Travel question of the day: Simon Calder on untangling America's red tape

Have a travel question that needs answering? Ask our expert Simon Calder

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Q Myself and my partner are travelling to Newark, US, for a week in December. I have a new passport but my partner has a passport issued in March 2008 (with an integrated chip). Is this passport valid for entry - I believe I read somewhere that only ePassports issued after December 2008 are valid? Also, please could you also advise if the US Visa Waiver Program is the same as Esta, or are these two separate things we need to apply for before travelling?

Leigh Waters

A It can be a complicated issue. I’ll answer your last question first, because it helps with the others.

The US Visa Waiver Program has been going for almost 30 years. It allows British travellers - and many other nationalities - to go to America on holiday or for business without going through the onerous procedure for obtaining a full US visa. Initially it required only a form (known as the I94W) to be filled in, which is still the case when you enter the US by road, rail or ferry. But since 2008, passengers on airlines and cruise ships who wish to enter using the Visa Waiver Program must undergo pre-screening. This is an online process known as Esta - the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, for which you have to go to esta.cbp.dhs.gov, answer lots of questions and pay $14 (£10). So the brief answer is: Esta is the part of the Visa Waiver Program that most British travellers have to comply with.

Next, the Americans have recently toughened up on rules for anyone seeking to enter the US without a visa, and now stipulate that only “biometric” or “ePassports” are acceptable.

I have checked with HM Passport Office, which assures me: “The last non-biometric passport was issued in October 2006.” I have no idea where you got the impression that “only ePassports issued after December 2008” are acceptable. So nothing to worry about (except the constant possibility that, even with a valid Esta, any visitor to the US runs the risk of being turned away).

Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder