ROBERT Louis Stevenson may have said "to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive" but, to be fair, RLS never had to maintain an air of optimism at an airport. Whether sailing for Samoa or honeymooning in a derelict California mining colony, trying to deal with the horrors of modern travel bureaucracy was one adventure he fortunately never had to tackle.
The particular intricacies of the United States' immigration control have long been used as comedy fodder - and for ejecting troublesome foreigners, as when Richard Nixon attempted to ban John Lennon from the US by quashing his work visa application. Amy Winehouse and Boy George's recent visa troubles shows that does not look likely to change.
What have changed are the rules for getting into America. Travellers bound for the US under the Visa Waiver Program (VMP), which includes the UK, are now required to fill out an online "visa waiver" application prior to embarking. You will then be given an electronic system for travel authorisation (Esta) number, which you should provide at check-in at the airport. A single Esta number is good for two years, or the remainder of your passport's validity (whichever is shorter). Decisions can take up to three days, so it might be wise to apply before buying tickets. And beware of sites charging for this service; apply at esta.cbp.dhs.gov You should apply for your Esta at least 72 hours before beginning your journey and, as is increasingly common, you must fill out the form with your details online - no other method is acceptable.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article