How To ESTA

[wayneg]

I'm going the safety route and doing mine within the next week or so.

I have just one question. If I buy an ESTA, I don't need to apply for any other type of visa is this correct?

The reason I ask is when I went in 1989 with the rest of my family we were told we didn't need to but we still had to fill in a form when we got there. (My memory is a bit fuzzy on this though as I was 14 at the time!)

If you have no reason for US immigration to deny you entry into the country then you need to buy an ESTA for each person travelling. You also need to fill in a Customs form on the plane, 1 per family.

If there is any reason they might not let you in then you need to apply for a US visa rather than getting an ESTA.

 

[penlanspice]

I'm all for getting the max amount of time out of my visa but I wouldnt leave it until a week before like I did this year (just completely forgot as we were in the middle of moving) Dh's went through fine but my computer crashed when I was processing mine and it wouldnt let me re-apply or pay for a few days, it was a little scary

 

[penlanspice]

I'm going the safety route and doing mine within the next week or so.

I have just one question. If I buy an ESTA, I don't need to apply for any other type of visa is this correct?

The reason I ask is when I went in 1989 with the rest of my family we were told we didn't need to but we still had to fill in a form when we got there. (My memory is a bit fuzzy on this though as I was 14 at the time!)

If you have the ESTA this is the only visa you need unless you don't qualify (criminal record etc). Just make sure to get it from the official site and not pay a company etc to process for you.

The only for you will fill in now on the plane will be the white custom form, the ESTA has replaced the old green visa forms.

 

[jrparkin]

That's my ESTA done. As recommended by the website I printed off my application number and the payment receipt. Should I get e-mail confirmation, I'll probably print that off as well

 

[wayneg]

No emails are sent, only when its due for renewal.
Good thing to print off, we arrived a couple of years ago and they said DS & DW didn't have one, they could only find mine on the system, thankfully I had printed a copy of each, saved lots of hassle.

 

[Zeebs]

Does the ESTA need to be valid for your entire trip or just for getting into the country. We go May this year and April next year just working out when to apply for it so to cover both options but not leave it too late for the first trip.

Many thanks
Kirsten

 

[wayneg]

Does the ESTA need to be valid for your entire trip or just for getting into the country. We go May this year and April next year just working out when to apply for it so to cover both options but not leave it too late for the first trip.

Many thanks
Kirsten

Only needs to be valid on the day you enter, confirmation here:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/de...alid-for-my-entire-stay-in-the-united-states?

 

[Julia Ann]

Thanks for the help - i've just successfully completed/paid...been approved! Not travelling till oct, was going to leave it a while but wanted it ticked off my list. Glad it's done, I was really nervous filling it in, but better than when they used to give you this to complete on the plane!

 

[2Tiggies]

Thanks for the help - i've just successfully completed/paid...been approved! Not travelling till oct, was going to leave it a while but wanted it ticked off my list. Glad it's done, I was really nervous filling it in, but better than when they used to give you this to complete on the plane!

One less thing to worry about

I actually preferred it when we did it on the plane. It was free

 

[Julia Ann]

One less thing to worry about

I actually preferred it when we did it on the plane. It was free

Yeah that's true, I forgot it was free before!

 

[boogiewoogiewoman]

Who knew booking Disney would be so difficult?! I feel like I need a degree in Disney ha so much to learn...

 

[mikki.young]

My Estas have run out and I now (as of last weekend) have a trip this August. I guess I should get the new Estas done in the next few days/weeks? What do you think - asap or relaxed?

 

[wayneg]

My Estas have run out and I now (as of last weekend) have a trip this August. I guess I should get the new Estas done in the next few days/weeks? What do you think - asap or relaxed?

Ours didn't expire til next week and we don't fly for another 5 weeks but I decided to do ours yesterday.
A few reasons I did them early, we have all new passports since I did the last ones. Plus Matt has a US study visa (long story but should have been in US studying this past year but came back to Lancaster) he has also has a trip to Ghana, Africa recently. I was 99% sure all would be good but didn't want any of this activity to flag up on the system.
August isn't far away though, I would be looking at doing them in next few weeks.

 

[2005michelle83]

...but it says Your travel authorization is under review because an immediate determination could not be made. This response does not indicate negative findings

Anyone else had this?!

I did it for all three of us.

 

[2Tiggies]

...but it says Your travel authorization is under review because an immediate determination could not be made. This response does not indicate negative findings

Anyone else had this?!

I did it for all three of us.

It can happen if their system is overloaded with applications (pre summer it is possible) or if you accidentally checked 'yes' next to something that should be a 'no' or anything like that. I'd at least give it a few hours before worrying.

 

[2005michelle83]

It can happen if their system is overloaded with applications (pre summer it is possible) or if you accidentally checked 'yes' next to something that should be a 'no' or anything like that. I'd at least give it a few hours before worrying.

Thank you for the reply, I checked back less than 2minutes later and it was all approved.

Another thing ticked off the list and one step further to being at WDW!

 

[Donald Ducks wife]

I googled it, but I keep getting mixed answers. But i got a caution in 2008, for theft. ( stupid teenage drinking that got out of hand) we plan on going to orlando in 2017 so 9 years after my caution, would that stop me getting an ESTA, or should i not worry due to it not being a big offense?

 

[disneyholic family]

how long is an ESTA good for?
i finally am interested in the answer as my grandson isn't an american.
I'm debating as to whether he should get an ESTA or a visa.
He can get an ESTA because he's chilean, but i'm wondering if we should just go ahead and just get him a visa. (his dad has a US passport, his mom has two passports, one of them with a visa in it).
Visas last 10 years. How long is an ESTA good for?

 

[wayneg]

ESTA's last 2 years or until the passport renewal date, whichever comes first.

 

[disneyholic family]

ESTA's last 2 years or until the passport renewal date, whichever comes first.

so it would seem a visa is easier in the long run if you only have to get one every 10 years (assuming the passport is good for 10 years).
i know that visas are a major pain in the derriere to obtain because of the infernal interview - my daughter in law had to do that.
My son wasn't even allowed into the embassy with her and you're not allowed to carry a phone into the embassy.
So while she was stuck waiting for hours inside the embassy, he was stuck outside the embassy waiting for her and not knowing if she'd encountered any difficulties. It was unnerving to say the least.

even though my son was born in the USA, he can't pass on his american citizenship to his son. So kidlet will have to get either a visa or an ESTA.