For Tourism with a Visa Exemption (ESTA)
With the Visa Waiver Program travelers with passports from the following countries do not need a visa to visit the US for less than 90 days:
| Germany | Andorra | Australia |
| Austria | Belgium | Brunei |
| Chili | Denmark | Spain |
| Estonia | Finland | France |
| Greece | Hungary | Ireland |
| Iceland | Italy | Japan |
| Slovenia | Portugal | Latvia |
| liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg |
| Malta | Monaco | Norway |
| New Zealand | Netherlands | Republic of Korea |
| Czech republic | United Kingdom | San Marino |
| Singapore | Slovakia | Sweden |
| Swiss | Taiwan |
While you don’t need to apply for a visa, you do have to request a travel
authorization to the United States (ESTA) at the official website of the Department of Homeland Security. ESTA is valid for 2 years from the date of application.
Warning:
– You cannot use ESTA to work or reside in the United States.
– Regardless of the nationality of your passport, if you have traveled to Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen as of March 1, 2011, you are no longer eligible for an ESTA visa to travel to the United States. It is then necessary to apply for a B1 / B2 visa through the regular application process (see procedure below). This procedure is strictly mandatory, even if you have a second passport!
For tourism with a prior visa application (B1 / B2)
If you have a passport which is not in the list above or you do not meet the criteria for the visa exemption, then you need to apply for a B1 / B2 visa (both are usually requested at the same time) .
The B1 visa is a business visa for business meetings such as consulting a partner, attending a conference or conference, negotiating a contract, etc. The B2 visa is a visa for tourism (holidays, medical treatment, etc.).
Warning:
– The B1 visa is for business meetings: it is not a visa for in the USA.
– These 2 visas allow you to stay up to 6 months and are valid for 10 years. Be careful that the US tax administration does not consider you as an American tax resident! You will be considered a tax resident of the United States if you meet the substantial presence requirement for the calendar year (Substantial Attendance Test).
To meet this test, you must be physically present in the United States (U.S.) on at least:
- 31 days during the current year, and
- 183 days during the 3-year period that includes the current year and the 2 years immediately before that, counting:
- All the days you were present in the current year, and
- 1/3 of the days you were present in the first year before the current year, and
- 1/6 of the days you were present in the second year before the current year.
B1 / B2 visas are valid for 10 years and cost USD 160.
To obtain B1 / B2 visas, you must:
- First submit an application on this site: https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/
- Once the application is filed, you must make an appointment with the US Embassy via this site: https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-US/countries_list/niv