Us Visa
Luisa Mova
Certain international travelers may be eligible to travel to the United States without a visa if they meet the requirements for visa-free travel. The Visa section of this website is all about U.S. visas for foreign citizens to travel to the United States.
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables most citizens or nationals of participating countries* to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. Travelers must have a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval prior to travel and meet all requirements explained below. If you prefer to have a visa in your passport, you may still apply for a visitor (B) visa.
Under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, travelers in the following categories must obtain a visa prior to traveling to the United States as they are no longer eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP):
In order to travel without a visa on the VWP, you must have authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to boarding a U.S. bound air or sea carrier. ESTA is a web-based system operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to determine eligibility to travel under the VWP to the United States for tourism or business. Visit the ESTA webpage on the CBP website for more information.
These individuals can apply for visas using regular appointment processes at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. For those who require a visa for urgent travel to the United States, U.S. Embassies and Consulates stand ready to handle applications on an expedited basis.
If an individual who is exempt from the Act because of his or her diplomatic or military presence in one of the seven countries has his or her ESTA denied, he or she may go to the CBP website, or contact the CBP information Center. The traveler may also apply for a nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
Yes, you may apply for a visitor (B) visa, if you prefer to do so or if you are not eligible for VWP travel. Additionally, you need to apply for a visa if you will be traveling on a private aircraft or other non-VWP approved air or sea carrier. Review the approved carriers list. Also, if you intend to stay longer than 90 days, then you need to apply for a visa.
A recent visa refusal for any reason could result in denial of ESTA authorization, additional review at the port of entry, or denial of admission to the United States. If you are uncertain if you qualify for VWP travel, you may apply for a visa.
Citizens of Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom do not need a visa or ESTA to visit both Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands because of the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, though they must complete Form I-736 prior to travel. People's Republic of China Passport holders also do not need a visa if they complete Form I-736 for temporary admission into the Northern Mariana Islands. For more information on the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, click here
Certain qualifying family members are eligible for a derivative U visa based on their relationship to you, the principal, filing for the U visa. The principal petitioner must have their petition for a U visa approved before their family members can be eligible for their own derivative U visa.
The O-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the individual who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.
To qualify for an O-1 visa, you must demonstrate extraordinary ability by sustained national or international acclaim, or a record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture and television industry, and must be coming temporarily to the United States to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability.
To qualify for an O-1 visa in the motion picture or television industry, you must demonstrate extraordinary achievement. This is evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition significantly above that ordinarily encountered, to the extent that you are recognized as outstanding, notable or leading in the motion picture and/or television field. For detailed information on how USCIS evaluates evidence to determine O-1B eligibility, including examples and considerations, see USCIS Policy Manual Volume 2, Part M, Chapter E and Appendix: Satisfying the O-1B Evidentiary Requirements.
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP), administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with the State Department, permits citizens of 41 countries to travel to the United States for business or tourism for stays of up to 90 days without a visa. In return, those 41 countries must permit U.S. citizens and nationals to travel to their countries for a similar length of time without a visa for business or tourism purposes.
Canada has introduced a new entry requirement, known as Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), for visa-exempt foreign nationals traveling to Canada by air. Exceptions include U.S. citizens and travelers with a valid visa.
All Visa Waiver Program countries must issue passports with a digital photograph printed on the data page or their citizens will be required to obtain a visa to travel to the United States. A digital photograph is one that is printed on the page as opposed to a photograph that is glued or laminated into the passport. It looks like the image to the right.
The common visa policy is a key component of the Schengen Area, with all 27 Schengen States applying the same visa rules. The role of the European Commission is to develop, monitor and implement the EU common visa policy, regulating which non-EU nationals need a visa to enter the Schengen Area for short stays of a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period. When someone enters the Schengen Area, the 180-day period starts. This means that someone can enter the Schengen Area as many times as they want, but only stay for a total of 90 days, every 180 days. Visas for stays exceeding 90 days remain subject to national procedures. A Schengen visa is generally valid for every state of the Schengen Area.
Currently, 61 non-EU countries, two special administrative regions of China (Hong Kong and Macao) and one territorial authority that is not recognised as a state by at least one EU Member State (Taiwan) are visa free. Kosovo, another territorial authority not recognised as a state by at least one EU Member State, will be gaining visa free status starting 1 January 2024.
Operational instructions for the application of the Visa Code are further specified in the Handbook for the processing of visa applications and the modification of issued visas and the Handbook for the administrative management of visa processing.
The visa code also helps improve cooperation with third countries in readmissions of irregular migrants, through the visa leverage mechanism. Under this mechanism, when a third country does not cooperate sufficiently in the area of readmissions, restrictive measures related to the visa processing and the visa fee can be taken. Such measures have been adopted for nationals of The Gambia (Implementing Decision 1, Implementing Decision 2).
The EU has visa facilitation agreements in place with certain non-EU countries. Under this simplified visa regime, non-EU citizens enjoy facilitated procedures to obtain a visa to the Schengen area, such as lower visa fees.
EU States may also individually negotiate agreements on local bordertraffic with neighbouring non-EU countries. These agreements enable border residents of well-defined areas to cross the EU external borders, under certain conditions, without having to obtain a visa.
The Visa Suspension Mechanism, set out in Regulation No 1806/2018 (article 7), enables Member States to call for a temporary suspension of a visa exemption in case of a sudden and substantial surge in irregular migration. In that case, a Member State can notify the European Commission, which can then decide to trigger the suspension mechanism.
Since 2017, the Commission has been issuing annual reports under the Visa Suspension Mechanism. Currently the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu has been suspended under the suspension mechanism.
The EU aims at achieving full visa reciprocity with the non-EU countries whose nationals are exempt from the visa requirement. This means that EU citizens should not need a visa to visit countries whose citizens also do not need a visa to visit the Schengen area. For that purpose, a visa reciprocity mechanism is set out in Regulation No 1806/2018 (article 7). Currently, the EU has achieved visa reciprocity with all visa-free third countries, except the United States. Citizens of Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Romania still need a visa to visit the United States.
The Pact on Migration and Asylum proposed by the Commission in September 2020, set the objective of making the visa procedure fully digitalised by 2025. On 27 April 2022, the Commission presented a proposal on the digitalisation of the Schengen visa process, aiming to:
After a transition period of seven years, Member States will all have to use a common visa application platform to collect visa applications. This platform will allow applicants to carry out all steps of the application process, except the provision of biometrics (when necessary) and the verification of a new travel document. In addition, a digital visa will replace the visa sticker once the platform will become operational.
dca57bae1f