Budapest's Public Outreach on Visa Waiver Program and ESTA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUDAPEST 001076

SIPDIS

STATE For CA/VO/F/P:Tim Smith, Abby Rupp and Brenda Grewe; for
CA/P:Steve Royster; and for EUR: Ivan Weinstein

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL CMGT CVIS HU
SUBJECT: Budapest's Public Outreach on Visa Waiver Program and ESTA

Ref: A) State 78375 B) State 118460


1. Summary: Embassy Budapest has engaged in active public and
media outreach related to the Visa Waiver Program dating back to the
commencement of the Roadmap process for Hungary, and redoubled
efforts following the passage of the legislation last summer. Post
seized upon the October 17 White House announcement on Visa Waiver
Program (VWP) expansion and October 28 visit to Hungary of Secretary
Chertoff to generate additional media attention and public interest
in both our website information and public outreach events. As the
November 17 effective date for Hungary's VWP admission approaches,
Post is focused upon informing the public, travel industry, and
other stakeholders on ESTA and other applicable requirements. End
Summary.


2. Post conducted numerous interviews, media roundtables, public
outreach, and webforums following the passage of legislation in
summer 2006. As a result, key media outlets and key public
constituencies were already well aware of the broad brush strokes of
the ESTA system and of other key requirements for VWP travel. Often
in media interviews, interviewers will feed ConOffs with questions
on any key requirements that have been omitted inadvertently. We
benefit greatly, therefore, from factually accurate reporting in
print and broadcast media.


3. For the October 17 White House announcement, Post scheduled a
reception, including significant media attendance, allowing guests
to view the President's announcement virtually live by AETV feed.
Fortuitously, the Hungarian flag was directly behind the President's
shoulder in the camera shot used for the announcement. The mood of
our Hungarian guests at the event was euphoric, and the media
coverage in the days following conveyed that fully to a wider
public.


4. Coverage was similarly widespread and positive for the October
28 visit to Budapest by Secretary Chertoff. In the press conference
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Minister of Justice and Law
Enforcement Tibor Draskovics and Senior State Secretary for Foreign
Affairs Marta Fekszi, Dr. Fekszi provided a detailed explanation of
ESTA using screen shots of the actual ESTA site and illustrating the
difference between the newer Hungarian e-passport and its precursor.
Local media coverage following the event included several accurate,
detailed explanations of the system.


5. Post also sought to update the Embassy website with early and
comprehensive guidance on the changes, especially in view of the
current lack of a Hungarian-language version of the ESTA website.
Immediately following Secretary Chertoff's press conference, we
posted a one-page explanation in both English and Hungarian of
travel under the VWP, the requirement for an ESTA authorization, and
how to tell a Hungarian e-passport from the older version. At the
same time, we posted an informal Hungarian translation of the ESTA
screens to assist travelers in navigating the website and completing
the form, along with a Hungarian translation of the ESTA help pages.
When we later, received the VWP checklist from
http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/VWP-QUICKREF. pdf, we translated that
as well and made it available immediately at our website.


6. In the two weeks leading up to November 17, Post either has
completed or will complete the following outreach events:

October 20, live interview by ConOff on HirTV.

October 28, press conference with Secretary Chertoff and Hungarian
counterparts. Thirty media representatives were in attendance and
the event was widely covered.

November 4, Information Table at the AmCham Election Night event
attended by nearly 2500 guests.

November 5, outreach to local travel agents at the American Corner
in Debrecen. Eleven attendees.

November 6, outreach to public and local travel agents at the
American Corner in Pecs. Fifteen attendees.

November 6, live interview by Consular Section Chief on Duna
Television.

November 7, ESTA briefing for Budapest travel agents. Twenty-five
attendees.

November 10, outreach to public and local travel agents at the
American Corner in Eger.

November 12, outreach to public and local travel agents at the
American Corner in Veszprem.


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November 12, ConOff will answer questions live as part of a call-in
program on Magyar Radio.

November 13, ESTA and VWP briefing for airline personel.

November 13, Webforum to answer questions from general public.

Post anticipates that additional press interviews are likely to
materialize as well during this time and in the days following
November 17. Also, both the Public Affairs and Consular Sections are
fielding also a steady stream of telephone, e-mail and other
inquiries from the public and media.


7. In routine inquiries from the public, questions from the press,
and even in discussions with government interlocutors, Post
frequently receives specific technical questions that are not
addressed or answered at the Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
website or in any of the materials or guidance received from
Washington. Although Post has been able in several cases to obtain
informal guidance by e-mail from contacts in DHS or CA, Post urges
that significantly more practical public guidance be made available
about ESTA and about how it operates, both at the time a traveler
applies for authorization and at the time he or she applies for
admission to the United States. Likewise, there needs to be
guidance available on the role and responsibilities of airlines, and
this guidance must be available for the majority of Posts like
Budapest at which there is no CBP presence.


8. Specifically, Post is receiving inquiries, including
Congressional correspondence, regarding travel under the Visa Waiver
Program by applicants refused under INA Section 214(b),often at the
interview window seconds after the refusal. Many of these
applicants continue to closely resemble intending immigrants. The
Hungarian public and their invitors in the United States appear to
assume that these refusals will impact the individual's eligibility
for ESTA, contrary to Post's understanding. While we wait for more
formal guidance, Post continues to refer people to the VWP checklist
(see para 5),which implies through ommision that previous refusals
will not impact eligibility. Post would, nonetheless, welcome clear
guidance that will assist these applicants in making their travel
plans. If Post's understanding is correct that 214(b) refusals will
not be considered in ESTA, how will these factors be considered at
Ports of Entry with respect to INA Section 212(a)(7)(A)?


9. Lastly, it would be very helpful to Posts if DHS or CBP would
designate a "help desk" contact for Posts' questions or technical
issues involving ESTA and VWP. For all practical purposes, consular
sections overseas function as the only available customer support
for foreign language inquiries, and need a streamlined procedure for
requesting authoritative answers to questions from the traveling
public. A separate information contact for questions from the
public, however, would also be extremely helpful for at least the
English-speaking public. The "Ask a question" function at the CBP
website is unfortunately somewhat unwieldy and also possesses an
overly-long URL that can not be easily pasted into an e-mail or
quoted in a media interview. As we understand, the
ESTAsupport@dhs.gov e-mail address is for systems-related technical
problems only.

Foley