Okay, I should admit that this posting is one of those you need but definitely it is not curious or funny. However I believe that knowing the visa regulations might come handy in some cases. Imagine that you’re American and you travel to let’s say Slovakia. There you meet amazing someone, such fabulous boy/girl that you decide to invite him/her home. In cases like this and the strict American immigration policies it is always good to check the visa requirements. Otherwise your amazing someone can land and stay in this no-man’s land at the airports without being allowed to enter the country.

There are people from Europe, Australia and Asia who are allowed to travel to US without visa. These countries are under the Visa Waiver Program. Nationals of these countries are not required a visa to enter as long as they:
- are nationals of one of the 27 countries (listed at the end of this posting)
- travel as tourist or on business of 90 days or less beginning in mid-November
- possess a biometric passport (what’s this see below)
- register on-line through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)

ESTA is a new fully automated, electronic system for screening passengers before they begin travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel to the United States, and VWP travelers are encouraged to apply for authorization as soon as they begin to plan a trip to the United States. It is anticipated that ESTA will become mandatory for VWP travelers from current VWP member countries on January 12, 2009and for VWP travelers from newly admitted VWP countries in mid-November 2008.

ESTA Registration can be found here:
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html

E-Passport include an integrated computer chip capable of storing biographic information from the data page, as well as other biometric information, such as the required digital photograph of the holder.

The Visa Waiver Program by country: