US sees surge in visa waiver travel applications ahead of new fee

Sep 3, 2010, 15:46 GMT

Washington - Starting next week travellers to the United States who do not require visas will face a new fee, and officials said Thursday they've seen a rush of applications as visitors try to beat the deadline.

Travellers from most European Union countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Brunei will be required to pay a 14- dollar fee beginning Wednesday.

The fee includes a 10-dollar charge to enter the US under the Travel Promotion Act passed by Congress to pay for efforts to promote travel to the country, and a 4-dollar administration fee for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), a security screening system in place since January 2009.

Before the fee was announced, US Customs and Border Protection received some 40,000 to 50,000 applications per day from visa waiver countries, but shortly before it goes into effect that number has shot up to more than 100,000.

'We encourage anyone who even thinks they may be travelling to go ahead and apply now,' said Maureen Dugan, the agency's assistant executive director of admissibility and passenger programmes.

The new fee has prompted protests from the European Union, which it says imposes a needless financial and administrative burden and is inconsistent with efforts to facilitate transatlantic mobility.

But the US believes the fee is consistent with those charged by 56 other countries as part of entry fees or other taxes and is not inconsistent with the visa waiver programme, Dugan said.

The ESTA form is good for two years or until a passport expires, so travellers who may come to the United States anytime in the next several years can apply now.

The fee must be paid when travellers apply online for their ESTA screening and must be paid using a major credit or debit card.