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DHS travel program requires early registration

International travelers who plan to visit the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program must register online in advance under a new border security requirement that takes effect Jan. 12.

The policy change applies to the foreign national dependents of U.S. service members, including those who travel to the U.S. via military aircraft, including space-available flights.

The Visa Waiver Program applies to citizens of 35 allied and friendly nations who want to visit the U.S. for 90 days or less, and who have a machine-readable passport issued by their home country.

Many countries on the waiver eligibility list are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or are militarily allied with the U.S., such as South Korea and Japan.

The new procedures are part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization.

For additional details about ESTA, and application procedures, access one of the following Web sites — http://www.travel.state.gov, or https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov.

Countries on the waiver list are: Andorra, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and.