Expert: Roberto Gomes - 1/13/2010

Question
Hi,  I'm due to travel from UK to NZ in March with a 3 hour stop in the US.  Approx 8yrs ago I visited the US and when I left I forgot to hand in my green visa stub which I have now lost.  Someone told me that I would have problems entering the US even just for 3 hour stopover. I am not intending to leave the airport but I'm travelling on stopover tickets so I might need to. Is this likely to be a problem?

Answer
Dear James,

Failure to return the I-94 form to US Immigration may cause some problems when reenter the country. Although you'll be in transit, in fact you'll enter US since the transit program was suspended due to the Sep 11 events.

Since UK citizens (which I am assuming you are one)are not require to have a visa, you'll travel under the Visa Waiver Program that today has some rules. The most important rule of this program called Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is that you'll need to register in advance to be cleared.

You can check all the details at the following link:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/

My best Regards,
R. Gomes

P.S. I was just notified by a friend that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is requiring that all travelers bound for the U.S. starting Jan. 20 under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) obtain electronic authorization. Any passengers without clearance after Jan. 20 will not be issued a boarding pass and will not be allowed to board an airplane. To gain authorization, travelers must supply personal and travel information and answer Visa Waiver Program eligibility questions.