USA innfører elektronisk system for "reisegodkjenning"

[The Ticketor]

Akkurat som jeg og flere regnet med så vil USA innføre et system som vil ligne en god del på det australske ETAS. Her er hva TIMATIC sier om systemet:

TIMATIC-3 / 29JUL08 / 0810 UTC
CURRENT NEWS *N5*
ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION *ESTA* FOR VWP
TRAVELLERS TO THE USA
THE US DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY HAS ANNOUNCED THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR TRAVEL
AUTHORIZATION *ESTA*- WHICH WILL EVENTUALLY REPLACE THE
PAPER-BASED PROCEDURE OF VISA WAIVER PROGRAM *VWP* NATIONALS
COMPLETING A WRITTEN I-94W FORM.
THE PURPOSE OF ESTA IS TO DETERMINE- ALMOST IMMEDIATELY IN
MANY CASES- IF AN INDIVIDUAL IS ELIGIBLE FOR VWP TRAVEL. ESTA
APPLICATIONS MAY BE SUBMITTED AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO TRAVEL AND
ONCE APPROVED- WILL BE VALID FOR UP TO TWO YEARS OR UNTIL THE
APPLICANT S PASSPORT EXPIRES- WHICHEVER COMES FIRST.
AUTHORIZATIONS WILL BE VALID FOR MULTIPLE ENTRIES INTO THE US.
IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE PROCESS- IT WILL BE RECOMMENDED TO
SUBMIT THE APPLICATION AS SOON AS THE APPLICANT BEGINS
PLANNING US BOUND TRAVEL AND NOT LESS THAN 72 HOURS PRIOR TO
TRAVEL. ESTA WILL HOWEVER ACCOMMODATE LAST MINUTE AND
EMERGENCY TRAVELLERS.
FROM AUGUST 1- 2008- VOLUNTARY APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED
THROUGH THE ESTA WEBSITE HTTPS://WWW.ESTA.CBP.DHS.GOV/.
INITIALLY- THE WEBSITE WILL ONLY BE OPERATIONAL IN ENGLISH BUT
ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES WILL BE AVAILABLE LATER. UNTIL ESTA IS
MANDATORY- VWP TRAVELERS WILL STILL HAVE TO COMPLETE AN I-94W
FORM EN-ROUTE TO THE US- FOR PRESENTATION AT A US PORT OF
ENTRY.
IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MANDATORY ESTA
APPROVAL WILL COMMENCE ON JANUARY 12- 2009. ONCE ESTA IS
MANDATORY- ALL VWP TRAVELLERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN ESTA
APPROVAL PRIOR TO BOARDING.
ACCOMPANIED AND UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN- REGARDLESS OF AGE-
WILL ALSO DE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN ESTA APPROVAL.
IN THE EVENT THAT AN ESTA APPLICANT IS DENIED AUTHORIZATION TO
ENTER THE US UNDER THE VWP- THEY WILL BE REFERRED TO THE US
DEPT. OF STATE TRAVEL SECTION FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO APPLY
FOR A VISA TO TRAVEL TO THE US.
WHILST ESTA APPROVAL AUTHORIZES TRAVEL TO THE US- IT DOES NOT
GUARANTEE ADMISSIBILITY. THIS WILL BE DETERMINED BY A US
CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECT *CBP* OFFICER AT PORTS OF ENTRY OR
PRE-CLEARANCE FACILITIES.
THE FOLLOWING ARE ELIGIBLE TO ENTER THE US UNDER THE VWP:
NATIONALS OF AUSTRIA- AUSTRALIA- BELGIUM- BRUNEI- DENMARK-
FINLAND- FRANCE- GERMANY- ICELAND- IRELAND *REP. OF* ITALY-
JAPAN- LIECHTENSTEIN- LUXEMBOURG- MONACO- NETHERLANDS- NEW
ZEALAND- NORWAY- PORTUGAL- SAN MARINO- SINGAPORE- SLOVENIA
SPAIN- SWEDEN- SWITZERLAND AND HOLDERS OF BRITISH PASSPORTS
ENDORSED /BRITISH CITIZEN/
TEXT DISPLAY COMPLETE

Videre informasjon fra CBP: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/..._factsheet.xml