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Six new Visa Waiver countries

The US government has added six new countries from the EU to the Visa Waiver Program. The countries are the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Hungary. According to President Bush, nationals of those countries will be eligible for visa-free travel to the US in about one month. Requirements for a country’s participation in the Visa Waiver Program are data exchange with the US concerning possible threats, biometric passports for travel to the US, and participation in the new American system for electronic travel authorization ESTA, which will take effect in and be obligatory from January 2009. Find detailed information here.

New visa filing fees

The fees for applying for a US visa at a German US consulate have been raised. As of October 1, 2008, each applicant has to pay €98.25 instead of €89.08. All applicants who, by accident, paid the old fee after December 1, have to pay the remaining €9.17 during their interview with the consulate. US visa applicants must have an online payment confirmation as secure documentation of the paid fee. This confirmation has to be presented at the consulate during the interview. The online payment confirmation service is offered by Roskos & Meier OHG.

ESTA is now multilingual

The new electronic system for travel authorization (ESTA) has become multilingual: since October 15, the online form is available in 14 different languages. Now it is even easier for travelers to answer all the standard questions about basic biographical data (such as name, date of birth, passport information, communicable diseases, criminal records, visa revocation or deportation). Based on the personal data, ESTA can issue a travel organization. This will be obligatory for visa-free travel to the US starting January 12, 2009.