Sailing to the USA. Do I need a special visa?

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I have been offered the opportunity to join a lovely, privately owned yacht that is sailing from Antigua to Florida. It's a US-flagged sailing boat and I am a UK resident and passport holder. Someone told me I should have a B1/B2 visa to do this, but I won't be able to get one in time. It's not a paid job, so can I enter with an ESTA? I would love to hear what you think, and in particular, if anyone has first-hand experience of arriving by yacht with an ESTA. :-)
 
I had the pleasure of a five hour "voluntary" interview 20 years ago after my skipper hadn't realised I needed a visa to enter Puerto Rico - after which I had to leave pronto anyway. I wouldn't take any risk at all now. Either get the right visa or find something else to do - there is zero wiggle room.
 
Minerva said:
B1/B2 visa
5 years social media history and passwords (this forum will count too)
Your DNA sample
Biometrics

If it were me, you couldn’t pay me to go.
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My wife and I got B1/B2 visas fairly recently and we certainly didn’t have to supply DNA. Biometrics are taken by many countries including some European ones. I don’t think there’s anything sinister in it as far as I’m concerned but I know opinions differ. Depends what you intend to do I guess? The social media background check is being talked about but I don’t believe it’s been instigated yet. Of course I may be wrong and I frequently am. Ask my wife.

For the OP I believe the only other way of sailing into the USA on a private yacht is to call in the British Virgin Islands and get a commercial ferry across to the US Virgin Islands where they will process your ESTA Visa as you’re on an ‘official carrier’. You can then get to the ferryback to the British Virgin Islands and sail into the USA. At least that’s what I’ve been told by others. As mentioned above both my wife and I have B1 B2 visas so entered US Waters using those.

How long is the wait for an interview at the US embassy? When we booked an interviewed we were virtually waved through and our passports with B1/B2 visas arrived a couple of days later. In fact, talk about profiling, we were actually pulled out of the queue and processed quickly.
 
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When you apply for the B1, B2 online there is a tiny check box that you check for the rapid service. You will have to go to London for an interview (I assume you are British). You can get one within a week if ticked and can justify it, I used the fast service for mine.
 
My 1970 passport has a B1&B2 US visa, valid indefinitely, obtained for a business trip. My 1980 passport has a note from the passport office mentioning this, and saying the visa is meant to continue to be valid even though that passport has been cancelled. Nevertheless there is a fresh visa in the subsequent passport, and the "B1" has been crossed out, though I don't know why.

I, together with the rest of the two crew, got a B1/B2 visa valid for ~10 years, to sail a flotilla yacht from BVI to USVI in 2001.
 
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mjcoon said:
My 1970 passport has a B1&B2 US visa, valid indefinitely, obtained for a business trip. My 1980 passport has a note from the passport office mentioning this, and saying the visa is meant to continue to be valid even though that passport has been cancelled. Nevertheless there is a fresh visa in the subsequent passport, and the "B1" has been crossed out, though I don't know why.

I, together with the rest of the two crew, got a B1/B2 visa valid for ~10 years, to sail a flotilla yacht from BVI to USVI in 2001.
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My first B1/B2 visas were 'indefinite', 85 and 95, but I believe they are now for the life of the passport only
 
Friends were able to cruise on an ESTA a couple of years ago but they stressed to me that they later found out that this shouldn't have been possible, and they strongly advised me to not attempt to do the same.

Rules seem to be open to interpretation by individual officers, and some can clearly be quite overzealous (another friend was hauled over the coals in Maine for not possessing a form that he should have filled out five months earlier in Florida. None of the intervening states seemed to care about it).

We had to go down to London for our B1/B2 interviews, which was all very straightforward in the end.

Watching warily about the social media inquisition. I'm sure I've only ever said completely true and honest things about Dear Leader so I should be fine. Shouldn't I??
 
