Hungary President stops short of promulgating Visa Waiver Agreement

After the announcement of Hungary joining the USA Visa Waiver program, Hungarian President László Sólyom returned the recently adopted law on sharing criminal data with the United States government to the Hungarian Parliament for reconsideration without signing it.  One of the prime conditions for a country to join the USA visa waiver program is for that country to share with the United States government criminal data information about its nationals visiting the USA.  

While the Hungarian parliament can effectively bypass Mr. Sólyom’s veto by repassing the law, the delay in the law being promulgated can cause a delay in Hungary’s formal entry into the Visa Waiver program.

Some interesting perspectives on this can be found here and here.

Seven new countries are to be admitted to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP)

President Bush announced that the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and South Korea — have met the requirements to be admitted to the United States Visa Waiver Program, bringing the total to 34 countries that have been accorded this special privilege of visa-free entry to the United States. The citizens of the above mentioned countries, in a month’s time, will be eligible to travel to the United States on business or tourism for 90 days or less without requiring a US visa.

The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and South Korea have agreed to share information about threats to the United States and also agreed that their citizens will have to register online ahead of their visits for screening purposes as well as obtain tamper-proof biometric passports (or E-passport) in order to travel to the United States.

Other countries, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Poland and Romania, are on the “visa waiver road map” that is helping them qualify for the VWP.

The Visa Waiver Participating countries are:

 

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

 

For a VWP Traveler’s Guide by the Department of Homeland Security that outlines important changes in passport and e-passport requirements see:

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/travel/id_visa/business_pleasure/vwp/vwp_timeline.ctt/vwp_timeline.pdf

List of SEVP Approved Schools

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has updated its list of Student and Exchange Visitor Program approved schools as of October 6, 2008.

See http://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/ApprovedSchools.pdf for list.

Are you planning to cross the US Border from Canada on the Columbus Day weekend?

If you are planning to cross the border this weekend into the United States, make sure you have all the proper documentation and plan your trip as to avoid peak travel times between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is anticipating heavy traffic during the celebration of Canada’s Thanksgiving on October 13^th.

All travelers, including U.S. and Canadian citizens, are now asked to present proof of citizenship and identity when entering the United States at land and sea ports of entry. This requirement can be met with a passport, NEXUS frequent crosser card, an enhanced British Columbia or Washington State driver’s license, or a birth certificate with a driver’s license. Travelers ages 18 and under may present just a birth certificate.

Also it is advisable to review the “Know before you Go” regulations at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/ for additional information concerning your trip into the United States.

New Fee Structure for Student and Exchange Visitor Program – Effective October 27, 2008

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced that the SEVP school certification petition fees and the SEVIS I-901 fees for foreign nationals seeking to become academic (F visa) or vocational students (M visa), or exchange visitors (J visa) will increase.

The increase in fee changes made in the SEVP rule will affect both students and schools, but schools currently participating in SEVP will not be required to pay additional fees to recertify under this new fee structure. The increase is as follows: $1,700 for a school certification petition; $655 for each site visit for certification; $200 for each F or M student; and an $180 fee for certain J exchange visitors. However, the $35 fee for each J exchange visitor seeking admission as an au pair, camp counselor, or summer work/travel program participant will continue to remain the same.

Once promulgated, the rule will also establish procedures for the oversight and recertification of schools attended by F and/or M students, and procedures for schools to submit recertification petitions. The rule also adds a provision allowing a school to voluntarily withdraw from its certification, and clarifies procedures for school operation with regard to F and M students during recertification and following a denial of recertification or a withdrawal of certification. For more information you can refer to http://www.ice.gov/sevis/