ESTA is an automated system Which is developed by the United States government and gives you
eligibility to travel as a visitor to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and
whether such travel poses any law enforcement or security risk... ESTA and a US Visa are not the
same. The ESTA application process can be completed entirely online and is operated by the
United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ESTA is only a U.S.-entry requirement for
passport holders from visa waiver countries.
Citizens or national of one of the Visa Waiver Program countries listed below are eligible to
submit an application: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.
All visitors from a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) country must apply for Travel Authorization prior
to traveling to the United States by air, land, or sea. Travel Authorization is also required by
children who do not yet require a ticket of their own to travel.
Your ESTA will be valid for two years from the date of authorization or until your passport
expires (whichever comes first), Receiving ESTA authorization does not allow you to stay in the
U.S. for two years. It only allows you to travel to the U.S. under the terms of the Visa Waiver
Program (VWP) and stay in the U.S. for 90 days or less. you can enter and leave the country
several times for a maximum of 90 days. If you plan to stay for longer than 90 days, you must
obtain a visa at the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
Approximately 23 minutes needed to complete this application. To receive respond about travel
authorization usually takes 72 hours. You may receive three possible answers to an electronic
travel authorization application:
Authorization Approved
This means that you are eligible to travel in the United States, but this does not guarantee admission to the United States as a Customs and Border Protection officer at a port of entry will have the final determination.
Travel Not Authorized
You are not allowed to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. This response does not deny entry into the United States. This response only prohibits you from traveling to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. You may be able to obtain a traditional visa from United States embassy.
Authorization Pending
This means that your travel authorization is under review because an immediate determination could not be made for your application. This answer does not indicate negative findings. A determination will usually be available within 72 hours.
- • The passport must have a machine-readable zone on the biographic page.
- • The passport must be an electronic passport with a digital chip containing biometric information about the passport owner.
- • Taiwan passport holders must provide Passport Number and Personal Identification Number (PIN).
EXCEPTION: Visa Waiver Program countries' emergency or temporary passports must be electronic passports.
No. An approved ESTA application does not grant you a visa. It does not meet the legal or regulatory requirements to serve in lieu of a U.S. visa when a visa is required under U.S. law. Individuals traveling on valid visas do not need to apply for ESTA. Individuals who have a valid visa will still be able to travel to the United States on that visa.
ESTA is required pursuant to Section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by Section 711 of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. This legislation required DHS to develop and implement an automated system to determine, in advance of travel, the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States and whether such travel poses a law enforcement or security risk.
ESTA enable DHS to decide the eligibility of individuals to travel to the United States under the VWP program and evaluate whether such travel poses any security risk or law enforcement. ESTA counterbalances vulnerabilities inherent in visa-free travel by adding a layer of advance scrutiny that enables DHS frontline personnel to focus even more on the small population of potentially dangerous travelers.
The Governments of Australia and Canada has a program that is similar to ESTA, first one called the Electronic Travel Authority, and the second one ETA Electronic Travel Authorization. Travelers witch are planning to visit Australia or Canada may submit an application electronically.
Your application data remains active for two years this is a period that ESTA is valid or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. This information will be saved for an additional year by DHS after that it will be archived for 12 years to allow retrieval for law enforcement, national security or investigatory purposes. Once it archived only the number of officials will have access to it. Data linked to active law enforcement lookout records, CBP matches to enforcement activities, and/or investigations or cases, including applications for ESTA that are denied, will remain accessible for the life of the law enforcement activities to which they are related. ESTA has allowed for the automation of the paper I–94W form in the air and sea environment. In those instances, where a VWP traveler is admitted using the automated process, the corresponding admission record will be maintained in accordance with the retention schedule for I–94W, which is 75 years. I–94W and I–94 data are maintained for this period of time in order to ensure that the information related to a particular admission to the United States is available for providing any applicable benefits related to immigration or other enforcement purposes.
DHS uses the application data to check the individual before giving the authorization to travel to the United States under the VWP. As part of this checking process, information that identifies suspected or known violators of the law and other persons of concern will be provided to the appropriate law enforcement, national security and/or counterterrorism agency.
Yes. The traveler who have nationality or citizenship of VWP countries need to acquire ESTA or visa to transit the United States. If you are planning to transit through the U.S.A you should enter the words "In Transit" and your final destination in the address lines under the heading "Address While in The United States.” When you are completing the ESTA application.
No. Only citizens or nationals of VWP countries can require ESTA.
Traveler from VWP country can apply for ESTA anytime he or she wants but preferably to submit an application as soon as a traveler decides to visit the United States.
Yes. All VWP travelers arriving by U.S.-bound airplane or vessel, regardless of their country of origination or port of embarkation, require an approved ESTA.
Recommended time from CBP is at least 72 hours before travel, you may apply anytime prior to boarding. In most cases, a response is received less than 24 hours after submitting an application.
No. Each VWP traveler must have a passport which was approved by ESTA to use for travel to the United States. If travelers acquire a new passport, they must submit a new ESTA application for their new passport.
The applicant should choose the country of their nationality, not the physical location where the passport was issued. For example, if you have an Australian passport issued in the United States, choose Australia.
ESTA does not currently have a gender X to choose from on the application. You can choose whichever choice you feel most comfortable for you. Your ESTA application will not be denied solely on the gender choice.
Yes. VWP travelers do not need to have specific plans to travel to the United States. If Traveler's destination in the United States is unknown, he or she should enter "Unknown" in the ESTA application. Travelers can update this information when their plans would be finalized and they can update their destination addresses or itineraries after their ESTA application has been approved.
Information for the ESTA application must be entered in English. To complete ESTA application the computer should be configured for the U.S. English language with a suitable English font for keyboard input. If your computer does not support a suitable English font keyboard input, please refer to the Conversation Exchange websites for computer configuration.
No. DHS communicates a traveler’s ESTA status to the carriers. However, DHS recommends that travelers print out the ESTA application response as a record of their ESTA application number to confirm their ESTA status.
New travel authorization via ESTA is required when:
- • The traveler is issued a new passport;
- • The traveler changes his or her name;
- • The traveler changes his or her gender;
- • The traveler’s country of citizenship changes;
- • The circumstances underlying the traveler’s previous responses to any of the ESTA application questions requiring a “YES” or “NO” response have changed.
Travel authorizations are granted for a two–year period or until the applicant’s passport expires, whichever is sooner. Therefore, a traveler must apply for a new ESTA when the prior ESTA approval or passport expires. The associated fee will be charged for each new application submitted.
If a Travel Authorization expires before the traveler leaves the United States, he or she does not need to require to apply for a new application. However, the traveler will need to apply for a new ESTA for future travels.
If the ESTA application submitted with the wrong Passport Issuance Date or Passport Expiration Date, an applicant will need to re-apply for a new travel authorization. The old application will be automatically canceled. The fee will be charged for each new application submitted.
The implementation of the ESTA program allows DHS to eliminate the requirement that VWP travelers complete an I-94W prior to being admitted to the United States. Most travelers entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Program who have an approved ESTA will no longer need to fill out the I-94W form, nor will a green I-94W departure card be placed in their passport. The I-94W form will still be required at the land border.
If the traveler currently has a B1/B2 or any other valid visa and he or she is traveling for the purpose in which it was issued, there is no need to apply for an ESTA authorization.
Unless the circumstances have changed, the traveler will not qualify for an ESTA and will receive the same negative answer. A traveler can apply for a nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
U.S. Embassies and Consulates are not able to provide details about ESTA denials or resolve the issue that caused the ESTA denial. For travelers whose ESTA application has been denied non-immigrant visa will be the only to travel to the U.S.