Warning on US online entry

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 15 years ago

Warning on US online entry

It is now mandatory to register online before travelling to the US, but some unscrupulous businesses are taking advantage of travellers' ignorance of the new rules.

It is now mandatory to register online before travelling to the US, but some unscrupulous businesses are taking advantage of travellers' ignorance of the new rules.Credit: AFP

Websites are charging tourists for a service that is free. Conrad Walters reports.

A new electronic form is simplifying entry into the US for tourists but consular and travel industry sources warn that unscrupulous businesses are trying to make money from people unfamiliar with the system.

The new procedure, the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation, requires travellers to submit details about their trip and themselves into a web page for instant approval of their visit.

Loading

The process, mandatory since January 12, takes only a couple of minutes but numerous websites with similar names and web addresses are charging $US50 ($78) for people to download an "application guide" or $US99.95 for a compact-disc version sent by courier and containing the same information.

"No traveller should have to pay for any sort of form to be filled out," a spokeswoman for the US Consulate in Sydney told Traveller.

"We would encourage people to steer clear of these websites because, in many cases, they are not legitimate. And even if they provide other services, the ESTA is free."

No traveller should have to pay for any sort of form to be filled out.

The online form replaces the US Government's I-94 document, which people for years referred to as "the green form". It allows Australians to visit the US for up to 90 days without a visa as part of a waiver program.

Advertisement

Travel industry specialist Geoffrey Hutton, a board member of the tourism organisation Visit USA, backs the call for consumers to avoid paying for the free registration service.

"There's nothing too complicated about it," he says, noting more than 600,000 Australians visited the US last year.

The website allows people to register in any of 21 languages and Hutton says travel agents could complete the form for anyone not comfortable with using a computer.

However, the website has put off a few people - City of Sydney councillor Meredith Burgmann has criticised it for being vague in asking about offences of "moral turpitude" - in part because it requires visitors to waive any rights to appeal if they are denied entry to the US.

"There's been a kerfuffle about this new program," Hutton acknowledges, adding that the electronic system is based on Australia's own online visa registration system.

A pop-up message on the site's "welcome" page warns, for example: "You are about to access a Department of Homeland Security computer system . . . there is no expectation of privacy when you use this computer system."

Hutton says he is unaware of problems with the new registration process, an assessment supported by travel agents who were contacted.

The address for the ESTA site is: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov.

Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter

Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading