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Starting from the January of 2009 all the airline passengers arriving to USA will have to give detailed information about themselves to the American officers.
The special online form that has been developed by the Department of Homeland Security should be filled-in minimum three days before the flight.
Such measures will affect 15 million people entering USA within the Visa Waiver program that covers most of the European countries including Great Britain. The American authorities want to know what people come to the country without visa.
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that they plan to launch the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) on the 12-th of January 2009. The travelers will have to give biographic data, number of the flight, destination and also give answers to several questions concerning their health, previous convictions, visa problems and others.
Those who will not be able to pass the online check will have to apply for the American visa.
All the gathered information will be stored in the archives of the Department of Homeland Security during 15 years. It is supposed that this initiative will reduce the risk of the terroristic attacks and will increase the security of the air transportation. |
