If you intend to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, you need to comply with several requirements. First and most important is to apply online for a travel permit; such permit is known as ESTA. ESTA stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization. You can only apply online by visiting https://es.usa-esta.usta-form/. Please remember that only certain countries* belong to the Visa Waiver program.

Once you obtain your ESTA travel authorization, you are ready to travel to the U.S. .Your visit can be for tourism, business, or transit to another country. VWP allows you to stay within the U.S. for a maximum of 90 (ninety) days.

usa-esta.us  is a private website and is not affiliated with any government agency. We assist foreign travelers needing proper documentation to enter the United States. Our service fees are $74 US Dollars and include the United States Government fee of $14. You may choose to engage our services or visit the State Department and Homeland Security Internet sites and make your request to travel to the U.S. for a lesser fee. The Government site can be accessed at CBP.GOV.

Get familiar with ESTA

Each traveler wanting to enter the United States must request the E.S.T.A, an on-line permit issued by the American Department of Immigration. E.S.T.A is the abbreviation of Electronic System for Travel Authorization and it is effective since 2008.

The Department of Homeland Security, the equivalent of the Ministry of the Interior, manages the program “Visa Waiver Program (VWP)”. This replaces the module I-94W (green) and allows those travelers of the countries participating in the VWP to request a permit for the USA before embarking. To obtain this permission, travelers suitable to VWP are obliged to request the ESTA, the online authorization issued by the Visa Waiver Program.

Therefore, the ESTA is a system which determines whether the visitor is fit to enter the USA. This is communicated to the Computer System Advanced Vector (APIS), which is used by airlines, thus allowing Carriers to authorize the boarding of the visitor. The ESTA allows travelers to travel within the American territory for no more than 90 days and it can be used in the following 2 years of its approval (except for passport expiration). To be valid, the ESTA document must be marked with the words “Authorization Approved”.

You can acquire The ESTA more quickly than a visa. Whereas you must go to an American Embassy by appointment to get a visa, the ESTA is obtained in a few minutes sitting in front of your computer.

Is the ESTA a visa?

Actually, it is not. Despite the fact that the ESTA is generally known as a “visa” the VWP performs the inverse process, allowing visitors to not require a visa as a “non-immigrant person” to enter the United States. [Read More]

Who should apply for ESTA?

The Esta form must be completed by all the visitors of the countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). If you don’t fill the online form and do not receive travel authorization, you will not be allowed to the travel to the United States, unless you already have a visa. [Read More]

Can I obtain my ESTA online?

The Travel Document Esta can only be obtained online. The process requires the user to provide details of personal information and also to answer some questions about his current state of health and his reasons for traveling. [Read More]

What are the requirements to request the ESTA?

The requirements for applying the ESTA are numerous but they are very simple [Read More]

Which ESTA fields are editable?

To update the data in the trip you will be prompted for your full name, number and country of issue of the passport and the unit number provided by the system at the time of request of the ESTA. [Read More]

What requirements must a passport have to be valid for ESTA?

Passports required by the DHS (Department of Homeland Security, American immigration) are optical or electronic. What is the difference? [Read More]

What are the countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program for the ESTA form?

Participating countries are listed below. [Read More]

How long for is the ESTA valid?

2 years. In the case of revocation or expiration, the ESTA is no longer valid. If the ESTA expires while you are in the United States, it is not necessary to request a new one since the document must be valid at the time of entry into the United States. [Read More]

In which case you should renew the ESTA, even if it is already approved?

here are cases where the ESTA must be renewed even if it is not yet expired. This occurs if you change or renew your passport or if your name, country of residence, sex and name modify. Also if the circumstances relevant to the answers of the form questions change, you will be asked to renew your Esta and ought to provide the latest information. [Read More]

What happens if a modification in the passport information occurs?

If your passport information changes, you will need to apply for a new ESTA. The passport is the only valid document internationally, so you need to pay attention to his validity and expiration for all the duration of the journey. [Read More]

When you must fill out the ESTA form?

The ESTA form should be completed at any time previous your departure to the US territory. The United States Department of Homeland Security recommends requiring the ESTA at least 3 days before the flight, which is the maximum time in which the department must give a response. [Read More]

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. [Read More]

Do you have to fill the ESTA form even if you are only in transit?

Yes. Those who pass by the American territory but their final destination is not the United States must be in possession of an ESTA form. Once arrived in the United States they will be inspected for Immigration and Customs controls managed by the American authority of border protection. Personal documents will be verified before you can continue the journey to the final destination. [Read More]

Do I need to contact the American embassy?

If the travel you are planning is less than 90 days, you don’t need to contact the embassy but you should only fill the on-line Esta application. You need to obtain your travel authorization before embarking. [Read More]

Does the ESTA make sure you can enter the US?

No. The ESTA or a valid visa give the possibility to travel to the United States. Once you arrive at the airport and or at the port indicated, all travelers will have to get their documents checked by the Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of American Customs and Border Protection. Only they will decide if you can enter the USA. [Read More]

What are the requirements to enter into the American territory?

When you reach the airport or the port, travelers will be controlled by the Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection American. Only they will decide if you can enter the USA. To be eligible to enter in the American territory the following is required: [Read More]

What is better, the ESTA or a Visa?

The considerations to make when you want to choose between an ESTA and a visa are addressed to the duration of the stay from the arrival date, and the purpose for which you are traveling in the United States. [Read More]

Who will look at the personal data entered on the ESTA form?

Being ESTA a document issued from the VWP program, personal data will be kept inside the Department of Homeland Security. For this reason, these data will be viewed only by authorized personnel within the program. [Read More]

For how long will the personal data inserted in the ESTA form be stored?

The data will be stored in the security unit for 2 years. After that, they get archived. In some cases, as in passport expiration preceding the Esta expiration, even less. [Read More]

Who can obtain your personal data on the ESTA module that DHS (Department of Homeland Security) possesses?

The data can be shared with other sections of DHS in the case of need, in compliance with the law. In addition, the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) may share data with the Department of State, embassies, and consulates. Here it is indeed possible to address to whom the ESTA application was refused. The consular officials, thanks to the sharing of data between the various departments, can examine the status of the applicants and issue a visa. [Read More]

Can you exit from the United States to obtain additional 90 days stay?

It often happens that foreign citizens want to stay in the United States more than 90 days, leave the country going for Mexico, Canada, a Caribbean country, to obtain again 90 more days stay. [Read More]

What kind of specifications must the computer applying for ESTA have?

All you need to complete an ESTA form is a computer supporting any 128-bit browser. All the main browsers such as Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and opera cover this demand and offer the possibility to request the travel authorization for the US on-line. [Read More]

How do you fill the Esta form?

The ESTA form can be filled out very quickly. It takes less than 10 minutes. It is useful to know a few things… [Read More]

What kind of answers can I get when I fill the ESTA form?

When requesting an ESTA, the Department of Homeland Security can release three types of responses… [Read More]

What you can do if the ESTA Authorization is denied?

In case an ESTA is rejected, the applicant has only one option to obtain an authorization to enter the United States: He has to apply for a visa at the embassy or consulate of the United States closest to his city. [Read More]

What can I bring in the luggage?

Specific limits and rules exist in regard to the transport of goods, objects, precious and cash/ titles, and the luggage might be checked by the competent authorities (customs). In order to avoid long waiting times at the customs, it is better to know beforehand what is allowed and what is not. [Read More]

What happens when you arrive in the United States?

Every day more than a million people pass the custom of the United States. Both American and foreigners must fill out a customs form. In addition, the foreign travelers will also need to fill the I-94 Form. From this form are exempt all foreign travelers who take part of the program travel without visa (ESTA). [Read More]

What happens if my visa is rejected at the customs?

As said before, who is in possession of the ESTA document cannot rely on the decisions of officials of immigration. Such a disclaimer is accepted at the time of the on-line request. However, in cases where a foreign traveler possesses a valid visa, but gets entry denied into the territory of the United States of America, he can challenge the decision of the official before a judge of immigration and then the judge will take the decision before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). [Read More]

What you can do to avoid problems with customs?

When you apply for a non-immigrant a visa at the consulate or at the American Embassy, the official will check for the documents of the applicants to understand if the candidate is eligible or not to enter the American territory. [Read More]