Travel Question / VISA Process

[starbkjrus]

I broke this out of another thread. See Alex and my messages below. Does anyone know anything about something like this? I didn't think any EU citizen needed a visa to visit the US - ESPECIALY from Britain and Western Europe. Lets NOT drag politics into this one. Only process. Thx.

I voted Vancouver as it would be the only option available to me. When I tried to get a Visa to visit USA on holiday in 1987 I was refused as I had been in East Germany for a time in 1972 as a student. I know the Cold War is supposed to be over but I suspect terrorist activities in recent years have made the US homeland security even more choosy about who they would allow to visit, so joining an x-marks gethering in any US city would be ruled out for me. I have been to Vancouver when I was younger and could go there again, though realistically it may be too far for my wife to travel. Since she suffered a stroke in 1999 we have restricted our travels to northern europe though we are planning a trip to Gran Canaria for our next wedding anniversary which is a four hour flight so if that goes OK a return to Canada could just be back on the agenda.
Edited to add:- Must have missed spotting the Toronto option. That would be more viable for me as its a much shorter trip than Vancouver.

Alex, you have GOT to be kidding?! As far as I know as a British citizen you don't need a visa. Just a passport and get on a plane just like when I come to Scotland. Am I missing something? Sorry but your post actually shocked me. We're nuts here but I didn't think quite that nuts.

[ChattanCat]

Hey, just come. If you have any problems, let us know and we will send the kilt police!

[pdcorlis]

This may shed some light...

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/rctour.html

[dpseadvr]

Just come over they'll let you in unless you are on a list some where you are fine.

[McClef]

The Visa Waiver Program was not available in the 1970s - then any visit required a full visa even for UK citizens. This meant the interview process which could be quite involved even then and meant travelling just to obtain the visa.

I can't remember exactly when it came in but it was originally valid for 180 days then halved later - after 9/11 I think.

But most people visiting from the UK go for holidays so few would need the full 90 days in any case.

It can lead to queues though at US Immigration and some US airport shave been criticised for the length of time it can take to process plane loads of people that have landed at the same times.

I gather that in the case of Ireland something more civilised occurs. If you fly from Dublin you actually go through US immigration there so it's straight through to baggage reclaim for them when they land. Obviously this could not be the case at every airport but perhaps at some of the more important ones?

[TheKiltedWonder]

I note that the visa waiver site says that ifyou've been previously denied entry to the US then you must apply for a special restricted visa.

In the case of a traveler denied entry into the United States by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer should delay applying for a visa until a copy of the report of the incident is received by the Embassy or Consulate from CBP. Such reports routinely take six to eight weeks from the date of denial of entry to arrive at this office.

But it also says that if you were denied a visa for certain reasons, then you need to have an interview but it doesn't discount you from traveling without a visa.

While travelers who have been refused a visa under the provisions of Section 221(g) or 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act are not ineligible to travel visa under the Visa Waiver Program, they will be questioned by an immigration official at the U. S. port of entry regarding the refusal by the Embassy or Consulate.

I didn't feel like wading through the law to find what 221 and 214 say. But regardless if he would have to travel with a visa of some kind of not, but I have good reason to believe that the East Germany trip will no longer keep him or anyone else out. Feel free to visit!

[Ozman1944]

As a matter of course, I (U.S. citizen) always contact the countries' Embassy before i travel, just to double check if a visa is needed. Years back I needed one to Yugoslavia, and one to Italy, then two weeks later, Italy dropped the idea.
Yugoslavia kept changing it's mind, so I got one any way, to be safe.
People love to make things complicated in case we enjoy ourselves to much while travelling! What a nuisance!

[Splash_4]

Every country has it's own quirks. A couple of years ago I traveled to Russia right after 9/11. In response to the new travel rules the US put into place, I had to get a visa. One of the forms asked the question if I was a current/former member of the US military and if so t fill out an addendum to the visa application. One of the questions was if I was an expert in high-explosives (Hmmm, define expert??!!)

[Pleater]

I'd advise always to check before you fly - and in good time, the time spent checking could mean that you don't arrive at your destination, or part way there, and find that you need to obtain a form from the embassy in your country of origin - it might be a rubber stamp job, but if that rubber stamp is several thousand mile and two weeks away then you are well and truly stuffed.

It might mean a long delay at the airport - or worse, a return flight far sooner than you had planned for. There is even the amusing option of your luggage sitting at the hotel you ought to be at, and you being back in your own country without the keys to your car and house which you put into the case as you would not be needing them for some time, and with only foreign currency and travellers cheques.

[Archangel]

Absolutely get a visa.

As a British citizen, Canadian resident, I have been refused entry or extremely delayed. It became a bit easier after I became Canadian but only because they decided to give my Canadian born wife a difficult time.

I never make an absolute plan of crossing the border.

I'll try to avoid the political so read the following as ironic. I personally know Brits who have served with Americans: denied entry. Brits with children in combat right now, RAF and SAS: denied entry. Brit seniors in wheelchairs: denied entry.

The important thing is this: what is posted as a guide to visitors means nothing to the Border official. That person can arbitrarily make an exception and there is nothing you, or your gov't, can do about it at that moment.

Get a visa, long before you hit the US border.

BTW: My entry to the US last year needed a temporary visa. There were 6 questions to answer, two were: did I belong to a terrorist organization...; and did I intend to kidnap American women. If I signed yes to any of these, I would have to fill out another form. Go figure.