Posted on February 13, 2008 by Fiona Hilliard

With ongoing airport and travel security restrictions being implemented in Europe and the US, transatlantic tourists can find themselves caught up in red tape and unsure of travel requirements.  The majority of Argus Car Hire customers travelling to the US on short business trips or holidays should be glad to learn that they qualify for the visa waiver programme and do not need to apply for a visa to travel to the United States.
Citizens of the following countries: 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 may travel without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program.

To qualify for a visa waiver, visitors need to meet the following requirements:
· A machine-readable passport with six month’s validity
· No criminal or police record
· Staying in the US for 90 days or less

Anyone planning to work or study in the US, journalists who have a police record (even if they were never prosecuted) and those who have been refused entry into or deported from, the US will have to apply for a visa.

Applying for a visa is no longer possible by post.  An appointment must be made with your US Embassy or consulate general.  The average visa processing time for successful applicants is five days.  Those who are told at the visa interview that their application requires further processing should allow at least 12 weeks.