A colleague of mine, a German citizen who works freelance, is supposed to be travelling to the U.S. next month to attend a conference as part of my (UK-based) company's team. But given the number of people who have recently been held up at the border, he is feeling on edge about going, and I'm wondering if there's anything we can do to ease the process.

From what I understand, German citizens just need an ESTA visa to enter the US for something short-term like a conference. He has a return ticket booked (staying about 5 days in total).

Has anybody here entered the U.S. recently using ESTA? Did you notice anything different/have any issues entering? Is there anything we can recommend to ensure the entry goes smoothly?

Thanks!

(Edited to add the links that state that ESTA is sufficient for conferences:
– https://globalconference.ca/do-i-need-a-us-visa-for-a-conference/#:~:text=Can%20I%20Enter%20the%20US,than%20applying%20for%20a%20visa

– https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/business.html )

by adsizkiz

2 comments

  1. >to attend a conference as part of my (UK-based) company’s team

    That needs a B1 visa afaik, as it is a work event. Doing this with ESTA is illegal. And now it looks like it gets you arrested indefinitely instead of being sent back on the next plane.

  2. He will be fine.
    The cases that got in trouble – if you look into the details you will find they all attempted something illegal.
    – The tattoo artist that planned to work in the US in a regulated business.
    – The scientist that had classified material on his personal device in violation of his NDA with the US government.
    – The guy that missed his court date for a drug offense…
    And so on.
    What is happening is that CBP currently doesn’t overlook illegal things anymore like they did in the past.

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