US Waiver Programs

I was asked about the different United States Visa Waiver Programs and so wrote about them below. The information I found is from different US Government websites and I believe to be valid. 

- The United States (the 50 States, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) has had the Visa Waiver Program since 1986. It allows the citizens of: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom to visit the US  (the 50 States, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) for up to 90 days by registering with ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) and paying $14. 

- Canadian citizens have never needed a visa to enter the US (the 50 States, DC, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa) and can stay for up to 6 months with no ESTA.

- Citizens of Bermuda using the Bermudan Territorial Passport (and not the British Passport) can stay in the US (the 50 States, DC, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands) for up to 90 days with no ESTA. 

- The citizens of the Compact of Free Association countries: the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau do not need a visa to enter, reside, study, and work indefinitely in the United States (the 50 States, DC, Puerto Pico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam or the Mariana Islands) with no ESTA.

- The citizens of: the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands do not need a visa to enter the US (the 50 States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) if they arrive by air, have a police certificate and use their territorial passport (not the British Passport) with no ESTA.

- The citizens of the Bahamas can enter the US (the 50 States, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) if they have a police certificate and arrive by air from one of the two Pre-Clearance Airports (Nassau and Freeport) with no ESTA.

- There is a separate Visa Waiver Program for the US Territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. It was created in 1988 and the citizens of the US Mainland Visa Waiver Program (Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom) along with the citizens of: China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea and Russia to visit those two US territories for 45 days with no ESTA.

There is a separate Visa Waiver Program for the US Territory of American Samoa and the citizens of the US Mainland Visa Waiver Program except those from Ireland (Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom) can visit for 30 days with ESTA. Citizens of Samoa can visit for up to 30 days with no ESTA.

- US Citizens and Nationals can enter, reside, study, and work indefinitely in the US Territories of:  Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa (with no Passport needed if flying directly from the US Mainland or another US Territory.)