Can you request the ESTA even if you are not sure of your itinerary?
Yes. The Department of Homeland Security of the United States gives very basic advice in this regard, as the request of the ESTA 3 days before departure or regarding address reference in the United States. However, these are only guidelines.
Travelers who fall in the Visa Waiver Program are not obliged to indicate the itinerary inside of the United States and can, therefore, require the ESTA without knowing this information.
When answering to the on-line form question whether you will stop in the US in transit or for staying, it is possible to answer in transit even if you won’t actually stay in the US.
Furthermore, once you have obtained the ESTA form, it can be updated. In the possibility of using the Esta for multiple trips to the United States and the document has not yet expired, you have the opportunity to update your travel authorization city, hotel, and temporary US address details.
So, the ESTA can also be requested if a trip to the United States has not yet been planned.
The editable fields of an existing ESTA are:
- – Address of residence.
- – Email Address.
Example 1: John
John lives and works in Lazio for an American pharmaceutical company. Its position in the company requires that he travels often in the United States, often for conventions that his employer shall from time to time in different cities of the USA.
Since his stay in the USA is never prolonged, John travels with an ESTA travel authorization.
The authorization gets updated from time to time depending on the final destination, i.e. where the work appointment will be held to which John has to participate.
Example 2: Olivia
Olivia requested her travel authorization about eleven months ago for his trip to Philadelphia where he visited part of his family that lives there.
The Esta document was delivered to her the email address.
Since Olivia recently discontinued the email used for the ESTA and made a new one, she decided to communicate this to our customer service.
This was the right choice since all future communications on her travel authorization including the expiration nearing will be made via email.
Olivia ‘s email was been updated so she will always be updated on its current document.
Get your ESTA Visa in 3 easy steps!
1. Complete the application form in full.
2. Confirm personal and payment information.
3. Receive a confirmation email from us shortly.