Sea Change said:
I'm sure I've only ever said completely true and honest things about Dear Leader so I should be fine. Shouldn't I??
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I think that many people are hoping that Dear Leader will cross the bar / pop his clogs soon, and that the Rethuglicans will lose their majorities in the mid-term elections next year.
Keep your toes crossed (a bit difficult to keep fingers crossed when you have to handle lines often). :)

Re visas, I applied for one here in Barbados in 1987 - I was on a (sort of) gap year after Uni in Southampton, and I had sailed out here in the first ARC, and I was planning on sailing back to high latitudes that summer if I could find a crewing position.
When I went for my interview at the US Embassy, this heavyset gent with bulging eyes (the forerunner of a MAGA?) asked me why I wanted to visit the USA?
I told him that I really wasn't planning on visiting the USA, as I wanted to sail to Europe, but I thought it would be a useful thing to have a visa for the USA in case I did happen to end up there (and this was long before ESTAs were invented).
He was gobsmacked. He could not get his head around how I didn't want to visit Uncle Sam country.
"We will give you a 6 months visa, that's all!".
Cool.
As it turned out, I didn't find a crewing position going back across the Atlantic - but I did get a job as delivery crew on a big motorsailer going from Antigua to Newport, Rhode Island via Bermuda. So my visa came in very handy indeed.
We were cleared in at Newport by a lovely Customs gentleman who gave me a 6 month stamp in my passport, never mind that my visa only had 4 months left on it. He later acquired quite a reputation amongst visiting yachties from overseas, for being so nice to them. And when I arrived there again 9 years later in the summer of 1995 he was still there, and he cleared us in very cheerfully while we were doing our laundry in the launderette next door to the Customs House.
 
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Bajansailor said:
He was gobsmacked. He could not get his head around how I didn't want to visit Uncle Sam country.
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We've come across this attitude before. People are amazed that we've never visited the States before.
Out of politeness, I have refrained from asking if they've visited Scotland.
I also try not to say that I'm only in the US because it's the only sensible way to get out of the hurricane zone and tropical temperatures for the summer, that doesn't involve crossing an ocean.
 
For those not taking their phones and social media getting checked seriously ...

Entities Using or Recommending Burner Phones for US Travel
  • The European Commission: This is the primary example of an official body that provides its commissioners and staff with "burner" phones and wiped laptops for official travel to the US. This policy is the same measure traditionally reserved for trips to countries like Russia and China, reflecting concerns about potential US espionage or data access.
  • Canadian Authorities and Institutions: The Canadian government has updated its travel guidance to warn citizens about potential phone searches. In response, several Canadian institutions, including the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Arts and various private corporations, have advised staff or offered "clean" devices for US travel.
  • Private Companies: Various private companies, particularly those in the defense industry, have had long-standing policies requiring similar precautions for all international travel, including to the US, to protect proprietary or sensitive information under Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs).
  • Legal & Privacy Experts: Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and individual legal counsel have noted anecdotally that some travelers and foreign businesspeople are increasingly considering or using burner phones to protect their data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) searches.

Reasons for This Practice
The practice stems from the broad authority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to search electronic devices at the border without a warrant or specific suspicion. Refusing to provide access can lead to device confiscation, significant delays, or denial of entry for non-U.S. citizens.
By using burner devices, organizations aim to mitigate the risk of:
  • Espionage and the installation of malware or spyware.
  • Unauthorized access to sensitive company, personal, or governmental data, including information under NDA.
  • Issues related to free speech or political opinions expressed on social media that might cause an individual to be flagged or denied entry.
Note: Some legal and travel risk advisors suggest that traveling with a completely wiped or "burner" phone might, in some cases, raise suspicion with CBP officers who are trained to look for unusual behavior. Travelers are advised to weigh the benefits and risks based on their specific circumstances and consult official guidance or legal counsel.
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This was Googles AI response to the search "companies using burner phones to visit the US" with numerous links to reliable reporting and incidences of problems entering the USA, some quite disturbing. You will only be forced to hand over your phone, tablet or laptop - and unlock it and the accounts on it - if the border guard you are dealing with deems it necessary. They can do this on the spot without a warrant. They can trawl through everything on your phone, laptop, tablet checking anything on the device, and decisions have been made where people have been refused entry due to photos or social media posts which are deemed to contradict answers given on the ESTA Application. This is an arbitrary, binding decision made by the border guard and can not be appealed.

I personally will not travel to the USA while this in force as this post could get me refused entry and the ticket would have been a waste of money, not to mention the costs associated with repatriation. I'm waiting this administration out, and hopefully it will become more tourist friendly in the future.
 
The USA is an incredible country to visit. Its national parks offer vistas that are stunning. There are amazing road trips as well as sailing destinations. I have never been asked to show my social media or have my phone scrutinised. 2026 would probably have been a good year for tourist deals to the US if it was not for the World Cup. Social media comments are fairly open and easily scrutinised from outside your phone unless you have been very careful curating your posts securely. The chances of being scrutinised are low unless your behaviour to the USA has attracted attention.
 
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