Stopover USA

Many people are currently in anticipation of the much-anticipated summer vacation. The trip was booked, z. To Cancun, Mexico or Vancouver, Canada. There is only a small stopover of a few hours in Los Angeles or New York. The vacation planning for the journey is already in full swing: which hotel should we choose? When do we drink our first margarita? Which beach clothes make it into the suitcase? Stop! Before you indulge in the anticipation of the holiday, you should definitely pay attention to the upcoming US transit, because the short supposed stopover has it all. What passing through means for you and what you have to consider, read here.

What counts as transit or transit?

Even if your main destination is not the United States of America, that means a short one transit stay from a few minutes, a few hours or more defacto a trip to the US. Therefore, you must ensure that you comply with the US entry regulations and you are not denied the onward journey due to lack of careful preparation and in the worst case you have to return to the American transit desk.

Visa or Visa Waiver Program with ESTA?

Basically, all persons who do not have an American passport need either a visa or a valid ESTA entry permit for entry into the US, even for passage of a few minutes or hours. The following residence permits can be considered in principle:

ESTA (under the Visa Waiver Program, VWP) is available to most Europeans and many other nationalities. For this, the traveler only has to be in possession of a current ESTA permit. This ESTA approval can be obtained online in minutes.

Attention special case – ESTA is no longer valid after travel to the following states: Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Syria

Persons who actually qualify for the ESTA procedure, eg. For example, Germans, Austrians and Swiss who have traveled to the above mentioned countries since 1 March 2011 are excluded from the ESTA procedure. Inevitably, these people must apply for a visa, even if they are under an hour in transit.

C visa

If you are from a country or have a passport from a country that is not approved for the ESTA procedure, such as: Poland, Turkey or Ukraine, or you are not getting an ESTA entry permit for any other reason, you will need a visa in any case. The fitting Visa for transit is the so-called C visa. To do this, you must apply for a visa and take part in an interview appointment at the country’s US Consulate. Voyagers traveling by ship to a non-US destination and having their ship calling at a US port without landing there also often require a transit visa as a combination C-1 / D visa (for crew members). We advise you to submit your application on time, d. H. at least four to six weeks before your planned trip.

The following requirements must be met:

It is an immediate or continuing transit through the USA
Possession of a regular ticket or proof of destination
Sufficient funds for the transit trip
Permission to enter the US from another country after leaving the country

B-1 / B-2 visa

Persons who are excluded from the ESTA procedure, travel to the USA for transit purposes and would also like to travel to the USA in the future, have the option of a B-1 (Business Visa), B-2 (Tourist Visa) or to apply for the combination B-1 / B-2. If granted, they would have the authority to travel to the United States for transit, business and tourist purposes for the duration of the visa. In this respect, we would advise our customers the B-1 / B-2 variant, because this is more extensive than the C visa. Incidentally, the fee is identical, d. H. No matter if C-1, B-1, B-2 or B-1 / B-2, the consular fee is always the same. The current fees can be found on our cost page.

As a rule, the B visa is also applied for as part of a personal interview in one of the responsible US consulates. Plan around four to six weeks lead time.

Owner of a work visa (eg E, L or H-1B)

For example, persons with an E, L or H-1B visa may enter the United States for work purposes. However, if you are planning a US transit for purely personal or business reasons, for example: For example, to go on holiday in Mexico, this group of people also needs either a valid ESTA entry permit, a C or B visa. In practice, travelers have often been denied a working visa for transit transit, but there are also border guards who are very strict and, in the worst case, do not recognize transit through a work visa. Therefore, our tip: Better in such cases play it safe and apply for ESTA or a B visa.

Our conclusion

Even with transit travel, the US entry requirements are strictly observed, so that the dream vacation or a business trip is not a nightmare.

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Stopover usa