Visas, registrations and how to get in to the United States

The Department of Homeland Security recently proposed that travelers from 27 countries, mainly located in Western Europe, would have to register their travel plans 48 hours before departure on the internet.

The requirement would apply to those travelers entering the United States without a visa. In addition to the 27 countries who are able to travel in the US for 90 days without a visa, a further 12 countries are applying for the same visa waiver program and would be affected by the proposed travel notification procedure.

Europeans currently under the visa waiver program are worried that the registration requirement will affect business since many business travelers change their travel plans at the last minute.

One American official pointed out last week that online registration would take less than five minutes and should be relatively “convenient” for all those who take part.

Spokesman for Homeland Security, Russ Knocke, agreed. “The concept is that whenever the ticket is purchased, there’s a quick ‘ping’ to give us advance notice on who’s going to travel to the U.S.”

He explained that the information required would be nothing more than that found on a passport and that early information sharing could result in less delays due to security concerns.

Mr. Knocke pointed out the registration system would make many members of Congress feel better about opening the visa waiver program to more countries.