hi all,

can german and swiss passport holders enter the united states of america overland with a tourist visa?
johannes and i are in mexico right now and would like to enter the usa in tijuana. johannes is going to canada and i will continue to alaska.

regards,

philipp

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Live the dream and encompass the spirit of adventure.

Under the US Visa Waiver Program, certain passport holders can enter without visas. Switzerland and Germany are both included and you can enter overland. What you will need is proof of good financial status and to fill out a form "Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival-Departure Record" also known as I-94W. You should be able to obtain it at the border. The cost for the form is $6.

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Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without Improvement, are roads of Genius - William Blake

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Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without Improvement, are roads of Genius - William Blake

thank you very much for the reply.
johannes and i are in acapulco now and will be crossing into the usa next week. i will then post again how it went.

regards,
philipp
www.panamerica.co.uk

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Live the dream and encompass the spirit of adventure.

Yo Philipp,

I guess your question comes from my having to get a visa to cross overland. As a New Zealand passport holder I was informed by the US Embassy that I needed a Visa to do so when entering with a vehicle, and that the 90 day waiver does not apply.

I'll be interested to see how you two get on.

And yes, the mosquitos here in the Amazon are frequent, thirsty and annoying....

Chow

Jeremy
Kourou, French Guiana

Jeremy,
As with lots of regulation-based law, this is an issue that can confuse.
Normally citizens of Visa Wavier Program countries can enter the US without a visa. There are exceptions to this, but arriving overland or driving a vehicle is not one of them and has no impact on an individual's visa requirements, or immigration status.
The exceptions are explained at:
http://travel.state.gov/vwp.html
There has been talk of reducing the 90 day limit for a stay without a visa to 30 days but I don't know if/when this will come into effect.
Hope this helps Philipp, if everything else is in order, you should have no trouble.
Cheers,
Brian

Hi Brian,

As the document you provided the link for says ;

"would a citizen of a VWP country ever need to apply for a visa?

Certain travelers still need to apply for a visa, such as those who plan to work or study in the U.S., stay more than 90 days, or who might otherwise be ineligible for a visa. Travelers previously denied visas, or who have criminal records, or who believe they may be ineligible to enter the U.S. on the VWP, should contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate before attempting to travel on the VWP."

So, when I talked with the US Consulate, they advised simply and clearly, yes I do need a visa, and no, the VWP does not apply in my case. Hence they provided me with a 10 year Multi Entry Visa which now sits in my passport. Does this mean the US Consulate is confused ?

Upon reading that document further, specifically the part about entering the US;

"Entry at a land border crossing point from Canada or Mexico is permitted under the VWP. Travelers who apply for entry at a land border crossing point are not required to present round-trip transportation tickets or arrive at the border entry point aboard a carrier who has signed an agreement with the U.S. to participate in the VWP. All other VWP requirements apply to such travelers."

Entering on my own bike is as you will notice, not covered by this description. Perhaps that's why I received the official advice that I did.

Still, border crossings are a fickle thing, as I noticed when Brasilian customs refused to accept my German issued Carnet de Passage, as the zealous official noticed that Brasil is not listed on the back as one of the countries where the document is valid. In Bolivia, a country which is also not listed, they were happy to see the Carnet..., you figure it out....

Philip is a reasonably honest looking guy, (as long as he's shaved that is )and he should have no problems, although I suspect that Johannes will be arrested...

Cheers

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,
I does appear that you received incorrect advice from the consulate staff in NZ if you intended to stay less than 90 days.
The consulate in Lagos advises the opposite on this type of enquiry as does INS (the organization that actually mans the borders)
Regardless, our clean shaven traveller seems to be set for a problem free crossing. Sounds from your description that Johannes should just turn himself in to the police.
I know what you mean about border crossings being fickle. I'm about to head out on my bike to re-cross some of the more corrupt African ones.
Good luck on the road.
Cheers,
Brian

hi jeremy,

it was so easy to cross the border into the usa, it really surprised us.
when asked if i had a visa, i told them that the usa embassy in germany told me that i didn´t need one and that i could enter on the visa waiver. at this time i was still wary if i would be able to enter the counrty. the guy said yes that this is true and you could hear my fears hit the floor. it the visa waiver cost us 6 usd.
what really surprised me was that we didn´t have to fill out any paperwork for the motorbikes. strange considering the hassle we always had to undergo to cross borders in south and central america.
in the end everybody was very helpful and seriously interested in our trip.

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Live the dream and encompass the spirit of adventure.

Any insurance requirements ??

You will certainly need 3rd party liability insurance in Canada, as it is illegal to drive without it, and you should have it for the US as well.

See the HUBB for a post on this topic:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000154.html

Andy Miller recently got insurance through Sunrise Direct, cost about US$300 for $300k of liability insurance, which was the maximum they would do. It's valid for Canada and USA.

Links to Sunrise and other companies can be found on the Trip Planning page:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tri...cycleInsurance

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Susan Johnson

"It matters not what goal you seek
Its secret here reposes:
You've got to dig from week to week
To get Results or Roses."
Edgar Guest

'One world, two wheels'
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

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Susan Johnson

Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com