.
Lis - Australia News
To me its stupid papershufflers gone digital! Most of the information required to filled in e.g. name/flight no etc – are already available electronically – that’s why we have passports LOL In fact Australia is in the process of introducing self-service passport control using photo /face matching technology. The list of questions has not got any better – it astounds me that a country who claims to lead the “free world” can deny entry because you got arrested (not charged or convicted mind you – arrested ) for crimes of “moral turpitude” – whatever that is!
Gennaro
@Lis
I figured it would annoy quite a few people who enter the United States. Hopefully, it doesn’t stop too many from entering. On the bright side, at least it’s not necessary to fill out the form on the plane as it will already be done over the Internet beforehand.