Travel to the USA

Requirements for travel to, from, within or over the USA

Travel to the USA under the Visa Waiver Program

US Customs have introduced new enhanced security requirements for travellers entering the USA under the visa waiver program. It is now mandatory for all individuals who plan to travel to the USA under the Visa Waiver Program to receive an electronic authorisation known as ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) before travel to the USA.

Visit the US Department of State website for a list of participating countries in the Visa Waiver Program.

For travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program:

• You must have a machine-readable passport issued by one of the participating countries, and
• If your passport has been issued between 26 October 2005 and 25 October 2006, it must also contain either a digital photograph of the holder or be an 'e-passport', or
• If your passport has been issued on or after 26 October 2006, the passport must be an 'e-passport'; and
• If you travel on or after 12 January 2009, you need to receive an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) from US Customs before travel to the USA.

If you are unable to comply with the requirements you need to obtain a US Non-Immigrant visa at a US Embassy or Consulate before you travel to the USA. Same day visa applications are not possible.

For more information visit the US Department of State website.

ESTA Authorities for individual travel to the USA under the Visa Waiver Program

Applications can be made at any time at the US Department of Homeland Security ESTA website. Applicants will be asked to answer basic biographical and eligibility questions typically requested on the current paper form completed onboard the flight (I-94W form). The system will advise the applicant whether their travel to the USA is Authorised, Not Authorised or Authorisation pending.

If you have any questions about ESTA, click on "Ask a Question" on the ESTA website to send an e-mail to the US Department of Homeland Security's ESTA team or you can email esta@cbp.dhs.gov.

Other points of note:

• Applying for an ESTA directly with the US Authorities is a service that is free of charge.
• Even if a traveller has an ESTA they will still be required to complete a paper form I-94W and present it to US Customs on arrival into the USA.
• Accompanied and unaccompanied children, regardless of age, will be required to obtain an independent ESTA approval.
• VWP nationals who have valid visas, and other nationals that require visas, will not be required to apply for an ESTA.
• An ESTA is valid for two years (unless the passport data limits validity) and will be considered acceptable for multiple use.
• US Customs recommends that ESTA applications be submitted no less than 72 hours before travel.

If you would like to find out more about the ESTA program refer to the US Department of Homeland Security ESTA website website.

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Advance Passenger Information System

For travel to the USA you must provide Advance Passenger Information including an address at which you will be staying in the USA, at time of check-in. This does not apply for US Nationals, US permanent residents and persons in transit to a location outside the USA.

You can provide Advance Passenger Information through Manage Your Booking before you get to the airport.

Advance Passenger Information required:

• Name
• Gender
• Passport Number
• Nationality
• Country of Issue
• Destination address in the USA

Alternatively, you can provide these details when you check-in online, at the self-service check-in Kiosks, or at the check-in counter at the airport.

Secure Flight Program

What is the Secure Flight Program?

On 28 October 2008, the United States of America (USA) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced the final rule for a program known as 'Secure Flight'.

Secure Flight enables pre-screening of passenger information against USA Federal Government watch lists, before the passenger arrives at the departure airport. Watch list matching already applies to all domestic and international passengers travelling on flights into, out of, within, or over the USA. The new rule aims to reduce the incidence of misidentifications. The objectives of the program are to:

• identify known and suspected terrorists;
• prevent individuals on the No Fly List (and in some circumstances, other watch lists maintained by the USA Federal Government) from boarding an aircraft to the USA;
• identify individuals on the Selectee List for enhanced screening to determine if they are permitted to board an aircraft;
• facilitate passenger air travel by allowing cleared passengers to continue with their travel to the USA; and
• protect individuals' privacy.

What information is required?

Since 31 October 2009, international airlines are required to request and collect Secure Flight Passenger Data, and transmit it to the USA's Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a division of the DHS, which will be responsible for the matching process. This requires Qantas, Jetstar and other airlines, to collect and send the following information to the TSA:

• full name as it appears on the passenger's travel document;
• date of birth;
• gender; and
• redress number,* if available.

When is this information required?

You should provide these details at the time of booking. The data must be provided to the TSA by the airline no later than 72 hours prior to flight departure, when the watch list matching process will begin. Airlines such as Qantas and Jetstar must receive clearance from the TSA for every passenger before that passenger is allowed to board one of their flights travelling to, from, within or over the USA.

To provide Secure Flight information for travel to, from or within the USA from 31 October 2009, contact your travel agent or local Qantas office.

An online form providing Secure Flight data at qantas.com will be available soon.

The TSA is required to ensure the data is handled in accordance with stringent guidelines and all applicable privacy laws and regulations. In most cases it will retain the data for no more than seven days.

What about the Advance Passenger Information System and Electronic System for Travel Authorisation?

The Secure Flight Program does not replace the current requirement for APIS (Advanced Passenger Information System) data to be provided to United States Customs and Border Protection. ESTA (Electronic Sytem for Travel Authoristion) data will also continue to have to be provided to the United States Department of Homeland Security.

The new requirements can be found in the Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 209 / Tuesday, October 28, 2008 / Rules and Regulations which is available at www.tsa.gov.

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Other important information for travel to the US - USA Transit Without Visa (TWOV) and US Visit

USA - Transit Without Visa (TWOV)

The US Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of State have suspended the special international in-transit programs. For more information visit the US Department of State website.

US Visit

The US Government introduced a mandatory program called US-VISIT, which is aimed at enhancing the security of the USA while expediting legitimate travel and trade. US-VISIT requirements are:

• Anyone who requires a visa to travel to the United States will be fingerprinted (both index fingers scanned using an inkless device) and have a digital photograph taken on arrival into the USA.
• Anyone travelling to the USA on the Visa Waiver Program will also be fingerprinted and have a digital photograph taken on arrival into the United States.

Travellers who refuse to be fingerprinted and photographed will likely be refused admission to the United States. For more information visit the US Government website.

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