esta worry....

[mickeyforpresident]

DW and I have just spent the best part of an hour doing our ESTAs for us and our 2 children. We submitted the payment. We fully expected immediate approval but all four are 'pending'.... Queue: panic! Is this normal?

Arghhhh. Will log back in in an hour or so and check...

 

[wilma-bride]

Perfectly normal. Check back again later, I am sure they will be approved. Don't forget, it is a holiday weekend in the US so could be down to that. But it has happened to us a few times ad they have been approved less than 24 hours later.

 

[LiquidSunshine]

It's normal - don't panic.

If I remember correctly when I did ours last May, it took a few hours, possibly overnight, to come through. Should be approved shortly!

 

[mickeyforpresident]

Thanks you two.... Panic had set in. Left it 15 minutes and then had to check. All approved!!!!!! Oh my gosh... I did not like that at all.... Good to know that that was perfectly normal!!!

What an interesting process.... No questions about flight numbers etc., but emergency contacts and employment details.

Phew. I didn't realise how highly strung I was... Ha ha ha; I'm normally so calm.

 

[LiquidSunshine]

I think the panic is normal with the ESTA, and as quick as the panic sets in, its all over!

It is an odd process, but there must be so much automated processes involved, with just the trickier applications left to a human to sort.

Glad it has been approved now for you. You can rest easy now & continue planning!

 

[chmurf]

What an interesting process.... No questions about flight numbers etc., but emergency contacts and employment details.

Well, it's fairly understandable

what CBP WANTS to know in advance, is if you are likely to illegaly immigrate to the US, therefore they ask if you have a job and employer back home, which makes you less likely to stay in the US
what they also want to make sure of, is that, in case of an emergency, there is someone in the UK they can contact, in order to take care of you.

What CBP wants to make sure of, before allowing you to come to the US, is that you are not likely to become a burden for the country.

those information will be available to the US immigration officer who will assess if you are allowed to enter the country or not, once you're at the airport (ESTA is just an authorization to board a plane, not to enter the US)

they don't care how and when you enter the USA (flights), they'll know soon enough since you have to go through immigration anyway, and they'll also know through the Advance Passenger Information (API) which is transmitted to CBP even before you board the plane. so they know what plane you're on, even before you leave the tarmac.