You are incredibly excited as you receive the confirmation that you now have tickets to the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games™ (the “Games”) to be held in Lexington, Kentucky. You have reserved a hotel room and roundtrip flight for your family. However, it is critical that you engage in one other bit of logistical planning for your exciting trip — ensuring that you will have the proper documents to enter the United States to attend the Games. This summary provides an overview of the key steps for tourists attending the Games to take in order to ensure that they meet the immigration requirements of the United States.
Step One - Ensuring You Have a Valid and Unexpired Passport
Please make sure that you have a valid passport that has validity of more than six months beyond the date that you plan to depart the United States after the Games. If your passport is due to expire earlier than that, you should take steps to renew it now. While the United States has a reciprocity agreement with certain countries that provide a six month extension automatic extension of an expiring passport, it is best not to rely on this provision even if it is available.
Step Two - Determining If You Qualify to Use the Visa Waiver (Without A Visa) Program
The next step is that you should determine whether you are from a country that is covered by the Visa Waiver Program. Currently, 35 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program (”VWP”): Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
If you are from one of these countries, you may be eligible to travel to the U.S. without a visa issued by a U.S. Embassy. The major requirements that apply to users of the Visa Waiver Program are as follows. You:
- Seek admission as a business visitor or tourist for 90 days or less;
- Are a national of a Visa Waiver country;
- Present an electronic passport or machine-readable passport issued by a Visa Waiver country;
- Arrive on an authorized carrier if arriving by air or sea;
- Do not represent a (welfare, health, safety or security) threat to the United States;
- Have not violated a U.S. immigration law during a previous VWP visit;
- Possess a round-trip plane ticket;
- Have proof of financial solvency; and
- Waive any right to review or appeal a decision regarding admissibility to the United States or to contest any action for exclusion or removal from the United States.
Certain people are ineligible to use the Visa Waiver program. These include those who:
- Have violated the conditions of entry on a past trip to the U.S. such as having overstayed their authorized stay, and those who have been excluded or deported;
- Those who have been arrested for any offense or crime;
- Those who have a serious communicable disease (such as infectious tuberculosis);
- Those who are drug abusers or addicts or who have ever trafficked in illegal drugs;
- Those who have ever been refused a U.S. visa or entry into the U.S.; and
- Those who have a mental or physical disorder.
If one is eligible to use the Visa Program and is from a Visa Waiver program and meets the above requirements, then one must:
1. Register for “ESTA” - the Electronic System for Travel Authorization AND receive an authorization through ESTA before boarding a U.S-bound airplane or vessel. Each family member must obtain their own ESTA approval, including children. More information on ESTA can be found at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/. It is best not to wait till the last minute in case the website has an outage or you discover that you have an admissibility issue.
2. Fill out a green I-94W form on the airplane.
3. Upon arrival in the United States, get on the line for Visitors and Other Nonimmigrants. When you walk up to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (”CBP”) booth, you should present the CBP officer with your passport and the green I-94W card. All going well, the CBP Officer will stamp your I-94W card, and write or print on it the date by which you depart the United States.
4. When you later depart the United States after your visit to the World Equestrian Games, you must hand back your I-94W card so your exit can be properly recorded.
5. You may receive questions or requests for documents from U.S. CBP when it determines whether to let you enter the United States. Please see the next section for what to do if this occurs, and what documents you will want to have in hand to present, if necessary.
Step Three - If You Qualify to Use the Visa Waiver Program - Review These Tips
In addition to having a valid, machine-readable passport, and a round-trip ticket, we recommend that you have the following documents in hand to present to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (”CBP”) but to present to CBP only if necessary:
1. Your round-trip plane ticket preferably with a specific date for your return abroad;
2. Your tickets for the World Equestrian Games;
3. Printout of your hotel reservations;
4. Proof of adequate funds to cover your dates of stay in the U.S., such as the last few months of statements from a bank account showing a sufficient balance and your latest pay statement;
5. Proof of your home outside the U.S. (copy of deed or lease, plus translation if necessary);
6. Proof of ties to your home country that will cause you to return after you attend the Games, including, for example, a letter from your employer giving you leave to be in the U.S. for the applicable period of weeks before you return to your job, or a letter from your school confirming the date you must return to resume school. A recent paystub from your employer is helpful as well.
Remember that you have the burden of proof.
