Need-to-know advice before and during your visit to America

UK passport holders

June 23, 2009: With the holiday season upon us Cheapflights.co.uk, the international online flight and travel price comparison company, suggests that before visiting the USA it pays to check that you know the new visa rules before flying.  Cheapflights also has some useful tips to help smooth your transit through domestic US airports once you are there.  Also be sure to print out our “before you fly check list” – this and lots of other travel information can be found on Cheapflights' Travel Tips.

Under the United States Visa Waiver Program (VWP), UK citizens entering the US by air or sea have to apply online for the new American Department of Homeland Security’s mandatory Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) - this is intended to replace the current paper visa and allows you to stay for up to three months.  However, if you want to stay longer you will still need a tourist B2 paper visa.   At present though, even with the mandatory ESTA, you will still be given the old I-94W (for VWP Citizens) on board the aircraft.  This is a temporary measure until all airlines flying into the US are able to process ESTAs electronically. DO remember without fail to save the portion of the I-94W given back to you on passing through immigration so as to be able to hand to immigration when you leave.

If you are flying to the US via a stopover Canada and are then crossing by vehicle or ferry into the US VWP entitled travellers are NOT required to have an ESTA.   BUT you DO require one if you arrive from Canada by air or cruise ship.  Our advice is to get an ESTA anyway.  

The ESTA can be obtained by making an online application right up to your flight time but preferably no later than 72 hours before departure.  Cheapflights suggest doing it much earlier as an ESTA is valid for two years and it’s free.   NB you must have a machine readable passport that has a digital photograph printed on the data page or integrated chip with information from the data page

A word of warning when going online for your ESTA - There are unofficial ESTA look-alike sites or businesses that claim that they’ll complete your ESTA for a fee – often a very steep one! You’ll find all sorts of sites with URLs that look like official US sites but which are NOT endorsed by the U.S. Government.  Travellers should know that there is only one site that is affiliated with the U.S. Government:  esta.cbp.dhs.gov.  The tip is to look for the dot-gov (.gov) at the end of the address.  Only US Government sites can have those.  And also:  ESTA IS FREE!!  If you’re asked to pay, you’re on the wrong site.

If you are travelling to the US from Europe and do not hold a passport from a Visa Waiver Program country,  you will need  to apply for a paper Tourist Visa B2 which can take a while.  Check with your local US Embassy’s website on how to apply – you will have to request an appointment for a visa interview because walk-in interviews are not given.  The www.usembassy.gov/ site provides details of US Embassies around the world.

Commenting, Mo Bulbrook, Head of International said: “We have posted some useful tips from the US Transportation Security Administration which you can see on travel-tips/taking-flights-in-the-us/ .  These will certainly help you to enjoy your holiday without running into avoidable problems at domestic US airports.  International visitors to the US should always ensure that they have their passports with them while they are travelling within the US”.  She added:

“For those addicted to their mobile phones be sure to check with your service provider about roaming costs which can be sky-high.    Most modern phones have automatic updates which check for new emails – it’s best to turn these off and to use WiFi connections to check for the vital email. travel-tips/travelling-with-your-iphone/   It’s also a good idea to tell your credit or debit card company that you will be using your card abroad and the dates – there’s nothing more frustrating than waiting for authorisation or worse refusal when buying that must have item!”

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Cheapflights Ltd:                  (London)                                              

John Barrington-Carver; Corporate PR                           

Tel: +44 (0) 207 467 3535                

Mobile +44 (0) 7831 655 630 

e-mail: corporate-pr@cheapflights.com