A large majority of Britsh visitors to US travel using a green visa waiver not to be confused with a “green card” and to give it it’s correct name an I-94 Non Immigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Form.
Before booking any flights to the US make sure you are eligible to travel under the US Visa Waiver Programme by checking out the US Embassy website
You will be given your visa waiver forms either at check in or on board the aircraft, you will need to complete one form per person and children under the age of 14 years will need to have their form signed by an adult. ( Do not confuse the visa waiver with the US customs form where you will only need to complete one per family – providing you all have the same family name)
The form can look quite daunting and you may have heard all sorts of rumours about getting sent away because it is incorrectly completed or there are mistakes on it. Just remember to use ink ( not little Jack’s psychadelic felt tip!) Use capitals throughout the form except for your signature and take your time to read each question.
- Question 1 This asks for your family name…..hmmm whats this you might ask? This is your surname!
- Question 2 Asks for your first or given name…..To us that will be your Christian name, you do not need to put your middle name.
- Question 3 Your birthdate….write it in UK format day/month/year
- Question 4 The country where you live, for British Passport holders this will be United Kingdom ( I usually write this in full here and then write UK for question 8)
- Question 5 Sex…should be self expanatory!!!!! Male or Female….no smart answers here!
- Question 6 Passport number, copy this carefully from the page in your passport which shows your photograph.
- Question 7 Airline and Flight number. This will be on your ticket and boarding card, if you are in any doubt ask one of the cabin crew. It will contain your airline code eg BA or VS and will be followed by a number you need to write both here eg. BA 123
- Question 8 Country where you live. UK, England Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland are all acceptable.
- Question 9 City where you boarded. This is the name of the city eg London and not the name of the airport although you will find Heathrow or Gatwick are acceptable. Some names EG Manchester are too long to fit in the required spaces, it is ok to squash the letters in at the end provided it is still legible.
- Question 10 This is the address of the Hotel or Villa where you are staying. Your villa owner will have given this to you but if you are travelling with a tour operator make sure you know the name and address of the hotel where you are staying. If your accommodation is to be allocated on arrival you will need to put the address of the tour operators headquarters in Florida or the address of the management company which may have been given to you.
- Question 11 City state and zip code. It is ok to use state abbreviations and it is really important that you know your zip code.
Ok the next section is for government use only so don’t write anything here. Don’t turn over yet though!!!!
One of the commonest mistakes people make is that they don’t complete the departure record which must be completed when you arrive……more about that later! Fill in the departure record in the same manner as the admissions section.
Now you can turn over:
You MUST be able to answer NO to questions A through to G , if not then you are not eligble to travel under the VWP. Check out the US embassy website for more details
You’re nearly finished now. Just your name, date of birth and country of citizenship, then don’t forget to sign and date your form and you’re done!!
Check it through yourself and then if you’re not travelling alone, get someone else to check it as well. If you have made any mistakes do not try o correct them, ask the cabin crew for a new form and start again!!
Just a short footnote about the departure record. This will be put into your passport and you will keep it until you leave the US. Most, but not all immigration officers, will staple it into your passport, however if he’s run out of staples he may just slip it inside your passport. Don’t lose it and just as important make sure it is removed from your passport when you check in for your homeward flight. If you don’t hand it in it may prove difficult when you wish to return to the US………and you know you will want to come back!
Have a great trip!!!!!!