Updated November 11, 2026

US Visa Waiver Program (VWP): ESTA requirements, fee and 42 eligible countries

If you are a citizen of one of 42 designated countries, the Visa Waiver Program lets you travel to the United States for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa, according to CBP. Before you travel by air, sea, or land, you need an e-Passport with an embedded chip and an approved ESTA. An ESTA is not a visa and does not guarantee entry, because CBP officers decide whether you can enter when you arrive at the port of entry.

What is the US Visa Waiver Program and how does it work?

Started in 1986, the Visa Waiver Program lets citizens and eligible nationals of participating countries travel to the United States for temporary business or pleasure for stays of 90 days or less without getting a visa first. In return, each participating government must let U.S. citizens and nationals visit their country visa-free for a similar length of time for business or tourism.

For VWP rules, CBP defines the United States as the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Every prospective VWP traveler, including accompanied and unaccompanied children of any age, must get an independent pre-travel authorization through CBP's Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before boarding a U.S.-bound plane or vessel, or before arriving at a U.S. land border port of entry. DHS added the land border ESTA requirement in October 2022.

Even if you are only passing through the United States on your way to another country, you still need either an approved ESTA or a visa. When filling out the ESTA form for a transit trip, CBP instructs you to write In Transit and your final destination in the address lines under the heading Address While In The United States.

Which 42 countries are in the Visa Waiver Program?

CBP and the ESTA application website list 42 countries and territories currently designated for the Visa Waiver Program.

Several members carry specific nationality or document conditions set by DHS:

United Kingdom: Eligibility applies only to British citizens who have the unrestricted right of permanent abode in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man). It does not cover British overseas citizens, British dependent territories' citizens, or citizens of British Commonwealth countries.

Taiwan: Under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, references to countries in the VWP statute include Taiwan. Eligibility is limited to individuals who have the unrestricted right of permanent abode on Taiwan and hold an electronic passport bearing a personal identification (household registration) number.

Netherlands: Citizens of Curacao, Bonaire, St Eustatius, Saba and St Maarten (the former Netherlands Antilles) are not eligible to travel under the VWP if they apply for admission with passports from those territories.

Two former VWP countries had their designations terminated: Argentina (joined July 8, 1996, terminated February 21, 2002) and Uruguay (joined August 9, 1999, terminated April 15, 2003). DHS also notes that Romania was designated on January 9, 2025, but that designation was rescinded on May 2, 2025, before implementation.

Current Visa Waiver Program countries and start dates from dhs.gov and esta.cbp.dhs.gov, as of November 2026

What are the e-Passport and travel document requirements?

Since April 1, 2016, every traveler using the Visa Waiver Program must hold an electronic passport (e-Passport), regardless of when the passport was issued or when the country joined the program. If you do not have an e-Passport, you must obtain a qualifying new passport or apply for a nonimmigrant visa to travel to the United States.

DHS sets three technical requirements for VWP passports:

• Embedded electronic chip: Your passport must be an enhanced secure e-Passport with an integrated digital chip that stores biographic information from the data page, a digital photograph, and other biometric data about the owner. You can spot an e-Passport by the international e-Passport symbol on the front cover.
• Machine-readable zone (MRZ): Your passport must have two lines of text made up of letters, numbers and chevron characters at the bottom of the personal information page, next to your photo.
• Digital photograph: Your photo must be printed directly onto the biographic data page, not glued or laminated into the book.

How to apply for ESTA: fee, checklist and validity rules

You submit your ESTA application online through the ESTA website. While you can apply at any time before travel, CBP recommends applying as soon as you begin preparing travel plans or before buying airline tickets.

Third-party relatives or travel agents are allowed to fill out an ESTA application on your behalf, but CBP notes that private third-party websites are not endorsed by or affiliated with DHS and will not speed up approval.

You do not need to bring a paper printout of your ESTA approval to the airport because DHS sends your status directly to carriers through the Advance Passenger Information System. Still, DHS recommends printing your application response so you have a record of your ESTA application number. You can print the full application only while your browser window is open upon completion. Once you close the browser, you can retrieve and print only your ESTA status.

An approved ESTA is generally valid for two years from the date of issuance (one year for citizens of Brunei), or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. You must submit a new ESTA application and pay the fee again if any of these four things happen:

• You are issued a new passport.
• You change your name.
• Your country of citizenship changes.
• The circumstances behind your previous answers to any of the ESTA yes or no eligibility questions change.

Government travel program and border fees from cbp.gov, as of November 2026

Checklist: what you need before you start the ESTA form

Our team put together this preparation checklist from CBP's published guidance and FAQ pages so you can gather all necessary information before starting the online application.

