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All passengers who fly to the US, even if they are only in transit (changing planes) must apply for an online ESTA (Electronic Travel Authorisation System) visa before travel. Previously, the visa was free of charge but a couple of days ago a charge for the visa was introduced. There are a lot of websites out there offering visa services and they will charge you the cost of the visa plus an admin charge, so typically they are not good value. The official website is https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov and this is the best port of call to avoid any unnecessary fees.

You also might find the following information useful:

Passports must be valid for 90 days from date of entry to or transit in the US. ALL passengers must have a machine-readable passport. If your British passport is machine-readable it will have at the foot of the personal information page (at the back of the passport) two lines of text as letters, numbers and chevrons (>>>). If there are no lines of text, the passport is not machine-readable and you need a visa. Avoid locking your suitcases if you are transiting via the states – their customs officials retain the right to break into them.

See my colleague Claire’s guide to transitting Miami Airport. Not for the faint-hearted!

 

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Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Lina
    Lina Fuller - Travel Expert

    Lina's passion for the continent where she was born really took off when she moved to Córdoba (Argentina) to study, spending the holidays travelling between Argentina and her native Colombia.

  • Sophie
    Sophie Barber - Travel Expert

    Sophie lived in Chile before joining us and has travelled extensively across Latin America, from Mexico to the furthest tip of Patagonia and beyond to Antarctica.

  • Charlotte
    Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert

    Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

  • Finn Clennett
    Finn Clennett - Travel Expert

  • Carrie
    Carrie Gallagher - Travel Expert

    A former JLA tour leader, Carrie brings a wealth of on-the-ground experience to our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours department.

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