1) Supply of personal information before the departure
In order to enhance customs and borders protection system and simplify check-in and boarding procedures on the flights to/from the U.S. or over U.S. airspace to other countries (as, for example: Canada, Mexico and Cuba), US authorities ask each passenger to supply personal information at the time of booking/issue of the ticket or at least 72 hours before your flight's scheduled departure: given names (as they appear on the passport), date of birth, gender and redress number, if available (it’s a code given to certain passengers whose names were added to the No-Fly list by mistake).
Failure to provide your personal information may result in denial of transport or denial of authority to enter the boarding area. As for the tickets booked on Alitalia’s website or through our Call Center, please provide this information to the nearer Alitalia Office.
Mandatory details can be sent or modified online, or via the call centre.
2) Visa Waiver Program
If you are seeking to travel to the US for a stay of 90 days or less, you have a return ticket, your home country or your country of nationality participates in the Visa Waiver Program, you can travel to the US applying for an advance travel authorization called ESTA without obtaining a visa, but only if you have a:
- Machine-readable passport with an integrated chip issued or renewed/extended before 10/26/05
- Machine-readable passport with digital photographs issued or renewed/extended between 10/26/05 and 10/25/06
- E-Passport issued or renewed/extended on or after 10/26/06
Each passenger, including infants and children, must have his/her own passport, in compliance with the above-mentioned standards.
The countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the Netherlands, United Kingdom.
Therefore, if you meet these requirements and you are visiting or transiting in the US, you must apply for an advance travel authorization called E.S.T.A. (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) completing the online ESTA application on the dedicated website; as of September 8, 2010 a $14 payment for this procedure is required and can be done directly on the E.S.T.A website.
The denial of ESTA results in the denial of authority to enter the boarding area.
3) Collection of fingerprints or digital photographs upon arrival in the U.S.
On arrival in the U.S., travellers are subjected to the collection of personal information and the collection of 10 fingerprints and digital photographs at U.S. ports of entry. In order to check the suitability of your identification documents, please contact the US consulate or visit the US Embassy website.
4) Communication of personal data when flying to Canada and Japan
If you are travelling to Canada or Japan you must supply personal data: you can do it directly online.