• Your valid e-Passport from a VWP country, and details of any other passport or national identity card for travel ever issued to you by any other country.
• Biographical data in English, including your full legal name, date of birth, and passport details.
• Answers to eligibility questions regarding communicable diseases, criminal arrests and convictions, and past visa revocations or deportations.
• Transit details if you are only passing through the United States: enter In Transit and your final destination in the address lines.
• Travel history details: exact dates and purposes for any travel on or after March 1, 2011, to Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, or Yemen, or travel on or after January 12, 2021, to Cuba.
• Your CBP Global Entry membership number, if applicable, which CBP can use when adjudicating your ESTA application.
• Optional: your social media platform and social media identifier, which DHS notes can be left blank without any negative inference.
• A valid payment method, such as a credit card, to pay the required application fee on the ESTA website.

Who is disqualified from the Visa Waiver Program by travel history or dual nationality?

Even if you hold a valid e-Passport from one of the 42 VWP countries, you cannot travel under the Visa Waiver Program if you fall under the restrictions of the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 or the Cuba State Sponsor of Terrorism rules. CBP groups these disqualifications into two categories:

1. Past travel or presence: You are ineligible for an ESTA if you have traveled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, or Yemen at any time on or after March 1, 2011. You are also ineligible if you visited Cuba on or after January 12, 2021, the date the U.S. Department of State designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

2. Dual nationality: You are ineligible for an ESTA if you are a national of a VWP country and also hold dual nationality with Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria. CBP notes that it determines nationality using U.S. legal standards and practices, not merely the laws of foreign governments. If an ESTA was already approved and CBP later determines you visited Cuba or hold dual nationality with Cuba, CBP will revoke your ESTA.

Exceptions for military and government service: The travel restrictions do not apply if your presence in Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Cuba, Libya, Somalia, or Yemen was to perform military service in the armed forces of a VWP program country, or to carry out duties as a full-time employee of a VWP country's government. If you qualify for this exception, CBP recommends carrying proof such as travel orders, diplomatic or government visas, or a letter from your VWP government entity when you arrive at a U.S. port of entry. This military and government exception applies only to past travel. It does not waive the restriction for dual nationals of those countries.

Case-by-case waivers: The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive these travel-related restrictions on a case-by-case basis if a waiver is in the law enforcement or national security interests of the United States. There is no separate waiver form. You apply through the regular ESTA process, and CBP determines whether you qualify. Waivers for travel history are not adjudicated at the land border on Form I-94W.

Travel and dual nationality restrictions under the VWP from cbp.gov, as of November 2026

What to do if your ESTA is denied or you don't qualify (ESTA vs B1/B2 visa)

An ESTA denial or VWP ineligibility does not bar you from visiting the United States. It means you cannot travel visa-free and must apply for a nonimmigrant visitor visa (B1/B2) at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Do not contact a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to ask why your ESTA was refused or to ask them to overturn it. CBP states that embassies and consulates cannot provide details about ESTA denials or resolve the issue that caused the denial. Their role is to process your application for a nonimmigrant visa, which requires completing the DS-160 online application, paying the non-waivable visa processing fee, submitting biometrics, and appearing for an interview with a U.S. consular officer. While the ESTA website links to the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP), CBP notes there is no guarantee that a DHS TRIP request will resolve the VWP ineligibility.

If your ESTA was denied or revoked because of the 2015 Act's travel or dual-nationality rules and you have imminent travel for business, medical, or humanitarian reasons, CBP says you may request an expedited visa appointment at your U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Keep a copy of your ESTA denial or revocation notice, as the embassy may ask for it when scheduling.

Holding a B1/B2 visitor visa actually gives you several legal options that VWP travelers do not get:

Comparison of VWP (ESTA) travel and a B1/B2 visitor visa from cbp.gov, as of November 2026

Practice example

Your ESTA was denied because you visited Cuba in 2023. Why did you go there, and what is the purpose of your trip to the United States now?

Answer both parts of the question directly and without hesitation. Start by stating the exact month and year of your trip to Cuba, how many days you stayed, and the true reason you went, such as a one-week vacation or a conference. Under DHS and Department of State agreements, consular officers can view the information you submitted on your denied ESTA application, so your explanation at the window must match your ESTA and your DS-160 line by line. Next, pivot clearly to your current U.S. trip: state your exact destination, your arrival and departure dates, and why you are visiting now. Have your supporting documents organized in your folder in case the officer asks to see them, including your ESTA denial notice (especially if you requested an expedited appointment for urgent business, medical, or humanitarian travel), your employer letter confirming your approved leave, and your itinerary. If your past travel to a restricted country was for military service or government duties for a VWP country and you are answering a CBP officer at the port of entry, present your travel orders, diplomatic visa, or government letter immediately.

The consular officer is checking that your past travel to a restricted country was benign, that your oral explanation matches your denied ESTA record and DS-160, and that your current trip fits a temporary B1/B2 visitor visa.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.