Holiday in USA

Luke15 · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:03

Ok, i have a full british passport.

To go on holiday in USA will i need anything else? like a visa?

Siders77 · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:04

Not unless you're staying for more than 6 months IIRC.

Jokester · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:05

Has long as you don't have a criminal record, you won't even need a visa, as you'll get a visa waiver form to complete on the plane.

Note, you get your photo and fingerprints taken at immigration now in the US.

Jokester

Rotty · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:10

Jokester said:
Has long as you don't have a criminal record, you won't even need a visa, as you'll get a visa waiver form to complete on the plane.

Note, you get your photo and fingerprints taken at immigration now in the US.

Jokester

yep , though it is actually "as long as you have never been arrested" , even if you've been arrested and never charged then you still have to apply for a visa , really fair that is :mad:

Luke15 · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:11

I have no criminal record

So it should be easy as Apple pie?

PardonTheWait · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:11

Rotty said:
yep , though it is actually "as long as you have never been arrested" , even if you've been arrested and never charged then you still have to apply for a visa , really fair that is

I totally knew you were a gangster, dude.

Witness mysteriously disappear, did they? Hmmmm?

6thElement · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:11

Siders77 said:
Not unless you're staying for more than 6 months IIRC.

90 days.

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/vwp.html

Jokester · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:12

Rotty said:
even if you've been arrested and never charged then you still have to apply for a visa , really fair that is

That's harsh as ****!

You can only get a visa by going to the US Embassay in London, right?

Jokester

Rotty · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:14

Jokester said:
That's harsh as ****!

You can only get a visa by going to the US Embassay in London, right?

Jokester

you apply and then they usually call you down for an interview

Freefaller · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:15

Luke15 said:
I have no criminal record

So it should be easy as Apple pie?

Yup you'll be fine. You'll just need to fill in one of those green waiver forms on the plane, and be finger printed and photo'ed.

Though make sure you fill in the form correctly - they're very anal about that.

Freefaller · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:16

Rotty said:
yep , though it is actually "as long as you have never been arrested" , even if you've been arrested and never charged then you still have to apply for a visa , really fair that is

That's absolutely stupid. :rolleyes:

Beansprout · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:18

Freefaller said:
That's absolutely stupid.

Well duh, you're entering God's holy land of the Free.

philhoole · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:18

Are you sure about the arrested bit? I don't recall ever having seen that requirement before.

6thElement · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:19

Rotty said:
you apply and then they usually call you down for an interview

/whistles in a nonchalent manner while checking his diary for next week

Rotty · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:21

philhoole said:
Are you sure about the arrested bit? I don't recall ever having seen that requirement before.

from US embassy website

"Some travelers may not be eligible to enter the United States visa free under the VWP. These include people who have been arrested, even if the arrest did not result in a criminal conviction"

what will be happening soon (maybe already started) is that before a flight takes off for the US the airline will have to forward a list of passengers to the US immigration service so that they have time to check folks before they arrive

Rotty · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:22

6thElement said:
/whistles in a nonchalent manner while checking his diary for next week

oops

Jokester · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:30

Rotty said:
what will be happening soon (maybe already started) is that before a flight takes off for the US the airline will have to forward a list of passengers to the US immigration service so that they have time to check folks before they arrive

They were doing this from Aberdeen Airport when we were flying out to Salt Lake City last month. You stupidly had to fill in a A4 sheet saying your name and where you're staying and then the desk attendent had to type it into her computer. Maybe it's just because Aberdeen Airport is a disaster zone but I would hope there is a better system than this as it resulted in a delay to the flight because it takes them so long to type it all in.

Jokester

philhoole · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:32

Rotty said:
from US embassy website

"Some travelers may not be eligible to enter the United States visa free under the VWP. These include people who have been arrested, even if the arrest did not result in a criminal conviction"

what will be happening soon (maybe already started) is that before a flight takes off for the US the airline will have to forward a list of passengers to the US immigration service so that they have time to check folks before they arrive

Just checked the US Embassy Uk site and there it is ! I didn't believe though that an arrest without charge is left on file for very long and wouldn't be on any individuals record. Can't remember where I heard this though.

6thElement · 9 Mar 2006 at 23:34

Laws in force in the USA require airlines to collect the following information from all passengers travelling to and from the USA, prior to travel:-

Passport information, including passport number, country which issued passport, passport expiry date, given names (as they appear on passport), last name, gender, date of birth and nationality. The Alien Registration Number (Green Card) is also required for those who have US residency.

In addition, the following information is required for passengers travelling to the USA from the UK:

Country of residence
Destination address in the US for all passengers except US Citizens or residents.

Taken from: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/ba6.jsp/imminfo/public/en_gb

Sequoia · 10 Mar 2006 at 01:08

Rotty said:
yep , though it is actually "as long as you have never been arrested" , even if you've been arrested and never charged then you still have to apply for a visa , really fair that is

Of course it's fair. You have to remember that it's you seeking to enter the US, which is a sovereign nation and entirely entitled to apply whatever criteria it likes to people seeking to enter. They didn't, after all, send out an invitation.

Then, the general rule is that anyone seeking to enter requires a visa .... just as they do to enter the UK. However, under certain conditions, they waive the visa requirement. All this means is that those that have been arrested aren't eligible for the visa waiver, and default back to needing a visa.

Going one stage further, nobody (other than US citizens) actually has right of entry, even if they have a visa. That decision lies with immigration officals at the port of entry and they can deny entry, visa or no visa.

The visitor is the supplicant. If they don't like the requirements for entry, don't go.

Oh, and the general case is that if you've been arrested, there was a reason for that arrest. It may have been that the person was perfectly innocent, but it also may have been, and is probably more likely, that they they were guilty as hell but there was insufficient evidence to convict. No sovereign nation is required to admit people it doesn't want to, just because a jury couldn't reach "beyond reasonable doubt". Any country is entitled to decide they'd rather just not risk it, and decline you permission to enter. The UK has the same right to foreign visitors, including US citizens.

The visa is a privilege, and the visa waiver is a privilege on a privilege. So the criteria require that you meet certain standards to qualify. It's perfectly fair to require that. The arrest is sufficient to cast enough doubt that a visa waiver is removed, and you need to satisfy the embassy in order to get a visa.

Holiday in USA

Wise Guy