Entry into the USA will be more expensive, but also more convenient
The United States has increased border crossing fees. In addition, digital facial recognition should speed up the entry procedure. However, there is a catch.
Long-distance travel is becoming easier again. Corona restrictions are falling in many places. So also in the USA
Quelle: picture alliance/dpa
Dhe timing is perfect. In time for the summer holidays, the USA is signaling that tourists are welcome. Among other things, the fact that the entry procedure was changed. So far, many people have seen this as not particularly courteous, rather as strict and time-consuming.
In future, travel to the USA will continue to begin online with ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. Here all travelers have to register at least 72 hours before departure and work through a long list of personal questions. The US border authorities want to know a lot of things before they give their approval for entry.
Shortly before the ESTA form is sent, the payment request comes. Fees were increased from $14 to $21 at the end of May. The last fee increase before that was in 2015.
Nothing has changed in the ESTA validity of two years. It is interesting, however, that the actual processing fee only accounts for four dollars of the fee. The remaining $17 goes into advertising for the holiday destination USA. This means that every traveler helps finance the marketing and advertising campaigns designed to boost tourism.
The corona test obligation has been lifted
Because of Corona, the United States was closed to foreigners for almost two years. The travel ban has only been in effect since November 2021. This is also the reason why the country is banking on a travel boom this summer. Appropriately, the US health authority CDC has lifted the corona test requirement for foreigners since June 12.
Until then, the rule was that every passenger had to show a negative test that was not older than 24 hours. However, in its quarterly review of the corona measures, the CDC found that the current situation makes it possible to abolish the obligation to test for foreigners over the summer months.
Before Corona, long queues were not unusual when entering the USA
Quelle: picture alliance/dpa/Brenna but in Leo Season/AP
The background was that the US travel industry questioned the obligation given the fact that travel restrictions and corona rules were being relaxed worldwide. In this case, it didn’t matter whether someone had been vaccinated or had recovered from corona disease. The test was mandatory.
The obligation to test can be reintroduced at any time if the corona situation requires it. And the US still insists that all travelers – except US citizens – have proof of a Covid vaccination. Anyone who cannot be vaccinated must prove this accordingly.
Software checks faces
The US border protection agency CBP (Customs and Border Protection), on the other hand, promises shorter waiting times. This is because digital automatic face comparison has been installed at all US international airports. That was no small task, because of the approximately 5,000 public US airports, around 160 have the opportunity to carry out border controls.
The “Simplified Arrival” entry procedure can now begin with the summer season. The person entering the country is photographed at the counter and the comparison with the passport photo takes place automatically. The border officials no longer have to use their eyes to compare whether the picture and the person match. The biometric technology achieves a hit rate of over 98 percent.
Biometric facial recognition – here at Hamburg Airport – is becoming the standard in the USA
Quelle: picture alliance/dpa
If you want to avoid the biometric procedure, you still have the option of being inspected personally by the border officials – although this could extend the time it takes to enter the country.
Nevertheless, there are arguments for accepting a longer waiting period. Because nobody knows exactly what happens to the photo files taken upon entry. The agency vaguely says most foreigners’ photos are stored on a secure system operated by the Department of Homeland Security.
But whose photos end up in the digital archives of the United States Department of Homeland Security, for how long and for what purposes is still unknown. Photos of US citizens will be deleted within 12 hours.