ESTA to get into the USA

mgdavid

catgotmytongue wrote: »

Again - what is the trigger to make me think a passport isn't enough? No one can answer this. Simple question.

And simple answer. It's called lots of things, general knowledge, current affairs, common sense. If you have awareness of the world around you, if you read newspapers, if you watch TV, if you use the internet to check up on things and gain knowledge, you would and should know.

PS - did you know they don't use our Pounds in USA, they have their own money, called 'dollars'.

PPS - Never assume - be curious, be inquisitive.

marsman802

What made u take a passport?

I'm not asking that to take the mickey but something told you that u needed a passport.
So you learnt that but not a Visa? Or ESTA in this case

littlereddevil

If you told us which airline and who you booked through we could all check

budgetflyer

I have just tried a random LON to NYC booking with , again randomly selected agent, ebookers.com

Unless I read the very fine print via a small link on the payment page, I could easily have booked this without any indication that a visa or esta was required.
To the inexperienced, this could easily be missed.

Remember, travel within thd EU is completely hassle free and pretty much taken for granted. Many people naively could fall foul here

duchy

I've booked with ebookers before-The ESTA requirements were clearly shown on my confirmation email-which ran to several pages......... so had you booked rather than just checked availability with this company-you'd have being very aware rather than just slightly aware. After all people DO check their confirmations ..............Don't they ?

I was a travel agent for many years and found it was the less travelled who actually bothered to do this-the more frequent travellers thought they knew it all and sometimes got caught out if things changed.

virtuallyfree

The USA is one of the most desirable countries for immigrants.
It has always been very strict on entries.
It has always required a visa.
The problem is that if you do not attempt to acquire any knowledge of the culture and customs of the country you are visiting, then you will run into this sort of problem.

duchy

I see the OP has gone ....... but then as their post was quoted in full in post 2 I suppose it doesn't really matter

Voyager2002

catgotmytongue wrote: »

like I said I am an inexperienced traveller and had a passport - what pointer anywhere would make me check if I need a visa if I have no experience of visa's or travelling. All I am saying is shouldn't it be mentioned somewhere that I should?

Have you heard any of the arguments about illegal immigration? It is frequently said that many people from Africa and Asia are desperate to live in the UK, and go to extraordinary lengths to get here. I am sure that these people have passports or could easily get them, so clearly something more than a passport is needed to be allowed into a foreign country.

Did you know that in the USA cars drive on the wrong side of the road? Would you expect your travel agent to tell you that, and should you suffer an accident as a result of not knowing this, would you hold your travel agent responsible.?

budgetflyer

duchy wrote: »

I've booked with ebookers before-The ESTA requirements were clearly shown on my confirmation email-which ran to several pages......... so had you booked rather than just checked availability with this company-you'd have being very aware rather than just slightly aware. After all people DO check their confirmations ..............Don't they ?

I was a travel agent for many years and found it was the less travelled who actually bothered to do this-the more frequent travellers thought they knew it all and sometimes got caught out if things changed.

Im not having a go at ebookers, that was just a random selection. Ive used them plenty without any problems.
It would be handy (and helpful) for them to highlight this stuff BEFORE a booking.

Had I booked, i maybe didnt qualify, for what ever reason, for esta or tourist visa. Id be stuck with a flight I could not use.

opinions4u

When checking in for a flight to Paris in June, an elderly couple next to us were also checking in for a connection that would ultimately take them to Moscow.

They had no visa. They had no idea they needed a visa. They had no way of obtaining a visa prior to take off. So the airline wouldn't let them board.

I smirked to myself before feeling a severe pang of guilt and sympathy. I smirked again when I saw the looks the gentleman's wife was giving him as they waited for a lift to the airport exit!