You wouldn't think it from the media coverage, but the new immigration procedure for entering the United States (ESTA - Electronic System for Travel Authorization) is pretty simple.
It will take four or five seconds to fill out the online form that is designed to replace the little green forms that we filled out in the airport every time we travelled.
The idea is that any question about whether you are eligible to enter the US, and whether you need a visa or not, will be sorted by applying online at: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta.
It came into force on Monday 12 January; all visitors now have to apply 72 hours in advance of travel, and have an address in the US where they will spend the first night. The address requirement also applies to cruise ship passengers.
Do not, under any circumstance, pay over €60 to one of those websites which offers to help you fill out the form.
Ireland is a visa wavier country so most people travelling from here will be eligible. There are a few exceptions, however. They include people in certain jobs, people who have any sort of criminal conviction or people who have overstayed a student or holiday visa in the United States, as many young Irish people did in pre-Celtic Tiger days. Just because you have entered the US since then does not mean that your records will not be added to the database unknown to you. If you have any visa issues, such as having overstayed a J1 or a holiday visa, or have a criminal conviction, you no longer qualify under the visa waiver programme.
Your best approach is to apply through: http://dublin.usembassy.gov and set up an interview (telephone 1580 47 8472) at the American Embassy in Dublin. It is true that most people with previous criminal convictions are turned down, but if you are upfront and can convince them about your bona fides, it is possible to get the visa.
The new online form is pretty much the same as those you have to fill in when visiting most non-EU countries - name, passport number, expiry date and date of birth.
The two questions which will throw people somewhat are Passport Issuance Date (we aren't good at those, people often enter date of birth or passport expiry date as a mistake) and the requirement for a US address with a ZIP code. Ireland doesn't have postcodes or zip codes, so we don't always have them to hand. It is usually the hotel address or a friend or relative you will be staying with.
They will also look for the airline code number. Most people don't know this either, but you can find out on the airline website - airline codes are the same for flights on a similar weekday. Watch out for the different codes for morning and afternoon flights on the same day - Aer Lingus double and treble daily flights to JFK, for example.
The great unknown question is what will happen if you enter the US without having filled in the form online. The American Embassy has given an assurance that immigration officers will be flexible in the weeks and months ahead.
Don't count on it. The Department of Homeland Security in the US is a law unto itself. Even staff in the Dublin embassy have been abused by their own immigration officials as they enter America.
Luckily, most of us will clear immigration at an Irish Airport, where the worst excesses of the US immigration officers are avoided.
But if you arrive in the US and have to clear immigration, don't be surprised by anything that is said - US immigration employees consistently top the league for rude, offensive and threatening behaviour to tourists.
There is a complaints procedure but don't bother. It is common policy for supervisors to side with the offending officer. The standard response is that you can pursue the complaint and end up in jail or take the easy route and carry on.
The new online process should finally eliminate one of the major problems for Irish people who have returned from the US: the green form that is left in the passport, suggesting that you have never left the US. These visa waiver forms are supposed to be collected by the airlines, but they keep forgetting to do so.
Eoghan Corry
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