Visa Services, U.S. Embassy London

I am HIV postive and have previously required a waiver of ineligibility to travel to the United States. Can I now travel under the Visa Waiver Program?

If you will be traveling to the United States on or after January 4, 2010 and you are otherwise qualified to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program, you will not be required to apply for a visa even if you required a waiver of ineligibility in the past.  You may answer “No” to the question “Have you ever been afflicated with a communicable disease etc” on the ESTA registration...

If I travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program will I be required to register under ESTA?

Travelers entering the United States by air or sea are required to obtain travel authorization under ESTA before boarding the air or sea carrier.  Therefore, if you will be flying into the United States or arriving by sea, you will be required to register under ESTA.  Please note, however, that you must be eligible to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) in order to register under ESTA...

I am traveling before January 4, so how do the changes to HIV affect me?

If you are planning on traveling to the United States before January 4, 2010, you will be required to apply for a visa and waiver of ineligibility and should call the Operator Assisted Information Service for further information.  The change in the law applies only to travelers who will apply for admission into the United States from January 4, 2010 onwards.

Just seen your posting about HIV. Don’t understand how it affects me!

From January 4, HIV Infection will be removed from the list of Communicable Diseases of Public Health Significance which means that it will no longer be an inadmissible condition. Travelers applying for visas on or after January 4, 2010 will no longer be required to tick “Yes” to the question “Have you been afflicted with a communicable disease of public health significance or a...

Important Announcement

The Department of State has announced that from January 4, 2010 HIV Infection will be removed from the list of communicable diseases of public health significance. This means that HIV Infection will no longer be an inadmissible condition.

Is your passport lost or stolen?

If your passport contained a valid U.S. visa you will need to report the loss or theft to the Embassy.  To assist us we would like you to complete a report of the loss or theft which you may either email it or mail it to the Embassy or bring it with you on the day of your visa interview.   To find out more, please visit our website.       It is important to note that if your passport is reported...

I recently traveled to the United States under ESTA, but I had to fill out the old visa waiver form. Why?

Approval to travel under ESTA will eventually eliminate the requirement that the traveler complete the I-94W form.  For now, however, tavelers are still required to complete the green arrival/departure record card, form I-94W in addition to registering under ESTA.  The form is obtained from the airline or shipping company.   

I registered under ESTA a couple of weeks ago and it was successful. At the time I didn’t print a copy of the registration as I didn’t think it necessary. Now my travel agent is saying that unless I can provide a copy of the form I will not be able to travel. How can I retrieve the form as I did not save it!

If you did not keep your reference number it is not possible to retrive your registration.  You will be required to re-register.  The old number will automatically be cancelled, and a new number generated for you. You may want to check with the tour operator exactly why they are asking you to furnish a copy of the registration.  If travel has been authorized under ESTA the information is transmitted...

I have an emergency/temporary passport. Can I use it if traveling under the Visa Waiver Program?

The rules with regard to emergency and temporary passports are to change on July 1, 2009.  Currently citizens of the United Kingdom, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland may travel to the...

I have attempted to register under ESTA but the site appears to be down. Is there another site that I can use?

We are aware that travelers have been experiencing problems logging on to the ESTA site when using the web browser Google Chrome.   If you are one of those travelers affected by this, we suggest that you use a non-beta browser to register.  But remember that there is only one official site and that is https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov which is free to all users.