I'm a Colombian citizen with a valid Colombian passport and a
permanent resident in Italy (Europe) with a valid and permanent
"soggiorno".
I want to travel to USA to visit my sister (she is a legal resident).

Do I need a non-permanent visa to enter the US?

Or the Italian residency allows me to use the Visa Waiver Program that Italy have?

I do have a machine redable and valid Colombian passport.

Hello ggottheil,

As the disclaimer at the bottom of this page notes, answers and
comments provided on Google Answers are general information, and are
not intended to substitute for informed professional legal advice.

The U.S. State Department states that the visa waiver program applies
to nationals of certain countries who present a machine-readable
passport and meet certain other conditions.

"Visa Waiver Program (VWP)"
U.S. Department of State
http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html

The U.S. embassy in Italy states that one may travel without a visa as
part of the Visa Waiver Program only if, among other conditions, "you
hold an individual, machine-readable, passport from a Country which is
part of the Visa Waiver Program."

"Visa Waiver Program" (Last Updated: June 28, 2005)
United States Diplomatic Mission to Italy
http://www.usembassy.it/cons/visa-vwp-en.htm

The U.S. embassy in Colombia indicates that "citizens" of countries in
the Visa Waiver can travel without a visa under certain conditions;
otherwise, according to the embassy, the person must apply for a visa.

"Visa Waiver Program -- Who does not need a tourist visa?" (Updated: 18/II/05)
United States Embassy, Bogotá, Colombia
http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsc123.shtml

- justaskscott


Search strategy --

Searched on Google for:

italy embassy
colombia embassy

Browsed embassy sites and followed links to other sites.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by ggottheil-ga on 27 Jul 2005 15:53 PDT

I found all this sites myself. I do not consider the question
answered. My question was very clear:

As a resident of Italy do I need a turist visa to enter US?

Almost all countries treat all US Residents, green card holders not
residents, as if they where US citizens and do not require visas from
them, Italy included.

---

Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 27 Jul 2005 17:07 PDT

Essentially, the answer is that, as a resident of Italy and citizen of
Colombia, you do need a tourist visa to enter the US.  (Please note
again the disclaimer that this is general information and not
professional legal advice.)  I'm sorry that you do not like my answer.

I believe that the pages I cited, especially from the U.S. embassy in
Italy, support this answer.  (I did not -- and could not -- know that
you had seen these pages already.)

If you ask subsequent questions on Google Answers, and do not like an
answer, you should consult this section of the Google Answers FAQ:

"Answers to your questions"
Google Answers
http://answers.google.com/answers/faq.html#aboutanswers

Did not answer the sepcific question, just sent a few links that I found myself.

My understanding is that Italian citizens do qualify for the VWP but
you must provide an Italian passport.

As justscott said "you
hold an individual, machine-readable, passport from a Country which is
part of the Visa Waiver Program."

Columbia is not part of the VWP. Therefore, regardless of your
citizenship if you do not have a passport from one of the countries
listed you will not qualify.

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

Here is a clear answer:
YES, Columbians need a visa to visit the United States regardless of
what Permesso you have.  Unless you have an Italian Passport, you must
obtain a visa.  The Rome Embassy in on the Via Veneto across from the
Hard Rock, the Milano Consulate is at Piazza Stati Uniti d'America,
the Florence one is somewhere near Santa Maria Novella, and the Naples
Consulate is near Mergellina.  Here is some advice, unless you have
been in Italy for more than five years, you won't get the visa.  This
is not legal advice, it is your $100 application fee.