This edition of Ask the Consul applies to residents of Guyana who hold passports from Visa Waiver countries. It also presents an exciting new public-private partnership to promote tourism to the United States.
Who does the Visa Waiver Program apply to?
Nationals of the following countries traveling on passports of the country, do not require a visa to visit the United States: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
If the Visa Waiver Program applies to me, I know that I must register with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before flying. I understand there is now a fee for ESTA registration?
Yes, the new fee is $14, which includes $4 to administer the program, and $10 to fund the new Travel Promotion Act (see below). The fee, which goes into effect September 8, was based on a cost of services study. It is only payable via credit or debit card at the time of ESTA application on the ESTA website http://www.cbp.gov/esta
Do I have to pay the $14 each time I travel?
Each approved ESTA application will be valid for a period of two years unless the traveler’s passport expires sooner. It allows for multiple visits to the United States within that application. No new fees need to be paid during that time.
What is the Travel Promotion Act?
Travel Promotion Act (TPA) will create a partnership between the U.S. Government and the private sector to market the United States as a travel destination for overseas visitors. The Corporation for Travel Promotion will be formed and funded through fees collected at the time of ESTA registration matched by private sector contributions.
What is the goal of the Travel Promotion Act?
The TPA’s goal is to attract more foreign visitors to the United States. The U.S. Embassy’s greatest diplomatic tool for sharing American values is America itself, and we recognize the critical importance of tourism to our economy and job creation.
Whether or not ESTA applies to you, the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy encourages you to visit the website of the new U.S. Travel website: http://www.ustravel.org This site contains a wealth of information about traveling in the United States and the travel industry more generally.
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“Ask the Consul” is a bi-weekly column from the U.S. Embassy answering questions about U.S. immigration law and visa issues. If you have a general question about visa policy please email it to us at AskGeorge@state.gov. We select questions every other week and publish the answers in Stabroek News and on our website at http://georgetown.usembassy.gov/ask-the-consul.html For more information about visas please see http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov or http://georgetown.usembassy.gov/.
Other than the questions we select, we DO NOT respond to questions sent to Ask the Consul. Please contact the visa inquiries unit (email visageorge@state.gov or call 225-7965 between 8 am and 4 pm Monday through Friday) if you have questions about a specific case.
