On January 21, 2015, the U.S. government implemented changes in the ESTA (visa-free) travel to the United States, resulting from legislation signed by President Obama in December.
The following persons are no longer eligible for travel with the ESTA program:
• Nationals of VWP countries who have traveled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011 (with exceptions for diplomatic or military personnel)
• Nationals of Visa Waiver countries who are also nationals of Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria
Effective immediately, the ESTA registrations of individuals in one of these two groups are revoked. Travelers who subsequently apply for ESTA registration and provide information that they have the nationality of one of these four countries or have traveled there after March 1, 2011 will have their requests rejected. There is the possibility of applying for a waiver of this bar on visa-free travel when applying for ESTA by providing information on the reasons for the travel to these countries. However, except for exceptional circumstances decided on a case-by-case basis, travel with the ESTA program will not be approved in these cases.
The individuals affected by these new regulations must then apply for a visa at a US consulate in order to travel to the United States. The consular officer will question them about their previous travel to these countries. However, we believe that all or most of applicants with previous travel to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria will be issued visas.
The official press releases of the US Department of State and the US Department of Homeland Security on these procedural changes can be found here:
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/01/251577.htm
http://www.dhs.gov/news/2016/01/21/united-states-begins-implementation-changes-visa-waiver-program
Please contact US Visa Consulting if you have any questions on the new ESTA regulations, or if you would like assistance in applying for a visa.