We will now discuss admission to the United States as a non-immigrant visitor under the visa waiver program.  Generally, any foreign national seeking to enter the United States must be in possession of a valid visa, with a few limited exceptions.  The most common exception is for those entering under the Visa Waiver Pilot Program.  This program was designed to allow nationals from certain countries to enter as visitors, for a limited period of time, without the need of a visa.  Only those countries that meet certain criteria, most notably a past history of low refusal rates for visas, qualify under the program.  A complete list of all of the visa waiver countries is included below.

Under the program, a non-immigrant visitor may enter the United States, from a visa waiver country, for a period of 90 days or less.  The alien must be in possession of a valid unexpired machine-readable passport that satisfies the internationally accepted standard for machine-readability, from one of the treaty countries.  In addition, the alien must waive any right to administrative and judicial review or appeal of an immigration officer's determination as to his or her admissibility other than on the basis of an application for asylum, and must waive any right to contest any action for deportation, other than on the basis of an asylum application. 

Furthermore, the alien must possess a return trip ticket that will transport the alien out of the United States to any other foreign port or place as long as the trip does not terminate in contiguous territory or an adjacent island (unless the alien is a resident of the contiguous territory or adjacent island).

Finally, the alien must arrive to the US on a carrier that has entered into an agreement accepting certain duties and obligations contained in the law.

There are several disadvantages to an alien entering under the visa waiver program.  The alien may not apply for an extension of stay beyond the 90-day period, nor may the alien change his or her status in the United States.  Also, as mentioned above, the alien can be refused admission, and summarily excluded from the United States, without the right to a removal hearing.  Again, the only exception is for one who requests asylum in the United States.  Likewise, an alien who entered on a visa waiver, and is later determined to be deportable by an immigration officer, shall be expelled from the United States without the right to a hearing before an immigration judge.  As above, the only exception is for an alien filing for asylum.  Because of these disadvantages, it is usually better to enter the United States with a visa if that option is available.

Visit the websites of the Department of State and Customs and Border Protection for additional information.