Greece added to Visa Waiver Program

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now allows nationals of Greece to use the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Travellers will be able to enter the US for 90 days or less for tourism or business purposes without a visa, provided they have an e-passport and an approved authorization via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

To travel to the United States under the VWP, an alien must be from a participating country and must (1) be seeking entry as a tourist for a period of 90 days or less; (2) be a national of a VWP participant country; (3) present an electronic passport or a machine readable passport issued by a designated VWP participant country to the air or vessel carrier before departure; (4) execute the required immigration forms; (5) if arriving by air or sea, arrive on an authorized carrier; (6) not represent a threat to the welfare, health, safety or security of the United States; (7) have not violated U.S. immigration law during a previous admission under the visa waiver program; (8) possess a round trip ticket; and (9) waive the right to review or appeal a decision regarding admissibility or to contest other than on the basis of an application for asylum, any action for removal.

For the DHS press release, see here. For more information about the Visa Waiver Program and ESTA, see here.

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/london/43530136/.

CIS issued revised I-601, waiver application

USCIS has revised the Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility "to make it easier for applicants to complete."

The I-601 is used by visa applicants who are "inadmissible" to the US for any reason. The most common ground of inadmissibility is a prior overstay, rendering the visa applicant inadmissible for 3 or 10 years. To qualify for a waiver, the applicant must show that not returning to the US would cause extreme hardship to the US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent of the I-601 applicant. Family separation and financial inconvenience alone do not necessarily constitute extreme hardship. 

As one consulate explains:

Extreme hardship can be demonstrated in many aspects of your spouse or parent’s life such as: 

HEALTH - Ongoing or specialized treatment requirements for a physical or mental condition; availability and quality of such treatment in your country, anticipated duration of the treatment; whether a condition is chronic or acute, or long-or short-term.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS - Future employability; loss due to sale of home or business or termination of a professional practice; decline in standard of living; ability to recoup short-term losses; cost of extraordinary needs such as special education or training for children; cost of care for family members (i.e., elderly and infirm parents).

EDUCATION - Loss of opportunity for higher education; lower quality or limited scope of education options; disruption of current program; requirement to be educated in a foreign language or culture with ensuing loss of time for grade; availability of special requirements, such as training programs or internships in specific fields.

PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS - Close relatives in the United States and /or your country; separation from spouse/children; ages of involved parties; length of residence and community ties in the United States.

SPECIAL FACTORS - Cultural, language, religious, and ethnic obstacles; valid fears of persecution, physical harm, or injury; social ostracism or stigma; access to social institutions or structures

OTHER - Any other situation that you feel may help you meet the burden of extreme hardship. 

CIS press release on the new form here.

Malta added to Visa Waiver Program

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now allows Maltese nationals to make use of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), as of December 30, 2008. Travellers will be able to enter the US for 90 days or less for tourism or business purposes without a visa, provided they have an e-passport and an approved authorization via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

To travel to the United States under the VWP, an alien must be from a participating country and must (1) be seeking entry as a tourist for a period of 90 days or less; (2) be a national of a VWP participant country; (3) present an electronic passport or a machine readable passport issued by a designated VWP participant country to the air or vessel carrier before departure; (4) execute the required immigration forms; (5) if arriving by air or sea, arrive on an authorized carrier; (6) not represent a threat to the welfare, health, safety or security of the United States; (7) have not violated U.S. immigration law during a previous admission under the visa waiver program; (8) possess a round trip ticket; and (9) waive the right to review or appeal a decision regarding admissibility or to contest other than on the basis of an application for asylum, any action for removal.

For more information about the Visa Waiver program and ESTA, please see our blog post dated 11/17/08: http://martinvisalaw.blogspot.com/search/label/visa%20waive.

7 new countries added to Visa Waiver Program

The US Department of State has increased the number of participating Visa Waiver Program countries from 27 to 34. The seven new countries are: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia. The 27 countries that were already in the VWP before November 17, 2008 are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Starting today, visitors from the 7 new countries will need to apply for ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) before they travel. From January 12, 2009 onwards, all VWP travellers will need ESTA clearance. Full details about the ESTA program, including FAQs and information sheets, are here: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/.