The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows foreign nationals from certain countries to be admitted to the U.S. under limited conditions and for a limited time without obtaining a visa. Visitors to Canada who wish to travel on to the United States, and who are citizens of countries included in the program, have only to present their passports at any U.S. port of entry.

The advantage of entering the U.S. under the VWP is that tourists and people wishing to conduct business in America can travel to the U.S. spontaneously without obtaining visas, unless they are otherwise inadmissible.

Citizens of VWP countries may still be refused entry to the U.S. under a variety of circumstances. This page presents information that will be sufficient for most travelers. If your circumstances are unusual, it is strongly recommended that you follow the links provided for more detailed information.

This is the list of countries currently in the VWP. Please note that the U.S. Attorney General, in consultation with the U.S. Secretary of State, may add countries to the program or remove them from the program at any time.

Note: Please read beyond the list of qualifying countries as there are specific passport requirements and other eligibility requirements which will require some citizens of VWP countries to apply for a U.S. visa.

Most notably: Visitors to the U.S. are required to present a Machine Readable Passport in order to utilize the Visa Waiver program.

Andorra Austria Australia Belgium Brunei Denmark Finland France Germany

Iceland Ireland Italy Japan Liechtenstein Luxembourg Monaco the Netherlands New Zealand

Norway Portugal San Marino Singapore Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom *

* United Kingdom: For citizens with the unrestricted right of permanent abode in the U.K. only. A passport which states that the holder has "Right of Abode" in the U.K. does not qualify for visa-free travel under the Visa Waiver Program.

To qualify for the Visa Waiver Program, you must:

• Intend to enter the U.S. for 90 days or less for business or pleasure.
• ALL VWP travelers must carry passports that are machine-readable and valid for six months beyond the intended visit.
• Passports issued between October 26, 2005 and October 26, 2006 must contain a digitized photograph of the bearer to be eligible for entry under the VWP.
• Passports issued after October 26, 2006 must be e-passports - that is, include an integrated computer chip in order to be eligible for entry under the VWP.
• Be a national of the VWP country that issued your passport.
• Have been checked using an automated electronic database containing information about inadmissible aliens to the United States.
• Have a return trip ticket.
  • This requirement is waived in the case of travelers arriving at a land border.
• Not pose a safety threat to the United States.
• Not have failed to comply with the conditions of any previous admission under the visa waiver program.
• Convince the examining immigration officer that you are clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted and that you are not inadmissible under section 212 of the Act, and
• Waive any right to challenge an immigration officer's decision as to your admissibility, other than on the basis of an application for asylum.

Citizen of VWP countries who intend to visit the United States for more than 90 days must obtain a non-immigrant visa before arriving at the U.S. port of entry.

The Immigration and Nationality Act provides that the U.S. Immigration officer may refuse entry to a citizen of a VWP country under certain circumstances. The link below provides detailed information about the general classes of persons who may be found ineligible for admission to the United States.

If you believe that any grounds of inadmissibility may apply to you, you should apply for a non-immigrant visa.

A form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record) shows the date you arrived in the United States and the "Admitted Until" date, the date when your authorized period of stay expires. You will receive a Form I-94 from a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services inspector when arriving in the United States at a port of entry. The form must be completed and presented to a USCIS inspector who may ask you questions about the purpose of your trip, how long you will be in the United States, and your residence abroad.

When you leave the country, you should give the Form I-94 to your airline; or, if you are departing over a land border to Canada, give it to a Canadian immigration inspector. More detailed information is provided at the link below.

Generally, VWP applicants admitted under the VWP may be readmitted to the U.S. after a departure to Canada or Mexico or adjacent islands for the balance of their original admission period; provided they are otherwise admissible and meet all the conditions of the VWP.

For more information please visit Travel Without a Visa at the State Dept. web site:

In order to qualify for VWP participation, the non-immigrant visitor ("B-1/B-2" visa category) refusal rate for nationals of a country who have applied at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in that country must average less than 3% for the previous fiscal year.

Once a country meets the refusal rate criteria, a number of other factors must be evaluated before a decision on VWP nomination can be made:

• Reciprocity: VWP candidate countries must provide reciprocal visa-free travel for U.S. citizens.
• Passport security: A country must have a machine readable passport (MRP) program in place in order to qualify for VWP participation. In addition, VWP candidate countries must demonstrate that adequate safeguards against fraudulent use of their passports are in place, including proper storage of blank passports and sufficient screening of passport applicants. Consideration will also be given to the ease with which host country citizenship can be obtained.
• Political and economic stability: Countries under consideration for VWP participation must be sufficiently stable to ensure that conditions which could affect VWP qualifying criteria (such as overstay rates in the U.S.) are not likely to change dramatically in the future.
• Border controls: VWP candidate countries must demonstrate that effective border controls are in place for all territory under their control. Factors taken into consideration include the thoroughness and consistency of entry checks as well as the extent to which the country's territory is used as a transit point for alien smugglers.
• Law-enforcement cooperation: The degree to which host country law enforcement agencies cooperate with U.S. counterparts as well as international entities such as Interpol will be considered. The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, must evaluate the nominee country's interest in enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, and the existence and effectiveness of extradition agreements with the U.S., including extradition of its own nationals who violate U.S. laws. The Attorney General must submit a report to Congress on the country's qualification for designation that includes an explanation of a favorable determination.
• Security concerns: Any security concerns that could be raised by a country's admission into the VWP program will be considered.