US-INS Visa Waiver Pilot Program in the Caribbean

This information may not be accurate.  

Visa Waiver Pilot Program 
in the Caribbean

Citizens of countries authorized to use the Visa Waiver Pilot Program (VWPP) travel to the United States Virgin Islands, daily, by the hundreds.  In order for a vessel or aircraft to carry passengers into the United States, under the VWPP, the vehicle must be what is called a “Signatory Carrier.”  The I-94W can be revalidated.  Once initial entry into the United States has been made under the VWPP, via a signatory carrier, the visitor can board a private vessel for travel around the islands of the Caribbean.  

A Signatory Carrier is a carrier which has signed an agreement with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.  This agreement, among other things, promises the Immigration Service, that should any of the VWPP applicants not be admissible upon application for entry, the carrier will provide transportation back to a country the applicant arrived from.

In the Caribbean, the VWPP applicant can reuse their green I-94W (called revalidation) for the duration of its validity or until the visitor departs the Caribbean (whichever comes first).  This means that the visitor can come and go from the U.S. Virgin Islands to other Caribbean islands as many times he or she would like until the expiration of the green I-94W.

The green I-94W is valid for 90 days and extensions are not permitted.  Under this program the visa requirement is waived and there are several questions on the reverse side of the form that must be answered prior to admission into the United States.

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