Travel to the United States Starts With the US ESTA Visa Program

The dream for citizens of many countries is to come to the United States for a visit. There are so many amazing places to visit in the country with nearly every climate and topography. If you are a lover of huge, large or small cities, a history buff, a surfer, someone who enjoys camping or trekking, a theme park lover, or someone who just wants to lie on the sand and get the perfect tan, the US has all of these types of places in abundance. You can find festivals and bazaars, casinos and ferry boat rides, and lots of different cultures living side by side and creating a completely new culture as a result. When you add all of its amenities together there is probably no country on Earth with as much to offer as the US.

Coming here is not easy for many though. Because the US receives form that 75 million people each year, getting into the US can be difficult, particularly if you come from a country outside of Western Europe or Japan and Korea. The process for entering a foreign country is canned the visa process and the US has a very detailed and strict process for providing visas to foreigners. The process has been simplified however because of online resources that make things easy for those seeking to understand their visa status and apply for a visa to the US.

Use the ESTA Program

Every visitor who wishes to come to the United States must be pre-screened for a visa. The USA ESTA program allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pre-screen all travelers interested in coming to the US.

Visitors who come to the United States need to understand the visa process, know their visa status and what types of visa they are eligible for to enter the US. Citizens and nationals from 38 different countries fall under a visa waiver status allowing them to enter the United States for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. For this reason, the United States Government has developed the ESTA or Electronic System for Travel Authorization to pre-screen travelers before they come to the US.

For those with a visa waiver status, they can travel to the United States on short notice without obtaining a visa. Countries including Canada, the UK, France and Germany are examples of places whose citizens have a visa waiver status for the US. However citizens and residents from these countries still need to go through the ESTA process. Additionally, getting an ESTA Visa is fast. It can be obtained typically in less than 3 days. For those who are not part of the Visa Waiver program, they will need to go through the formal visa process which can sometimes take months. So check early and see what status you have online.

The ESTA program is a necessary step you need to take to get your visa for the United States. Go online early and understand your status and you will be prepared to see the best of the US.