{"id":445,"date":"2020-03-24T15:12:27","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T20:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu.master-7rqtwti-ytf57z7frat4e.us-2.platformsh.site\/isss\/?page_id=445"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:14:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:14:22","slug":"visa-waiver-program","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/isss\/employees-visitors\/visa-categories\/visa-waiver-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Visa Waiver Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/travel.state.gov\/content\/travel\/en\/us-visas\/tourism-visit\/visa-waiver-program.html\">Visa Waiver Program<\/a> enables citizens from certain countries to travel to the United States for periods of up to 90 days without obtaining visas. Find a complete list of eligible countries on the <a href=\"https:\/\/travel.state.gov\/content\/travel\/en\/us-visas\/tourism-visit\/visa-waiver-program.html\">Department of State website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Important:<\/b> All visitors coming under the VWP are required by law to obtain travel authorization prior to entering the United States. This authorization is obtained online through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbp.gov\/travel\/international-visitors\/esta\">Electronic System for Travel Authorization<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>VWP status allows the visitor to stay for a period of up to 90 days. <b>No extensions are allowed. Change to another status in the U.S. is not allowed.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When planning for an overseas visitor who receives an honorarium payment or reimbursement of expenses, the hosting department should contact the <a href=\"https:\/\/hr.missouri.edu\/payroll\/tax-information-nonresident-aliens\">Nonresident Alien Taxation Office<\/a> for a preliminary review of the visitor&#8217;s tax obligations. During the brief stay, the visitor also must meet with the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Entering the U.S. in VWP status<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visitor receives a <b>letter of invitation<\/b> from the hosting Mizzou department (refer to sample letter below). The letter must include:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Statement of invitation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Exact dates of visit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Purpose of the trip<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Activities during the visit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Funding source information<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Visitor <b>obtains travel authorization<\/b> through <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbp.gov\/travel\/international-visitors\/esta\">ESTA<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Visitor enters the U.S.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Visitor presents to the customs officer:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Passport<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mizzou letter of invitation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Proof of funding\/support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about claiming tax benefits, tax treaty exemptions from withholding of federal tax and payment for persons in visitor status, <a href=\"https:\/\/hr.missouri.edu\/payroll\/tax-information-nonresident-aliens\">consult the Nonresident Alien Taxation Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-mizzou-accordion miz-accordion\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"miz-button miz-accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" data-miz-expand=\"ea46b44d-8337-4b72-b21a-5ab7f95312cc\"><span>Sample invitation letter<\/span><\/button><div class=\"miz-accordion__content\" id=\"ea46b44d-8337-4b72-b21a-5ab7f95312cc\">\n<p>To Whom It May Concern:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>This letter is submitted in support of the non-immigrant status application for a VWP status for [<strong>name of visitor<\/strong>].<\/p>\n\n\n\n[<strong>Name of visitor<\/strong>] is currently employed as a [<strong>title<\/strong>] in [<strong>area<\/strong>]. The [<strong>name of department<\/strong>] at the University of Missouri in Columbia would like to invite [<strong>name of visitor<\/strong>] to participate in [<strong>purpose<\/strong>] from [<strong>start date<\/strong>] to [<strong>end date<\/strong>].<\/p>\n\n\n\n[<strong>Name of visitor<\/strong>]\u2019s activities will include [<strong>list all activities<\/strong>].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an invited business visitor, the University of Missouri will reimburse [<strong>name of visitor<\/strong>] for the actual transportation and travel charges, which may include round trip airfare, lodging, meals, conference fees and other expenses based on actual receipts for these items. <em>[This paragraph should not be included if no reimbursements will be made.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore we respectfully ask for a VWP status to be given to [<strong>name of visitor<\/strong>] for entry into the United States for the above business purpose.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Visa Waiver Program enables citizens from certain countries to travel to the United States for periods of up to 90 days without obtaining visas. Find a complete list of eligible countries on the Department of State website. Important: All visitors coming under the VWP are required by law to obtain travel authorization prior to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":139,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-445","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3408,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/445\/revisions\/3408"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}