On August 6, 2010, United States Customs & Border Protection (“USCBP”) announced an interim final rule that amends Department of Homeland Security regulations to require travelers from Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”) countries to pay operational and travel promotion fees when applying for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (“ESTA”) registration.

The VWP allows citizens of certain low risk countries to enter the United States as visitors for a period of 90 days or less. As of January 12, 2009, all VWP applicants were required to obtain approval through ESTA prior to traveling to the United States. ESTA is a web-based system, initially launched in August 2008, that determines the preliminary eligibility of visitors to travel under the VWP prior to boarding a carrier to the United States.

The additional fees become effective on September 8, 2010. A fee of $4.00USD will recover the costs incurred by USCBP of providing and administering the ESTA system and is in addition to the mandatory $10.00USD travel promotion fee established by the Travel Promotion Act of 2009, enacted as Section 9 of Public Law 111-145, the United States Capitol Police Administrative Technical Corrections Act of 2009. The total fee for a new or renewed ESTA will be $14.00USD.