You must apply for an ESTA online to enter the USA after 12 Jan 2009

hansi

I think you might be interested to hear of my recent experience. I flew to Miami last week with Virgin and I had already applied for my ESTA and had all the info with me. When I checked in at Heathrow I was handed the usual green form and when I queried it and was told the ESTA system was not ready yet! On arrival in Miami, the immigration officer didn't even ask for it, and just wanted the green form. The lady directing the queues said sarcastically that it would be a miracle if the system was in place next January! So much for the scaremongeing in the press saying that you would be sent back if you didn't have ESTA clearance!

stormclouds

HanSpan wrote: »

Break out of jail having been arrested for drink driving whilst carrying a concealed weapon and you're welcome!

If you do this naked, however, you can't get in!

Sodomy is a crime of moral turpitude. Uh-oh. Thank goodness it's no longer a crime here. It doesn't really matter as I vowed never to voluntarily enter the US after they brought in the "you're all guilty and will be treated as criminals" thing. Sorry I meant fingerprinting.

richardw

omelette451 wrote: »

True, but it doesn't explain why no other country in the world has the same rules. In European and Asian airports the terminal building is technically considered not part of the country's territory, so if you're transiting and don't leave the terminal building there's no need to complete immigration formalities. Are transit passengers in Moscow, London, Munich or Beijing, for example, any less a risk than transit passengers in LA?

The US perceives that transit passengers are a risk and this is nothing new. Other countries have tit for tat visa requirements, US citizens need visas for Brazil for example.

The US is not the only alleged Bad Cop in the world.

Frequent travellers just bite the bullet and get visas.

dzug1

stormclouds wrote: »

I vowed never to voluntarily enter the US after they brought in the "you're all guilty and will be treated as criminals" thing. Sorry I meant fingerprinting.

Yes that's just the problem - the historical connection of fingerprinting with criminals and the emotions that brings up.

You just need to get over that connection. Fingerprints are a biometric, just as retina scans, photographs, signatures, voice recognition and all sorts of other thing are. And they are one of the more reliable ones, least prone to forgery, and fairly easily operated by semi-skilled staff.

omelette451

dzug1 wrote: »

Ah but we DO have the same rules. Not universally, it's true, but certain nationalities have to have an airside transit visa just to change planes in London.

Do you have a source for that? The thing is, as far as I know we don't. There's no immigration point for connecting passengers, and therefore no point at which we can demand to see transit visas. If people want to go into London to pass their layover time then of course they need visas, temporary or otherwise, and if the connection is domestic (to MAN, EDI, etc.) you need to pass immigration and UK Customs at the first point of entry, i.e. London, but for India-London-US routings, for example, anyone can pass through freely.

Incidentally, it's even easier still in places such as Frankfurt: there you don't even have to go via the flight connections centre, you just go straight to the next departure gate (assuming it's in the same terminal and it's a connection between two non-schengen flights). In fact when arriving on LH from MAN/BHX the cabin crew often announce gate numbers for destinations they know people are going to while the plane is taxiing in.

dzug1

omelette451 wrote: »

Do you have a source for that? .

yep

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/travellingtotheuk/transitthroughtheuk/transitdocuments/datvandvisitorintransit/

omelette451

dzug1 wrote: »

yep

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/travellingtotheuk/transitthroughtheuk/transitdocuments/datvandvisitorintransit/

I stand corrected

How is it enforced? Does everyone transferring have to present documents to an immigration officer just in case? Or, to refer back to the original case, what about people getting back on the same plane? (e.g. Air India passengers, BOM-LHR-JFK, get off with everyone leaving the flight in London but go straight into the departure lounge and wait with the new passengers.)

f1nola

I have filled in my ESTA application form and have been accepted to travel, I made a mistake on my expiry date of the passport i put down wrong month, I have tried to find a link to correct this, I tried to email them but as per usual - no reply! I am considering writing to the American Embassy to see if they can help. Can anyone offer some advice because immigration officers are just so miserable and unhelpful.?

richardw

omelette451 wrote: »

How is it enforced?

Sometimes the airline sort of does it for them.

My friend did AKL-SYD-BKK-LHR, he needed a transit visa for Australia, but didn't have one, the airline wouldn't issue a boarding card until they had cleared it with the Aus authorities, he'd been to Aus recently so they allowed him to travel, when transiting at SYDney airport they didn't check passports, but had to get off the aircraft and go through the airport and then get back on the plane.

omelette451

f1nola wrote: »

I have filled in my ESTA application form and have been accepted to travel, I made a mistake on my expiry date of the passport i put down wrong month, I have tried to find a link to correct this, I tried to email them but as per usual - no reply! I am considering writing to the American Embassy to see if they can help. Can anyone offer some advice because immigration officers are just so miserable and unhelpful.?

As explained earlier on this thread, there's no way to change it. Just apply again from scratch.