USA Visa

Early in the process of arranging my trip I was reading about the entry requirements to travel into the USA. I knew from my brothers travels to America that you did not need a visa to enter the USA and are required to get their fingerprints taken on arrival at a customs entry point.

Then someone told me that some people do require visas to enter the USA and thought that I had better check on the US Consulate website. The website confirmed that Australia does have an agreement with the USA and along with 26 other countries can use the US Government 'Visa Waiver Program' to enter the USA without requiring a visa.

However there is a requirement for some people to obtain visas to enter, some of these people are Sportsman, Business Visitors and Au pairs. Also people with criminal convictions are required to obtain a non residents visa. Criminal Convictions include people with drink driving convictions. I fit into that category as in 1991 I was pulled over and breath tested by the police and returned a positive reading. At a later court hearing I was convicted of Drink Driving. After 17 years my stupidity that day has come back to haunt me.

This is from the US Consulate visa FAQ website -

Q I had a drink driving charge. Do I need a visa?
Applicants with any drink-driving charges are advised to apply for a visa and not to use the Visa Waiver Program. Most short term visitors traveling for business or pleasure apply for a B-1/B-2 business/tourist visa.

I then had to read through the website to find out what I needed to do to apply for the visa. This was not an easy process as there are a few different places where the information is located and each one has slightly different wordings.

I even tried to ring the US Consulate but the recorded message said if you want to speak to someone at the consulate that you will be charged $12 for the phone call. Then tried emailing them but only got an automated reply. I eventually found an email address to the consulate that was listed on a separate page in a forum site and on emailing that address I received a email that answered my questions.

Finally after searching I was required to provide the following at an appointment at the U.S. Consulate:

• My Australian Passport.
• Visa application form, DS-156 Form (Nonimmigrant Visa Application) this 3 page form has to be typed online and when completed you print it out and it is printed with an individual barcode printed on the form. This form has to be presented to the Consulate when you appear for the Visa appointment.
• DS-157 Supplemental Application Form - Any male applicants between the ages of 16 and 45 from any country or all applicants who are citizens of Iran, Syria, Cuba, North Korea and Sudan must also submit this form. (I just made the cutoff, in another 4 months I would have been 45 and not needed to fill in the form)
• A photo of myself. (similar to a passport photo although it can be either in colour or black and white) This is to be stapled to the DS-156 form.
• Application Fee (also known as the Machine Readable Visa Fee)
  It has to be paid before you go for the visa interview at any Australia Post Office. It is a non-refundable fee. They do not allow you to pay any other form of payment.
  The current application fee is USD $131. (The AUD equivalent was at that time $150.65)You must ensure you bring the original receipt for this payment with you to the interview as it is the first thing you are asked to show.
• A self-addressed envelope, either a Express Post Platinum envelope, Registered Post envelope or courier satchel for the return of your documents. (I used a registered post envelope and they returned my passport with the completed USA Visa in it)
• A copy of the Court transcript from my drink driving charge. This normally would cost a fee to retrieve the information from the NSW Law Courts office but I rang the court house where I appeared and they found the transcript and copied it for me at no cost. Being from 1991 it was not on any computer and the court attendant had to search though the court archives for it. It did not help that when they asked me the date of the court hearing I gave them the date I was charged at the police station not the court hearing date - 4 months apart.
• Any other documents that may assist the application. I placed the BCCA magazine with all the Canvention information in with my documents and a copy of my travel arrangements.