When to ESTA?

[flortlebap]

Hi all,

Sorry if this has been asked before! I did a quick search but couldn't find anything about when to fill them in.

Just wondering as well, when you filled in the ESTAs how it works - do you get something to print out? Or is it mailed to you? Or do you not actually get anything after?

Also, are they valid for like 2 years? So should I fill them in now or wait until closer to the time (6 months)?

Thanks guys!!

 

[2Tiggies]

Hi all,

Just wondering as well, when you filled in the ESTAs how it works - do you get something to print out? Or is it mailed to you? Or do you not actually get anything after?

No you get no email or mail at all. Once approved, you get a confirmation number for each person. Write it down or print the page. Now that they are not free, you can actually trace your ESTA if you lose the number with your passport and personal details so don't stress if you forget.

Also, are they valid for like 2 years? So should I fill them in now or wait until closer to the time (6 months)?

Yes, valid for 2 years so I will wait until closer to the time to apply but they must be done at least 72 hours before you leave and it amy take up to a few days to process if there are any queries on any of the applicatons. I would wait until about a month before

Thanks guys!!

Hope this helps

 

[paulh]

would do a couple of weeks before travel,due to the fact you now have to pay for them.this would give you time to apply for a visa if your turned down
Last 2 years from acceptance
If you have less than 2 years on your passport the ESTA will be only valid for the time left on it.
When you renew passport you will have to renew ESTA
Paul

 

[flortlebap]

Thanks both

But what do you mean, if we get turned down??

 

[General Panic]

Thanks both

But what do you mean, if we get turned down??

To qualify for an ESTA you have to answer certain questions , is you have to tick yes to any you'll have to apply for a normal Visa. If you have a criminal record your ESTA will probably to denied as well.

Most will have absolutly no problem in getting their passport cleared for an ESTA but i have had clients of mine who have been turned down and had to go to London to the US Embassy for a proper Visa.

I would usually recomend doing an ESTA sooner than later. Yes they do charge $14 (£10 or so) but for the peace of mind i think it's worth the early approval.

 

[wayneg]

My advice would be same as Paul, about 2 weeks before you go unless you know of anything that might cause a problem, then do it a little earlier.

 

[tink too]

If you have less than 2 years on your passport the ESTA will be only valid for the time left on it.
When you renew passport you will have to renew ESTA
Paul

I never thought of that! Thanks very much for saving us a bit of time and a little money.

I'll be renewing our passports soon, so I'll wait until the new ones arrive before applying for new ESTA's.

 

[tinkerpea]

I didn't realise that with a new passport you needed a new ESTA .....until I got pulled through customs with a denied one I was so terrified the thing that was most laughable is that my hubby had done it so when it came to answering the questions of what name did I apply in I got it wrong!! See my old passport was in my maiden name but I was waiting for my new passport to come as I had just been to the passport office to get mine done quickly due to booking the holiday in my married name,then forgetting my passport was still in maiden ( doh)anyways hubby had put down my married name but with my old passport number!thinking it wouldn't matter( & he is an intel analyst be scared very scared lol) I didn't know this & looked incredibly stupid infront of the officers!so had to answer A whole host of questions & yes was a tiny bit scared! My kids was crying at the other end of the building scared I'd been taken away! lesson defiantly learned! Make sure everything matches ................. Also I'm sure we used a free site last yr even though loads of them you had to pay on!have they stopped all free sites now? That's harsh when having a big family it's another last minute expense oh well to see the mouse you have to just pay pay & keep on paying!

 

[Brandis]

Also I'm sure we used a free site last yr even though loads of them you had to pay on!have they stopped all free sites now? That's harsh when having a big family it's another last minute expense oh well to see the mouse you have to just pay pay & keep on paying!

There was always only one official ESTA site, and in the past probably the only one that was free, even back then there were lots of scam websites where you had to pay and didn't get anything in the end. (Or maybe they really registered you at the free website, but you paid them for something you could have done yourself).

Now, the US government charges for the ESTA ($14)(they say to improve services for tourists, yeah right!). Just make sure you are on the official website (https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/), the only one with the .gov domain, the scam ones just try to look official as well, some with a .us domain or so... I just looked at a site which charges €49 ($65) to get the ESTA for you, they basically just need to copy/paste your information into the ESTA website form and forward the ESTA number back to you and gain $51 from it, not a bad deal (for them...)

 

[ford family]

On a related matter and as a heads up, last month we came over to Florida by ship. When we embarked the Norwegian Epic at Barcelona the cruise staff insisted on seeing copies of our Estas. People who did not have them (and there were many)had to queue for a pc and then go online and print them.
Our first US port of call was St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands where immigration officers came aboard and we had to fill out I94s, which were stamped and put into our passports as in the "old" days, because we were arriving by sea.
Inconsistent or what?

ford family

 

[Brandis]

Inconsistent or what?

Those cruise lines have no clue! Did a Transatlantic on Jewel of the Seas in September, from Harwich to Boston. First stop was France, we were told that we would have to hand in our passports the evening before, because Switzerland is not part of the European Union. Told them that Switzerland was part of the Schengen agreement and thus would not have to hand in the passports. They didn't know anything about that. But at least they later apologized.

Then before we arrived in Boston, they told everyone to have their ESTAs with them and if not to go online and print them. While I had a printout taken with me, again, I told them that's not necessary and they could even get the status of their passengers from DHS. (From the ESTA FAQ: DHS will be able to communicate a traveler’s ESTA status to the carriers.)

On arrival day, we had to be in the theatre at 6:45 (had to have breakfast before), got assigned a group number and then had to wait for the number to be called. Took about an hour for us, not too bad. We were then led into a conference room where there were about 8 immigration officers, who quickly looked into our passports (after all, they had a complete passengers manifest from the cruise line anyway), asked a few questions (purpose of travel, how long etc) and put in the approval stamp, didn't even have computers with them to check names. Took less than 5 min. to get through. And of course didn't have to show the ESTA printout. On the way out, they punched a hole into the seapass card and gave us a small slip of paper which showed that we had gone through immigration. Then about an hour later, they called my uncle on the PA system, to call the front desk. We did and they said that he hadn't gone through immigration yet. (How would they know, they didn't take any names or room numbers when entering or leaving the conference room and the immigrations officers also didn't tick off names on a list.) I told them that he had the little paper slip and the hole in his keycard to "prove" that he was there (and of course had the stamp in his passport). So again, they don't have a clue!