Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
Although the U.S. Visa Waiver Program also applies to the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and therefore nationals of VWP countries may travel to these territories with an ESTA, both territories have an additional visa waiver program for certain nationalities. The Guam–CNMI Visa Waiver Program, first enacted in October 1988 and periodically amended, permits nationals of 12 countries to travel to Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands for up to 45 days, and nationals of China to travel to the Northern Mariana Islands for up to 14 days, for tourism or business, without the need to obtain a U.S. visa.[86] This program also requires an electronic travel authorization similar to ESTA but without a fee.[87][88]
U.S. visa policy does not apply to American Samoa, as it has its own entry requirements and maintains control of its own borders. Hence, neither a U.S. visa nor an ESTA can be used to enter American Samoa. If required, an entry permit or electronic authorization must be obtained from the Department of Legal Affairs of American Samoa.[90]
Nationals of Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, and countries in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (except Qatar) may visit American Samoa for up to 30 days without an entry permit. However, if arriving by air, they must apply online for an electronic authorization called "OK Board", at least 3 business days before travel, for a fee of 40 USD.[91] Nationals of Samoa may also apply for a similar electronic authorization to visit American Samoa for up to 10 days, for a fee of 10 USD.[92]
Nationals of other countries need an entry permit, which must be requested by a local sponsor at the Immigration Office of the Department of Legal Affairs of American Samoa.[93]
Visa-exempt countries
To qualify for the Visa Waiver Program, a country must have had a visa refusal rate of less than 3% for the previous year.[38] This refusal rate is based on applications for B visas, for tourism and business purposes. B visas are adjudicated based on applicant interviews, which generally last between 60 and 90 seconds.[102]
The table below shows the overstay rate, which is the portion of visitors arriving under the Visa Waiver Program who remained in the United States longer than the maximum allowed stay of 90 days. Some of these visitors later left the United States or legalized their immigration status.[120]
Have the Correct Type of Passport
You must have a passport that is valid for at least 6 months after your planned departure from the United States (unless exempted by country-specific agreements). For families, each member of your family, including infants and children, must have a passport.
In addition, you must have an e-passport to use the VWP. An e-passport is an enhanced secure passport with an embedded electronic chip. The chip can be scanned to match the identity of the traveler to the passport. E-Passports must be in compliance with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). You can readily identify an e-passport, by a symbol on the cover. See the example below. More information about e-passports is available on the DHS website.
Must Be a Citizen or National of a VWP Designated Country*
You must be a citizen or national of the following countries* to be eligible to travel to the United States under the VWP.
**To be eligible to travel under the VWP, British citizens must have the unrestricted right of permanent abode in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.
Citizens of freely associated states
Under Compacts of Free Association, citizens of the following countries may enter, reside, study and work in the United States indefinitely without a visa. These benefits are granted to citizens from birth or independence, and to naturalized citizens who have resided in the respective country for at least five years, excluding those who acquired citizenship by investment.[125][126]
Sejak tahun 2014, pemerintah Jepang memberikan kemudahan bagi pemegang paspor Indonesia, untuk memasuki Jepang dengan Visa Waiver program. Namun Visa Waiver ini hanya diberikan kepada pemegang paspor elektronik. Untuk pemegang paspor biasa, masih harus mengurus Visa sebelum berangkat ke Jepang.
Apa keuntungan dari visa waiver..? Jika paspor anda telah terdaftar dalam visa waiver, maka selama jangka waktu visa waiver tersebut, anda dapat berangkat kapan saja ke Jepang tanpa mengurus visa terlebih dahulu. Tinggal cari tiket dan berangkat.
Tapi visa waiver ini ada keterbatasannya. Pertama, anda hanya bisa berkunjung ke Jepang selama 15 hari. Jika ingin berkunjung lebih dari 15 hari, anda tetap harus mengurus visa reguler di VFS JVAC, meskipun sudah punya visa waiver. Kedua, masa berlakunya hanya tiga tahun atau sesuai masa berlaku paspor (mana yang lehuh dahulu). Ketiga, dari banyak pengalaman dan cerita pemegang e-paspor dengan visa waiver ini, pemeriksaan imigrasi saat tiba di Jepang lebih ketat, banyak pertanyaan, diminta bukti pesanan akomodasi, di cek jumlah uang yang dibawa, bahkan cukup banyak cerita pemegang visa waiver yang akhirnya ditolak masuk Jepang dan diharuskan kembali ke Indonesia dengan penerbangan berikut. Mungkin ini disebabkan tidak diperlukannya bukti kecukupan keuangan atau bukti pekerjaan saat pengajuan visa waiver, berbeda dengan pengajuan visa reguler yang diminta bukti kecukupan dana saat aplikasi.
PENGURUSAN VISA WAIVER
Bagaimana prosedur pengurusan visa waiver? Sangat mudah kok.. Syaratnya paspor anda sudah paspor elektronik, yang memiliki chip data biometrik. Prosedurnya:
PENGURUSAN VISA WISATA REGULER
Bagaimana jika anda tidak punya paspor elektronik, masih paspor biasa? Atau sudah punya visa waiver, tapi mau berkunjung ke Jepang lebih dari 15 hari? Dalam hal ini anda harus mengajukan aplikasi visa wisata reguler.
Dulu, pengurusan visa reguler juga dilakukan di kedutaan Jepang. Tapi sejak 15 September 2017, aplikasi visa wisata hanya dapat dilakukan di VFS JVAC (Japan Visa Application Centre), Kuningan City Lt.1, Jakarta.
Untuk aplikasi visa Single Entry biayanya Rp 400.000, sedangkan untuk visa Multiple Entry biaya visa Rp 800.000.
