US Customs and Border Protection Publishes Final Regulations on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) | Practical Law

US Customs and Border Protection Publishes Final Regulations on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) | Practical Law

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), issued a final rule on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), a system for screening and pre-authorizing travel to the US by temporary visitors under the Visa Waiver Program.

US Customs and Border Protection Publishes Final Regulations on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)

by Practical Law Labor & Employment
Published on 15 Jun 2015 • USA (National/Federal)
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), issued a final rule on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), a system for screening and pre-authorizing travel to the US by temporary visitors under the Visa Waiver Program.
On June 8, 2015, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), issued a final rule on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), a system for screening and pre-authorizing travel to the US by temporary visitors under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The final rule is effective July 8, 2015. ESTA allows the DHS to establish, in advance of travel, whether individuals from countries with limited rights to enter the US without a visa who plan to temporarily visit the US for business or pleasure:
  • Are eligible to enter the US.
  • Pose any law enforcement or security risk.
.Currently, 37 countries are included in the VWP.
The rule finalizes, with one substantive change, a 2008 interim final regulation establishing the ESTA program and a 2010 interim final regulation regarding a fee that is charged for use of the ESTA system.
The final rule:
  • Allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to adjust ESTA travel authorization validity periods on a per country basis to the three year maximum or to a lesser period of time. Any adjustments will be published in the Federal Register and on the ESTA website. This is the one major substantive change in the final rule. CBP determined that the change is exempt from notice and comment rulemaking and delayed effective date requirements because it is promulgated under the foreign affairs authority of the US (5 U.S.C. 553).
  • Maintains the required $4 fee for ESTA applicants and the additional $10 fee for each applicant who receives travel authorization.
  • Implements changes to the required VWP arrival/departure card, Form I-94W, including:
    • no longer requiring VWP travelers to complete a paper Form I-94W upon arriving in the US at air and sea ports of entry;
    • requiring ESTA applicants to indicate their country of birth on the form; and
    • collecting more detailed information about travelers by requiring that ESTA applicants answer certain previously optional questions and by including additional questions concerning other names or aliases the applicant has used, the applicant's current or previous employment and the applicant's emergency contact information.
  • Allows VWP travelers who provide an e-mail address to DHS with their ESTA application to receive an automated e-mail notice about an upcoming ESTA travel authorization expiration.