New York Incoming Travel -Travel Regulations USA

International travelers, who are nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP*) countries, seeking to travel to the United States without a visa, should review this important information on passport requirements for travelers under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

Please always check with your embassy before travelling

The new requirements for travel to the US, which become mandatory on January 12, 2009, are likely to affect you or someone you know.
 

Beginning August 1, 2008, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) will be accessible via Internet for citizens and eligible nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries to apply for advance authorization to travel to the United States under the VWP. ESTA will initially be available in English only. Other languages will follow.

Effective January 12, 2009, all VWP travelers will be required to obtain an electronic travel authorization prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the U.S. under the VWP.

For more information in English and Dutch, see the US Consulate’s website: http://amsterdam.usconsulate.gov.

Passports

Valid passport required by all; validity varies - for most countries it is required for the duration of the stay; check with the Embassy (see Passport/Visa Information).
New Requirements for Travellers: The US Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires that by January 1, 2008, travellers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States. In order to facilitate the implementation of this requirement, the Administration is proposing to complete it in phases following a proposed timeline, which will be published in the Federal Register in the near future. This is a change from prior travel requirements and will affect all United States citizens entering the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere who do not currently possess valid passports. This new requirement will also affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the United States. Most Canadian citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and to a lesser degree, Mexican citizens will be affected by the implementation of this requirement.
For further details about the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, visit the website of the US Department of State: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html).
Note
(a) For nationals included in the Visa Waiver Program (see below), passports must be valid for at least 90 days from date of entry (except for nationals of Andorra, Brunei and San Marino, who must hold passports valid for at least six months beyond the intended date of departure from the USA).
(b) All travellers entering the USA under the Visa Waiver Program now require individual machine-readable passports. Children included on a parent's passport also now require their own machine-readable passport. Travellers not in possession of machine-readable passports will require a valid USA entry visa.
(c) Passports issued on or after 26 October 26 2005, will need to have a biometric identifier in order for the holder to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).