Pengajuan multiple entry bisa diproses jika anda sudah pernah ke Jepang dalam 3 tahun terakhir, atau pernah ke negara seperti Amerika Serikat dan Inggris. Jika anda dinilai qualified, visa multiple entry bisa diberikan dengan masa berlaku 5 tahun, bisa lebih panjang dari visa waiver yang masa berlakunya 3 tahun.
Selain membayar biaya visa, pengurusan visa di VFS JVAC ini dikenakan biaya pemrosesan Rp 165.000 per paspor.
Syarat Dokumen untuk visa kunjungan sementara untuk tujuan wisata:
Bawa paspor dan dokumen-dokumen diatas ke VFS JVAC, Kuningan City Lt. 1, Jakarta.
Jam buka VFS JVAC untuk aplikasi visa setiap hari kerja antara jam 9:00-17:00. Anda dapat membuat janji terlebih dahulu untuk menghindari antrian panjang, namun bisa juga langsung datang tanpa membuat perjanjian. Perjanjian bisa dibuat secara online di website VFS JVAC: http://www.vfsglobal.com/japan/indonesia/Schedule-an-Appointment.html
Setibanya di VFS JVAC, anda akan mendapatkan nomor antrian. Tunggu nomor anda dipanggil. Jika nomor anda telah dipanggil, menuju counter dan serahkan paspor dan dokumen anda. Petugas akan memeriksa paspor dan dokumem, apabila ada kekurangan, aplikasi anda akan dikembalikan dan anda akan diminta melengkapi kekurangannya. Apabila semua lengkap, anda akan diminta melakukan pembayaran biaya visa dan biaya administrasi. Petugas akan memberikan tanda terima.
Proses visa di VFS JVAC sekitar 3-5 hari kerja. Anda bisa memonitor progres aplikasi visa di website VFS, dengan memasukan kode yang ada di tanda terima pengurusan visa.
Untuk pengambilan visa dapat dilakukan pada hari kerja mulai jam 1 siang. Pengurusan visa Jepang melalui VFS JVAC dapat diwakilkan oleh anggota keluarga ataupun agen wisata.
Dari pengalaman banyak teman, sangat jarang pemegang visa Jepang ditolak masuk di bandara, sementara pemegang visa waiver yang terkena deportasi cukup banyak terdengar.
Jadi mana yang lebih baik, visa waiver atau visa reguler?
Jika anda sudah cukup memiliki riwayat perjalan keluar negeri, visa waiver jauh lebih memudahkan dan menguntungkan. Tapi jika anda baru pertama kali keluar negeri, saran saya anda mengurus visa reguler, yang syarat pengajuannya mencakup bukti kemampuan keuangan, hal ini untuk membuktikan bahwa anda adalah wisatawan yang bonafid, mengurangi resiko kena random check dan resiko deportasi saat di bandara Jepang.
Requirements for Using the Visa Waiver Program (VWP)
You must meet all the following requirements to travel to the United States on the VWP:
How to request a travel authorization to the U.S. through ESTA
If you find out your country participates in the Visa Waiver Program:
When you complete and submit the form and processing fee, you will get an ESTA application number. Use that number to check the status of your application. It may take up to 72 hours to find out if you are authorized to travel to the U.S. under the VWP.
Each approved ESTA application is generally valid for two years and allows multiple visits to the U.S. within that period without having to apply for another travel approval. If your passport expires in less than two years, you will receive an ESTA approval valid until the passport's expiration date.
When you travel to the U.S. for tourism or business under the VWP, you may stay up to 90 days per visit.
If you have questions about the ESTA and VWP application process, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) FAQ page.
Nationals of neighboring jurisdictions
Separate from the Visa Waiver Program, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(4)(B) permits the Attorney General and the Secretary of State (acting jointly) to waive visa requirements for admission to the United States in nonimmigrant status for nationals of foreign contiguous territories or adjacent islands or for residents of those territories or islands who have a common nationality with those nationals. The regulations relating to such admissions can be found at 8 CFR 212.1.[121]
Under this provision, nationals of the following jurisdictions may travel to the United States without a visa:
Restrictions on the use of the Visa Waiver Program do not affect this class of travelers unless separately provided for by statute or regulation. For example, a Canadian citizen who has briefly overstayed a previous visit to the United States (by less than 180 days) will still not require a visa for future visits, while a VWP national who overstays will become ineligible for the VWP for life and will need a visa for future visits. ESTA is not required from British Overseas Territories citizens using one of the above waivers with the respective territory's passport, but it is required if they use the VWP with a British citizen passport.
Until 2003, this visa waiver was granted not only to nationals of those countries and territories, but also to permanent residents of Bermuda and Canada who were nationals of countries in the Commonwealth of Nations or Ireland.[121]
Other travel documents you will need to enter the U.S.
Even if you qualify for the VWP, you will need to bring a passport from your country of citizenship to enter the U.S. Generally, a visitor’s passport must not expire less than six months from the date they plan to exit the U.S. But some countries extend the validity of their passports for an additional six months after expiration. They are known as being part of the “Six Month Club.” Learn which countries are exempt from the six-month passport rule.
When you enter the U.S., officials at your port of entry will issue you a Form I-94W, an electronic record of your entry date. Learn more about I-94W and how to apply.
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Find out the requirements for ESTA
If you are a citizen of a country participating in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), you must meet the eligibility requirements to travel to the U.S. under the program. You will also need authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before beginning your trip. Learn about the VWP and ESTA and if your country participates in the program.
Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015
Under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, travelers in the following categories must obtain a visa prior to traveling to the United States as they are no longer eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP):
