To be eligible to use the visa waiver program

[alexandra uk]

I've just been reading about the VWP from a link off some other boards, and it says to be eligible to use the visa waiver - you first must be checked out, using an automated electronic database, containing information about inadmissable aliens to the US.
So what do they do- tap everyones details into a computer as they go through customs ?
Surely that would take ages.
I thought you just had to fill in a form and hand it over to customs :confused:
How has it worked for you before ?

[pauldents]

alexandra uk,

You fill in a I-94W Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Form prior to your arrival in the U.S. It gives you up to a 90 day stay in the U.S. This is a green form.

On the green form you have to fill in your :-
1. Family name
2. First (given) name
3. DOB
4. Country of Citizenship
5. Sex
6. Passport number
7. Airline and flight number (eg VS027)
8. Country where you live
9. City where you boarded (eg LONDON)
10. Address while in the United States (Number & Street) (eg 5800 Universal Boulevard)
11. City and State. (eg Orlando, Florida)

You will then have to fill in the detachable departure record at the bottom of the form. You will fill in :-

Family name
First (Given) Name
DOB
Country of Citizenship

On the reverse side of the green form there are a few questions. Answer yes or no:-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. Do you have a communicable disease: physical or mental disorder: or are you a drug addict ?
B. Have you ever been arrested or convicted for an offence or crime involving moral turpitude or a violation related to a controlled substance; or been arrested or convicted for two or more offenses for which the aggregate sentence to confinement was five years or more; or been a controlled substance trafficker; or are you seeking entry to engage in criminal or immoral activities?
C. Have you ever been or are you now involved in espionage or sabotage; or in terrorist activities; or genocide; or between 1933 and 1945 were you involved, in any way, in persecutions associated with Nazi Germany or its allies ?
D. Are you seeking to work in the U.S.;or have you ever been exluded or deported; or been previously removed from the United States; or procured or attempted to procure a visa or entry into the U.S. by fraud or misrepresentation?
E. Have you ever been detained, retained or withheld cusody of a child from a U.S. Citizen granted custody of the child?
F. Have you ever been denied a U.S Visa or entry into the U.S. or had a U.S. visa cancelled? If Yes, when ? where?
G. Have you ever asserted immunity from prosecution?

IMPORTANT: If you have answered "YES" to any of the above, please contact the American Embassy BEFORE you travel to the U.S. since you may be refused admission into the United States.

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You then print you family name, first name, country of citizenship and DOB. Then sign and date.

This form is then handed (with your passport) to an immigration officer upon you arrival in Orlando Airport. Your passport is usually bar code scanned and the immigration officer may ask you a few questions ie "Are you here for business or pleasure" ," How long is your stay in the U.S."When was you last visit to the U.S.". Your departure record is then detached from the green form and usually stapled inside you passport. This is then removed on your departure.

You will also fill in a white form prior to your arrival to the U.S. This is a customs declaration.

Hope this helps

Paul

[alexandra uk]

Thanks paul
So do they stop and read & input everyones information into the database as they go through ?
If not anyone could lie on those forms and get through customs.

[pauldents]

They usually glance over them to check everythings filled in right. If any boxes ticked YES then they are going to start asking more questions and yes, someone could lie on the form, but maybe something would show up, when they do the passport scan ie criminal record etc But I don't know whether that information is held on your passport ????

Paul

[alexandra uk]

Thats alright then :D
I had visions of it taking hours to get through with them putting peoples details into the computer :rolleyes:
I've never heard of them holding info on peoples criminal records on passports, but you never know :confused:
I suppose they would have to have some knowledge of people who had been involved in drug trafficking, or terrorism.
Otherwise they could just tick all No's on the form, and get into the country with no problems.

[WebmasterPenny]

If you look at the back page of your passport, you'll see a row of numbers. Immigration swipe your passport thru a reader and all your info of previous visits (and departures) pop straight up on screen in a nano-second.

It does obviously link in somewhere with a central database because I have heard of someone who got refused entry to the US because they had a criminal record of some sort in the UK. He thought it would be ok because basically, in the UK, after a certain amount of time after you've served sentence or whatever, your criminal record is 'cleared'. However, the States do NOT recognised expired convictions - once it's there it's always there as far as they are concerned and you'll need to apply for a proper visa.

[BevS97]

I had visions of it taking hours to get through with them putting peoples details into the computer

your vision is not far off - although they don't type everything in - they do take time over each person, it's not like the EU where you flash your passport as you walk past. In the US each and every person stops and talks to the guard, it takes a good few minutes for each family so when a few planes land all at once it can be a slow process - we waited well over an hour to get through immigration in Miami - it might have been closer to 2 hours.

Bev

[alexandra uk]

I've sent you a pm Penny

[uksaint]

Yep, definitely be prepared for a loooong wait to get through customs - my worst is 1.5 hours. I would say on average half an hour is the norm but it all depends how many other planes land around the same time as yours and whether you are first or last off the plane.

One tip - get in a line that is nearest the US citizens queues, and have one of your party ready to make a move. Usually, once all the US citizens are through, they will open up one or more of those lines to others.

Fortunately, both DW and DS are US citizens so I get to whizz through the US citizen line when I'm travelling with them:)

[LFC Nut]

Does anyone know if you can get the Visa Waiver Forms prior to your holidays? It's a real pain trying to fill them in during the flight:confused:

[Scottish-Helen]

I used to work for Thomas Cook and they stocked the forms in the branch I worked in, don't know if that was standard though.