US entry UK passport requirement

[npe]

I'm heading to the states in October, someone in the office happen to mention i'll need a new biometric passport to get into the states. Anyone had any experience with this?

As far as i'm aware, all you need is a digital photo passport and and a visa. With the biometric I gather you can have a visa waiver. Is that correct?!!

[redweapon]

PAP, you just need a normal UK passport with 6 months left on it, plus you need to file a ETSA electronic visa thing via the department of homeland security website. Which when you get the the US they seem to know nothing about...

[Strangely Brown]

redweapon said:

PAP, you just need a normal UK passport with 6 months left on it, plus you need to file a ETSA electronic visa thing via the department of homeland security website. Which when you get the the US they seem to know nothing about...

Tell me about it. We had a bh of a time last year flying into SEATAC and the immigration officer ignoring the ETSA that we had. US immigration can be a real PITA but these guys took obnoxious and deliberately difficult to a whole new level.

[Gareth79]

Strangely Brown said:

redweapon said:

PAP, you just need a normal UK passport with 6 months left on it, plus you need to file a ETSA electronic visa thing via the department of homeland security website. Which when you get the the US they seem to know nothing about...

Tell me about it. We had a bh of a time last year flying into SEATAC and the immigration officer ignoring the ETSA that we had. US immigration can be a real PITA but these guys took obnoxious and deliberately difficult to a whole new level.

What was the problem, did you rock up to the desk without an I-94W green form? It's crazy but you do still need to fill one out even when you complete ESTA (and APIS), they don't hand out the forms on the plane for fun!

I've generally found them fine, but I'm sure that challenging them will not get you very far unless you are 100% certain that you are correct in what you are saying, and even then it wouldn't guarantee you won't be on the next plane home!

Edited by Gareth79 on Saturday 18th July 00:50

[Strangely Brown]

Gareth79 said:

Strangely Brown said:

redweapon said:

PAP, you just need a normal UK passport with 6 months left on it, plus you need to file a ETSA electronic visa thing via the department of homeland security website. Which when you get the the US they seem to know nothing about...

Tell me about it. We had a bh of a time last year flying into SEATAC and the immigration officer ignoring the ETSA that we had. US immigration can be a real PITA but these guys took obnoxious and deliberately difficult to a whole new level.

What was the problem, did you rock up to the desk without an I-94W green form? It's crazy but you do still need to fill one out even when you complete ESTA (and APIS), they don't hand out the forms on the plane for fun!

Yes, that's right. Funnily enough we did exactly what it said on the ESTA website. We filled it in and believed the bit that said you would no longer have to fill in the green form. It asks EXACTLY the same questions and we had already answered them online, got the approval and validated for two years. It even said that we wouldn't need to take a copy of the ESTA registration because they would know about it at the desk.

Well, so much for that.

It turns out that when we used it, it was only a trial but at no point, anywhere in the process did it say that it was only a trial and wouldn't be live until the following (this) year. No, we didn't get told that until AFTER Mr. Arsey on the desk had given us the Spanish Inquisition whilst pretending that he knew nothing about it. It was only right at the end that he saw fit to tell us what he could simply have said right at the start.

I mean, how hard would it have been to say, "Sorry, you have been misinformed. ESTA is only a trial this year and you still need a green form". Apparently, he "gets it all the time", which means that he was pissed off and therefore being deliberately obstructive.

Gareth79 said:

I've generally found them fine, but I'm sure that challenging them will not get you very far unless you are 100% certain that you are correct in what you are saying, and even then it wouldn't guarantee you won't be on the next plane home!

Yes, every other visit has been fine because I have happily followed their rules. I know how to play the game I don't argue with them because I am fully aware that the decision of one person having a bad day could see my entire holiday cancelled. However, in this case, we had complied, to the letter, with the instructions on the ESTA website and there was no reason whatsoever for us to believe that we needed to fill in green forms as well.


Edit: to correct horrible split infinitive.

Edited by Strangely Brown on Saturday 18th July 10:51

[TheEnd]

Do you still have to fill out the form on the plane?

Are you a terrorist y/n []
Are you going to assassinate the president y/n []
do you promise to be good when in our country y/n []

[PPPPPP]

Strangely Brown said:

redweapon said:

PAP, you just need a normal UK passport with 6 months left on it, plus you need to file a ETSA electronic visa thing via the department of homeland security website. Which when you get the the US they seem to know nothing about...

Tell me about it. We had a bh of a time last year flying into SEATAC and the immigration officer ignoring the ETSA that we had. US immigration can be a real PITA but these guys took obnoxious and deliberately difficult to a whole new level.

If only everyone voted with their feet and went elsewhere, that would help improve their social skills. Here is what the Parisians are doing

10:45am UK, Wednesday July 15, 2009

Rude Parisians have been told by city chiefs to smile more often - because their bad manners are putting off visitors.

