Embassy of the United States

Non-Immigrant Visas

NIV Waiver Program

Important Information for Nationals of Countries under Visa Waiver Program (PDF - 198K) 

Citizens of several countries are not required tourist or business visas to remain in the United States for less than 90 days or to transit through the United States.  Their passports must meet certain minimum requirements to benefit from the Visa Waiver Program.

To work or study in the United States, citizens of the Visa Waiver Program must have the appropriate visas.

List of Countries Participating in the Visa Waiver Program:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

New Countries Added:

The  Visa Waiver Program (VWP) was expanded to include the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Republic of Korea, and the Slovak Republic in late 2008.  Review the Visa Waiver Program quick reference handout, as well as this webpage to learn about VWP travel.

Passport Requirements:

Specific passport requirements apply to all VWP travelers.  Click on this link for more information.

Temporary, emergency, official and diplomatic passports are not subject to the digital photo and/or integrated chip requirements, but they must be machine-readable.  If they are not machine-readable, they require a visa.

Regular, official and diplomatic passports remain valid for the Visa Waiver Program if they meet the minimum passport requirements stated above.

Please, make sure that your passport has a remaining validity of at least six months. If you need additional information about the requirements according to your nationality, please go to this website.

For further information, please click on this link.