In message , Roland Perry
writes
In message , at 07:35:52 on Sat, 24
May 2008, Martin Edwards remarked:
Funnily enough, a chap I know went to Boston a couple of months ago,
for a six-month fellowship at Harvard. Couldn't get a visa appointment
in London within any reasonable time-scale so had to fly to Belfast
and stay overnight.

The last time I went to the States, only about a year and a half ago,
you didn't need a visa. Has this changed?

Were you going as a tourist or to a business meeting, and for no more
than three months?

Those are the usual qualifications for not needing a Visa.

AND being a citizen of one of

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino,
Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom

BUT not

holding a passport indicating that the bearer is a British Subject,
British Dependent Territories Citizen, British Overseas Citizen, British
National (Overseas) Citizen, or British Protected Person

AND

travelling on a valid, machine readable or e-passport with an electronic
chip

PLUS

if entering the United States by air or sea, holding a return or onward
ticket and entering the United States aboard an air or sea carrier that
has agreed to participate in the visa waiver program

OR

if entering the United States by land from Canada or Mexico, in
possession of a completed form I-94W, issued by the immigration
authorities at the port of entry, and a $6.00 fee, payable only in U.S.
dollars

AND NOT

being a person who has been arrested, even if the arrest did not result
in a criminal conviction, with criminal records, (the Rehabilitation of
Offenders Act does not apply to U.S. visa law), has certain serious
communicable illnesses, who has been refused admission into, or has been
deported from the United States, or has previously overstayed on the
visa waiver programme

So there are many reasons why someone might need a visa.
--
Goalie of the Century