How To ESTA

[wayneg]

Matt had to get a Visa to study in the US, cost & time involved was crazy, £100 train journey to London (plus Karen went down with him, so £200) can't remember how much the total was but not much change from £500 incl travel, paperwork & courier.
ESTA takes 5 mins & about £8 every 2 year, far easier & cheaper

 

[disneyholic family]

Matt had to get a Visa to study in the US, cost & time involved was crazy, £100 train journey to London (plus Karen went down with him, so £200) can't remember how much the total was but not much change from £500 incl travel, paperwork & courier.
ESTA takes 5 mins & about £8 every 2 year, far easier & cheaper

once you've filled in the online form, how long before they respond with the ESTA?

we live about half an hour from the embassy, so getting there isn't a big deal. I don't know what they do with a baby though.
I mean really. his father is a US citizen by birth. His mother has a visa (and qualifies for an esta via her other passport).
He's not even 1 year old. You'd think the visa would be automatic.

£8 every two years. I have to look up how much a regular tourist visa costs (Matt's was a special visa, which i think cost more than the regular ones).

 

[wayneg]

Our ESTA's have always been instant but the odd one can take a few hours

 

[disneyholic family]

Our ESTA's have always been instant but the odd one can take a few hours

oh, they're instant?
when i looked at the website yesterday, it wasn't clear to me how long it takes.

 

[disneyholic family]

my family had the false impression that with ESTA, you just get on a plane and don't have to do anything at all.
I told them that you have to complete the online form, but when i looked at it online, it just confused me. I wasn't sure how long it actually takes.

 

[disneyholic family]

i looked it up - all temporary nonimmigrant visas cost the same about £104 (including tourist and student)

so that's a lot more expensive than the ESTA. Over the course of 10 years, an ESTA will only cost about £40.

 

[wayneg]

Matt had about 3 fees to pay, £180 rings a bell for one of them, but I guess some were paid to the US University, not just to the Embassy but its about 2 years ago now, my memory is useless.

 

[disneyholic family]

Matt had about 3 fees to pay, £180 rings a bell for one of them, but I guess some were paid to the US University, not just to the Embassy but its about 2 years ago now, my memory is useless.

there are probably fees to the university associated with them attesting to the fact that someone will have student status so that they qualify for a student visa.

My parents first entered the US on student visas 65 years ago -
my dad already had two masters degrees and went to the US for his PhD.
My mom got her masters at the same time.

But they were granted permanent status really quickly (and ultimately citizenship), though they never had intended to stay in the US. My dad just wanted his PhD and was going to go back as soon as he finished. But life has a way of deciding things for us.

 

[sam portadown]

ESTA query for divorced parent.
Can anyone help, Do i put my mothers name as on my birth certificate or do i put her current married name from hubby no 3

 

[bazzanoid]

ESTA query for divorced parent.
Can anyone help, Do i put my mothers name as on my birth certificate or do i put her current married name from hubby no 3

Excellent question. On the one hand the esta website asks you to put your family name as it appears on your passport, so taking that literally presumably the surname should be the same for your mother on the application. That being said, her current legal name is how she will be known to the government for all intents and purposes. I would give the US Embassy a quick buzz or drop them an email to get an official answer.

 

[pickers1982]

Sorryif this is already answered....renewing estas for 3 members of our family which is fine as within 2 years however we have had an infant sonce, can they be added to ours or do we do them a compeltely seperate one

 

[chmurf]

Sorryif this is already answered....renewing estas for 3 members of our family which is fine as within 2 years however we have had an infant sonce, can they be added to ours or do we do them a compeltely seperate one

each passenger need their own ESTA as well as their own passport, regardless of age.

ESTA Application Number

All travelers entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Program by air or sea must have an approved Travel Authorization. The Travel Authorization includes a unique Application Number which is linked to your passport details. Each travelers must have his or her own ESTA Application Number, including children and infants. After you apply for your Travel Authorization online, your unique Application Number will only be displayed on your computer screen. You will not receive any confirmation from the U.S. Government after you apply; no email confirmation, no hard copy confirmation. For this reason, it is important that you write down, print out or record your unique Application Number in one or several ways.

http://www.esta.us/application_number.html

 

[pickers1982]

Sorry yes i know he needs one but i meant can he be added to our group

 

[wilma-bride]

Sorry yes i know he needs one but i meant can he be added to our group

A group ESTA is still individual ESTA applications, just grouped together to allow easy tracking and payment. So you can apply for as many as you need to within your group. It isn't necessarily a renewal, it is a new application that has to be done. So you will just do one more application.

 

[katytrott]

I am sure that the answer to my question is somewhere in this thread, but I'm hoping some kind person will forgive my laziness and just answer the same question again!

Our ESTA went out of date 2013 so I'm trying to renew. When I go to the front page of the ESTA site (following the link on Post no.1 this thread), I have an option of applying for a new authorisation or retrieving a previously submitted application. Just wondering which one to go with as ours will not be new - but a renewal, and I'm not sure if retrieving previous application will work as they are out of date. We are flying in 18 days

Thanks

 

[wilma-bride]

There are no renewals so you will need to apply for a new one. The link to retrieve is so you can update a previous application (although you're not obligated to do so), finish one you have already started or check the details/expiry of an existing one.

 

[LoveAList]

Please can someone help me? I have been reading these boards with avid curiosity for years and find them a truly amazing source of information which has been invaluable to our Disney trips.


We are due to take our 3rd trip with the children in October this year but had to apply for new passports for myself and the two children earlier in the year.


Having a moment of madness I carefully checked the issue date on all three new passports but foolishly set the expiration date of the children's passports as 2025 (forgetting they are only 5 years not 10). I feel such a clutz as I am usually very careful about such things (I'm blaming school holiday madness)


I realized my mistake immediately after paying for the applications but when I went back into the application to see if I could make the necessary amendments all 4 of our applications had already been approved.


I sent an email to Esta asking what I should do but after 5 days I haven't had a response so I thought I would see if anyone in the UK forum had any experience of a situation like this.


Do I need to reapply? Keep chasing Esta for a response? or stop being such a worrier as the applications have been approved?


Thank you

 

[wayneg]

Welcome to DISboards.
Never come across that one before, I would think most people input exactly what it says on their passport so can't see errors happening often.
Let us know if you get an answer.

 

[alisonbestford]

Just applying for our ESTAs.
I remarried 2 years ago but still use my "old" name for banking, passport, tickets, nursing registration etc........Do I need to give my married name (which I rarely use) in the "are you known by any other names or alias" bit?

 

[wilma-bride]

Just applying for our ESTAs.
I remarried 2 years ago but still use my "old" name for banking, passport, tickets, nursing registration etc........Do I need to give my married name (which I rarely use) in the "are you known by any other names or alias" bit?

Alison, if you are not known by your married name at all then I wouldn't bother.