Tourism bosses are desperate to reverse a steep fall in the number of holidaymakers, which they partly blame on the hostility of residents in the French capital.

Official figures showed 17% fewer tourists this year compared to 2008, which was partly due to Parisians natural aversion to outsiders, officials said.

The Paris tourist board has now hired 'smile ambassadors' whose job is to grin and be friendly to visitors at the city's main attractions.

Edited by PPPPPP on Saturday 18th July 10:51

[Strangely Brown]

PPPPPP said:

Strangely Brown said:

redweapon said:

PAP, you just need a normal UK passport with 6 months left on it, plus you need to file a ETSA electronic visa thing via the department of homeland security website. Which when you get the the US they seem to know nothing about...

Tell me about it. We had a bh of a time last year flying into SEATAC and the immigration officer ignoring the ETSA that we had. US immigration can be a real PITA but these guys took obnoxious and deliberately difficult to a whole new level.

If only everyone voted with their feet and went elsewhere, that would help improve their social skills.

I doubt that very much. They will always have the "our country, our rules" attitude and they will never be shy about telling you. Personally, I don't see it as a bad thing in itself. It's just that a bit of consistency between what they tell you to do and what they expect you to do wouldn't go amiss.

[tinman0]

Strangely Brown said:

What was the problem, did you rock up to the desk without an I-94W green form? It's crazy but you do still need to fill one out even when you complete ESTA (and APIS), they don't hand out the forms on the plane for fun!

Yes, that's right. Funnily enough we did exactly what it said on the ESTA website. We filled it in and believed the bit that said you would no longer have to fill in the green form. It asks EXACTLY the same questions and we had already answered them online, got the approval and validated for two years. It even said that we wouldn't need to take a copy of the ESTA registration because they would know about it at the desk.

Well, so much for that.

It turns out that when we used it, it was only a trial but at no point, anywhere in the process did it say that it was only a trial and wouldn't be live until the following (this) year. No, we didn't get told that until AFTER Mr. Arsey on the desk had given us the Spanish Inquisition whilst pretending that he knew nothing about it. It was only right at the end that he saw fit to tell us what he could simply have said right at the start.

I mean, how hard would it have been to say, "Sorry, you have been misinformed. ESTA is only a trial this year and you still need a green form". Apparently, he "gets it all the time", which means that he was pissed off and therefore being deliberately obstructive.

My understanding is that ESTA is not a trial. Its genuinely gone live but the green cards are still being used as a double check on the system. I have a feeling the ESTA may have broken early on and caused problems, hence doubling up the system.

Also, there is no real game you need to play with USCIS, you simply need to answer their questions correctly.

The biggest question that you must not forget the answer to, and this is the one that catches many many people out is "When were you last in the US?". Get that question wrong, and you WILL be formally interviewed.

[Strangely Brown]

tinman0 said:

My understanding is that ESTA is not a trial. Its genuinely gone live but the green cards are still being used as a double check on the system.

Well, that's OK and I don't have a problem with that. What I object to is that they tell you to behave one way on the ESTA website and then expect you behave differently at the time, WITHOUT TELLING YOU!

tinman0 said:

I have a feeling the ESTA may have broken early on and caused problems, hence doubling up the system.

Perhaps it was broken, perhaps it was only on trial. Either way, the bloke on the desk KNEW about it yet pretended that he didn't. It would have been no trouble at all to explain what was wrong at the start. He didn't. He CHOSE to be arsey.

tinman0 said:

Also, there is no real game you need to play with USCIS, you simply need to answer their questions correctly.

Yes, I now it's not a game. It was just a figure of speech, even though it certainly feels like it sometimes. I have been travelling to the US for long enough and with enough different points of entry to know exactly what is expected of me and how to minimise the chances of any inconvenience for myself. On this particular occasion, I was TOLD, BY THEM, that I should do things a particular way. I did that, exactly as told, and got caught out by their lack of consistency.

tinman0 said:

The biggest question that you must not forget the answer to, and this is the one that catches many many people out is "When were you last in the US?". Get that question wrong, and you WILL be formally interviewed.

Funnily enough, I don't recall ever having been asked that question. <shrugs>

[Gareth79]

Strangely Brown said:

It turns out that when we used it, it was only a trial but at no point, anywhere in the process did it say that it was only a trial and wouldn't be live until the following (this) year.

It's been mandatory for a while now but you still need to fill in the green form (well, as of January when I last visited), I assume that this will be scrapped at some point.

[prand]

This whole thing really peed me off going to the states this time.

I was told by Expedia I had to complete the ESTA form online , which I duly did. I got to the airport and the check-in guy took identical information for the Virgin flight, we were then given the forms to fill in on the plane because ESTA wasn't running properly.

By this time I was getting very fruistrated and annoyed, wghihc wasn't helped with the Immigration system breaking down once we had arrived in teh states. Aside from the hassle, the whole idea of my very personal information being spread across various databases is pretty concerning.