In order for any traveler to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, all the requirements listed below must be met:

• Must be a citizen of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
  
  
• Must be visiting the United States for 90 days or less for tourism or business.
  
  Visitors for Business
  Types of activities permitted as a business visitor:
  • Participation in commercial business transactions that do not involve gainful employment in the U.S., e.g., negotiating contracts or consulting with business associates.
  • You cannot receive a salary or wages from a U.S. source.
  • Participation in scientific, educational, professional or business conventions, conferences or seminars.
  • Independent research activities.
  • Appearance as a witness in a court trial.
  More details about a business visa
  
  Visitors for Pleasure
  While this is not a complete listing, here are the general types of activities permitted:
  • Visiting friends and relatives, touring or vacationing, visits for rest.
  • Visits for medical treatment.
  • Participating in conventions, conferences, or convocation of fraternal or social organizations.
  • Amateurs participating in sports, musical, and other events or contests not receiving money or other remuneration in return.
  More details about a visitor visa
  
  Duration of 90 days includes time spent in Canada, Mexico, and adjacent islands.
  
  Persons transiting through the United States are eligible to use the Visa Waiver Program as long as they meet all other eligibility requirements.
  
  
• Meets all proper passport requirements.
  Details
  
  Have a valid passport issued by a VWP participant country that is valid for six months beyond the intended visit. However, please note that all VWP participant countries except Brunei extend passport validity for an additional six months after expiration date.
  
  You must not have reported your passport lost or stolen.
  
  
• Have received approval for travel under the VWP via the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) prior to travel to the U.S.
  
  
• No criminal record.
  
  
• Traveler has complied with the terms and conditions of previous admissions into the United States under the Visa Waiver Program.
  
  
• Is not ineligible for a U.S. visa.
  Visa ineligible classes
  
  
• If entering by air or sea, have a round-trip transportation ticket issued on a carrier that has signed an agreement with the U.S. government to participate in the VWP, and arrive in the United States aboard such a carrier. Signatory carriers are those that have signed an agreement to guarantee transportation out of the United States if you are found inadmissible or deportable.
  
  List of approved and participating VWP carriers
  
  
• Has a round-trip ticket to a foreign destination other than a territory bordering the U.S. or adjacent islands.
  
  This requirement does not apply if
  • you are resident of Canada, Mexico, or adjacent islands.
    
    
  • this requirement is waived by the Attorney General under regulations, or
    
    
  • you are a visitor for business who arrives aboard a private aircraft that maintains a valid agreement guaranteeing to transport you out of the U.S. if you are found to be inadmissible or deportable.
    
    
  If you have an electronic ticket, you must carry a copy of the itinerary.
  
  
• If arriving by land, the traveler must demonstrate sufficient funds to support himself/herself in the U.S. and the intent to stay 90 days or less in the U.S.
  
  
• Hold a completed and signed Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94W (fee of $6 when entering by land, payable only in U.S. dollars), on which he/she has waived the right of review or appeal of an immigration officer's determination about admissibility or deportation. These forms are available through participating carriers, travel agents, and at land-border ports-of-entry.
  
  Answers to the questions A through G must be 'no' on the Form I-94W.
  
  Even though ESTA has been implemented, you are still required to present paper I-94W form. This requirement may eventually go away.
  
  
• Have not been refused a U.S. visa.
  
  
• Not pose a threat to the welfare, healthy, safety, or security of the U.S.
  
  
• Have not failed to comply with the conditions of any previous admission under the Visa Waiver Program.
  
  
• Waive any right to review, appeal or challenge a CBP Officer's decision as to your admissibility, other than on the basis of an application for asylum or an application for withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
  
  You must reaffirm this through the submission of biometric identifiers (including fingerprints and photographs) during processing upon arrival in the U.S.
  
  
• Establish to the satisfaction of the inspecting United States Customs and Border Protection officer that you are entitled to be admitted under the Visa Waiver Program and that you are not inadmissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
  
  
• Country specific requirements:
  • United Kingdom Passports: Only United Kingdom passports notated with "British Citizens" and/or "with unrestricted right of abode in the United Kingdom" (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man) are eligible for VWP admission. Holders of passports indicating that the bearer is a British Subject, British Dependent Territories Citizen, British Overseas Citizen or British National (Overseas) do not qualify for VWP travel.
    
    
  • Citizens and nationals of Slovenia must use only the red cover Slovenian passport.
    
    

If you make a short trip to Canada, Mexico, or adjacent islands during your visit to the U.S. in the Visa Waiver Program, you can be admitted into the U.S. for the remainder of the original 90 days entry period. You will NOT get another 90 days entry.

If you are entering on federal government business or as members of the media, you cannot enter under the Visa Waiver Program. Members of the media should obtain a  media visa. If you are planning to work or study in the US, you must apply for the appropriate visa and can not use VWP. If you wish to change your status from tourism to student while in the US, you can enter using VWP.

If you are not sure whether your activities fall under the allowed purposes under the Visa Waiver Program, you should check with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate before attempting to travel under the  Visa Waiver Program.

If you don't meet the eligibility requirements of the visa waiver program, you should apply for the appropriate U.S. visa.

Wherever there is mention of adjacent islands, it means Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba^*, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Marie-Galante, Martinique, Miquelon, Montserrat, Saba, Saint-Barthelemy, Saint Christopher, Saint Eustatius, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Maarten, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre, Saint Vincent, Grenadines, Trinidad, Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, other British, French and Netherlands territory or possessions bordering on the Caribbean Sea.

* Cuba is not always treated as an Adjacent Island nation for the purposes of entry into the U.S. It is excluded when the specific reference so states.

Transportation carriers (airlines, ships, cruises, etc.) transporting anyone under the Visa Waiver Program who is found to be ineligible to enter the United States can be fined up to $3,300 per violation. Of course, travelers who know that they are ineligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program should not attempt to travel to the United States simply hoping to be granted entry.

The following private aircraft are eligible to apply to participate in the VWP:

1. Operators of aircraft conducting operations under part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and
   
   
2. Operators of non-commercial aircraft that are owned or operated by a domestic corporation conducting operations under part 91 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulation.
   
   

Please contact the CBP for instructions on how to apply for VWP signatory status which will make the carrier eligible to carry VWP travelers to the U.S.

If the traveler applying to enter the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program is found to be inadmissible, the traveler will be returned to the country from which the traveler holds a round-trip ticket, aboard the carrier that carried the traveler to the U.S.