Effective January 12th US Immigration Has More Regulations for Visitors from Visa Waiver Countries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 8, 2009 -- Dallas, TX—January 9th, 2009. Visiting the United States is not easy for everybody and one almost needs a manual to keep up with all the changes. ESTA [Electronic System for Travel Authorization] adds a new paragraph to the regulations for nationals of Visa Waiver countries. Effective Monday, January 12th, citizens and nationals from all Visa Waiver eligible countries must have approval through the ESTA system before traveling to the United States on a Visa Waiver. More information on the ESTA can be found at www.cbp.gov/esta.

The Visa Waiver program allows persons from certain countries to travel here for purposes of business or tourism for a period of 90 days or less without a visa. Last year, 7 new countries were added to the list: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and recently Malta. The other eligible countries are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, 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, and the United Kingdom.

As of November 17th 2008, eligible persons could travel under the Visa Waiver program if they had an e-passport and an approved authorization from ESTA, a web-based system used to determine preliminary eligibility to travel here. E-passport refers to a machine-readable passport issued, renewed, or extended on or after October 26th of 2006 that must have an integrated chip bearing information from the data page.

People who have previous arrests, even ones that did not lead to conviction, may not be eligible for Visa Waiver travel and can find themselves arrested and detained when they arrive in the United States. In that case, they would be wise to speak to an immigration lawyer before traveling and wasting the cost of a ticket, not to mention the humiliation of arrest and other consequences. More information on waivers can be found at www.WaiverStrategy.com . When a person has a criminal past, he or she requires a case called a ‘Waiver’ case to ‘forgive’ the indiscretion. Some crimes can be waived and others cannot. Very few immigration lawyers deal with waivers as it is a very complex area and it is best to research the immigration lawyer carefully as a whole future can depend on the outcome of a waiver.

In a decision that was issued on January 7th, the Attorney General has declared that immigrant, asylum seekers, and other people in removal or deportation proceedings have no right under the Constitution or statute to be represented by a lawyer before they can be ordered deported. Until now, federal courts as well as the BIA (Board of Immigration Appeals) have operated under the assumption that they do have this right. As a result of this declaration, more than ever, immigrants and potential immigrants who have criminal records of any kind should consult an immigration lawyer as soon as possible to discuss the option of a waiver, or face possible arrest and deportation without the protection a waiver offers, states Immigration Waiver attorney Stefano Riznyk.

More information can be found online at http://US-Immigration-Explained.com