USA Tourist Visa - United States - United States

USA Tourist Visa

Countries:

United States

As a British resident, you are entitled to a 90-day tourist visa for free, but there's still plenty you need to know to get it sorted.

  

Product Details

90-day Tourist Visa

One of the easiest ways to get into the United States is to own a valid, individual, machine-readable passport – these were brought out in 1988, so it’s quite likely yours will meet the necessary criteria. Britain is part of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), and this means that a British resident, travelling only for business, pleasure or transit for less than 90 days within U.S. borders, can enter visa-free.

A British resident is not the same as having been granted Right of Abode or an indefinite leave to stay in the UK. After October 2005, all passports issued must contain biometric information (such as your fingerprints) in order to be valid for visa-free travel. The American Embassy in London goes to great lengths to make it clear that, as long as you meet those requirements, you’ll be able to explore the U.S. without a visa.

Unfortunately, because of American border security, things aren’t quite that simple.

If you’re flying or sailing to the United States, you must have a return ticket or proof of an onwards itinerary to present at Immigration – and if that itinerary ends in Mexico, Canada, Bermuda or the Caribbean, you are required to be a permanent resident of that country. The plane or ship by which you enter the U.S. must be a participant in the Homeland Security program – so those gappers with their own yachts moored beneath their personal Lear Jet, take note! You must also have filled in form I-94W, which is obtainable from airline and shipping companies. The VWP visa is valid on return trips if you’re using the U.S. as a transit point on your journey, as long as your entire trip has not lasted longer than 90 days.

If you’re entering the States by land (via Mexico or Canada, natch – if you’re entering overland from somewhere else something’s wrong with your map) you’re only required to possess a completed I-94W form and a US$6.00 fee with you at immigration.

There are also plenty of restrictions on the VWP – if you’ve ever been arrested (even if there was no criminal conviction), you won’t be able to apply. If you do have a criminal record, a ‘serious communicable illness’, have previously overstayed on the VWP or have been refused admission into or deported from the States, you’ll also be unable to enter visa-free, and will be required to apply for a ‘restricted visa’.

Click here to make an online application.

Visa Bureau

Visa Bureau is an independent immigration advisory service providing information, advice and case management to individuals, families and businesses wishing to live and work or relocate staff to America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK.