What documentation does a visitor using ESTA need to carry?
 

I entered the US using ESTA about two weeks ago thru BOS and was very surprised when the CBP officer requested to see a copy of my itinerary. I offered to show him my complete itinerary on TripIt or in my e-mail but as phones are not allowed in that area, he wouldn't have any of it. So we went back en forth a bit about how this is ALWAYS a requirement (according to him) when entering the US using ESTA and me pointing out that I've been in the US on a regular basis without this. The CBP officer almost got angry when I pointed out that I had been in NYC on vacation 30 days before without being asked for a printed itinerary. "You must have been!" was his response.

Finally, he asked me if I had a business card or something else that would substantiate that I had an employer back home in Sweden.

Having travelled back and forth to the US and about 60 other countries on a very frequent basis over the last 10 years and never heard about this "requirement" before, I was very surprised by this whole debacle and decided to do some research.

I found that most airlines have a disclaimer that one should print the itinerary but there is nothing on the CBP website that says that I need anything except a customs form, a valid passport and a valid ESTA. I sent a question thru the CBP website and very specifically asked about this issue but all I got back was a nonsense response about having a valid ESTA etc.

So, what's the deal? Do I really need to carry an extra piece of dead wood to enter the US or was the CBP officer making up his own rules? If this really is a requirement, where is it officially documented?

There is no requirement that you have a printed copy of your itinerary.

However, as with many countries, including Sweden, it is common to be asked for proof of an onward/return itinerary and prudent to keep a printed copy with you, just as USN's traveling abroad should have a copy of theirs with them.

The underlying issue is not about itineraries but about a concern that you do not have the intent to leave in due course.

And had the CBP officer asked for this, I could have produced a number of things indicating this intent.

I try to make it a point to not argue with immigration officers anywhere - it can just get you into nasty problems, but I also like predictability. In many third world countries I've frequented, it's common for officials to make up their own rules with the sole purpose of having you bribe them to get out of it. That isn't what I expect from the US tbh...

I've entered the US 13 times over the last 8 years. I've only ever been asked to show my itinerary once (and that was to some idiot at JFK T7 who didn't think I could afford my own holiday).

Each year for many years, I frequently enter the US with foreign visitors who are VWP nationals. It is rare that my visitors are asked for a printed itinerary unless the airline and/or CBP thinks they are a one-way itinerary; and even then, it is rare for the CBP to ask them for a printed itinerary on arrival in the US or at a US CBP pre-clearance facility.

The last time an immigration type asked me for an itinerary when entering a foreign country without a visa was when traveling into the UK at LHR. There and elsewhere, it's more typically the younger, female and/or ethnic minority passport control types in the US/Canada/UK/Australia/New Zealand that seem to make more of a stink about itineraries when I'm part of the travel party.

Most of my VWP national visitors make their trips to the US with a smartphone with their ticket details and their passport. Printed itinerary or even printed ESTA clearance not required for them to travel to and enter the US.

There is no requirement to carry your itinerary. If this happens again, ask to speak to the supervisor.

VWP use has some conditions associated with it, and some of the conditions associated with VWP use are why CBP may ask to see the itinerary. While it shouldn't hurt to ask to speak to the supervisor -- it may -- and it's likely that the passenger would end up speaking to a supervisor of some sort if the initial encounter with the CBP employee asking for the itinerary doesn't meet the satisfaction of the initial CBP employee and/or whoever is doing the secondary.

Sometimes coming across as playing along works better than trying to use a hammer to hit back.

Showing emails or PDF files from a laptop or phone are certainly allowed in the CBP clearance facility if the CBP wants to see them and demands them.

Perhaps not explicitly, but VWP nationals certainly do need to be able to prove they do not have an intention to immigrate, and showing an itinerary with a flight back from the USA is part of that evidence.

And when you try to enter to the USA using VWP, you waive your right to appeal border agents' decisions. If border agent decides that he is not satisfied with the evidence you can produce, it does not help if you think the law is in your side.

Actually the officer was right. While it is very uncommon for them to ask for an itinerary it is clearly states:

You must also have a round trip ticket indicating return passage to a country* outside the United States.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visa...gram.html#ESTA

So he was right for asking for an itinerary. Usually officers accept itineraries on ipads and smartphones, just pull it up and show it to him, case solved.

Perhaps, perhaps not. "Have" just means you need to own it; "have with you" is stronger and would imply you have to be carrying it. However, as mentioned by Kallio, getting smart with USCBP is rarely wise.