Alternate Step Three - If You Need to Apply for a B-2 (Tourist/Visitor) Visa
In some cases, prospective attendees at the World Equestrian Games will not be from a Visa Waiver country, will not be eligible for the Visa Waiver program (such as due to a previous arrest, conviction or overstay), and will not have a valid and unexpired B-2 visa in their passports. In such situations, an individual must make an advance appointment to apply for a B-2 visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad. You must prove you have a residence abroad that you will maintain, are coming for a temporary period, and have sufficient funds for your visit and return. While individual situations may vary, generally the steps are as follows:
1. Locate the U.S. Embassy or Consulate that has jurisdiction (decision-making authority) over your country of citizenship or residence. You can locate a list of U.S. Embassy and Consular posts here: http://www.usembassy.gov/
2. Visit the U.S. Embassy’s website and locate the list of what you will need to make an appointment. In some cases, one must file the central application form (DS-156, which is being phased out gradually at U.S. Embassies by DS-160) before you can schedule an appointment. You must schedule an interview appointment for each family member. At some U.S. Embassies, there can be a wait of several months for an appointment, and at other posts, appointments may be available with no wait: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wait/tempvisitors_wait.php
3. Gather all documents that the specific U.S. Embassy requires and bring them to the interview. This varies from U.S. Embassy to U.S. Embassy. A nonexclusive list of documents that typically applies are:
Mandatory for All Applicants
A. Passport valid for at least six months beyond end date of intended U.S. visit;
B. Visa Application Forms submitted online with barcode and printed and brought to interview. This will be DS-156 and in some cases DS-157 (the DS-157 is not filed electronically) for most applicants, but these forms are being completely phased out by the DS-160 form before April 30th;
C. Photograph that meets U.S. Department of State specifications; and
D. Machine readable visa application filing fee, and, in some cases, an additional reciprocity fee (if you come from a country on the list). See the website for how to file the filing fee, which typically must be paid before the interview so the applicant has a receipt in hand.
Be Prepared to Present
E. Round-trip plane reservation;
F. Reservation for the World Equestrian Games;
G. Hotel Reservations;
H. Proof of funds to live during U.S. trip without working (bank accounts, pay records, etc.);
I. Proof of ties to your home country (job letter from employer regarding vacation and return to work date, letter from school etc.);
J. Proof of ties to family (birth, marriage certificate etc) particularly dependent to principal family member; and
K. Other items listed on particular U.S. Embassy web.
If you secure a B-2 or B-1/B-2 visa, you must fill out a white (not green) I-94 card on the U.S. bound flight.
Some Things to Watch Out For
1. If you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime, you still must disclose the matter on the Visa Application form even if you were pardoned or if the record was sealed. Failing to do so may result in a charge of immigration fraud and you may be permanently barred from the United States. It is advisable to retain a lawyer about how to handle this issue BEFORE you apply.
2. You must list all prior visa applications on the form where indicated. You can assume that the U.S. Embassy already knows about it and failing to properly list prior visa applications, especially denials, can lead to a fraud charge. You would be wise to consult with an attorney before applying if you have a previous denial of a U.S. visa application.
3. You have the burden of proving you will return to your country of origin after the Games and failure to do so may result in a denial. This is the most common reason for a denial.
4. Similarly, if you previously violated your status due to an overstay of your I-94 card entry/departure card or because you worked illegally, you should seek legal advice.
5. Some U.S. Embassies take longer to process visa applications as measured from the date of the interview to visa issuance, so, again, you should apply well in advance of your intended U.S. entry date. In addition, some U.S. Embassies will run extra security checks on visa applicants from particular countries including especially Middle Eastern countries, which can increase processing times from weeks to many months.
6. The U.S. Embassy will issue a visa for a duration no longer than that specified in the Reciprocity Table found at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciprocity/reciprocity_3272.html. A visa is valid for presentation to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at any time during its period of validity and within its prescribed number of usages (if not designated as multiple entry). However, the visa does not control how long you may remain in the United States. You must depart by the date specified on your I-94 card and ensure the airline or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security takes back your I-94 card departure upon departure, so you are credited with leaving on time.
7. For those who are not coming to the Games as a visitor/tourist, but rather to work, separate application procedures apply, so you would not follow this guide.
This summary is just that, a summary of important immigration issues, and does not constitute legal advice for your particular situation. Please contact a lawyer for legal advice if you have questions or concerns.
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Tags: 2010 FEI world equestrian games, immigration, visitors
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