ESTA ,s Cancelled ?

Ganga

My wife and i applied and payed for ESTAs to visit NewYork last year,the american gov suspended them due to travel restrictions thru Covid .Does anybody in the same boat know if they have been become live again ? i have had a quick look on the USA website and it says you can apply for new ESTA s but does not say anything about suspended ones.  

Westin

Good question and a while since I have been through the process.

Have you tried tapping in your passport number via below link to see status of application? If a valid ESTA issued and linked to your passport I would hope it would show up at this point.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/individualStatusLookup

Ganga

Westin said:

Good question and a while since I have been through the process.

Have you tried tapping in your passport number via below link to see status of application? If a valid ESTA issued and linked to your passport I would hope it would show up at this point.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/individualStatusLookup

Thanks for the reply ,i clicked on the link and completed the required info and it says NO ESTA , went into the help section and clicked on the UK /R.O.I. Proclamation and it says if your ESTA was cancelled you do not get a refund !
I know that they are not mega expensive but to cancel and not refund money OR reinstate the ESTA just seems wrong

Westin

Oh, that's not so good.

If not travelling to the US in the near future I wonder if it might be worth checking back in a few weeks.  The wheels of US Government seem to turn slowly and I suspect there are lots of small issues to iron out with the recent border reopening. I would have thought if the ESTA validity period was still valid then with the reversal of the Presidential proclamation then the ESTA would be active and valid once more.  

Only this weekend there was an issue regarding a passenger attestation form that the US required but confusion arose as to where and when passengers were given the form and complete it.  In addition a rule that apparently required UK/US intervention as it stated those under 18 years who were not fully vaccinated would need to self isolate upon US arrival for 7 days.  Clearly not workable for a UK family off to Florida.

We often think our political decisions and rules are weird....

Thrugelmir

Ganga said:

Westin said:

Good question and a while since I have been through the process.

Have you tried tapping in your passport number via below link to see status of application? If a valid ESTA issued and linked to your passport I would hope it would show up at this point.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/individualStatusLookup

I know that they are not mega expensive but to cancel and not refund money OR reinstate the ESTA just seems wrong

Costs money to to process the application. Isn't just a rubber stamping exercise to make money.  Likewise personal circumstances may have changed since people originally applied.

In all circumstances other than a pandemic no refund would be made. Unsure why suddenly everything should be free. Somebody has to pick up the tab. 

Westin

I don't think Ganga is suggesting that the ESTA's should now be free - just that the ESTA he/she purchased previously (which would have been issued and valid for two years) is "reactivated". This hopefully means that they can use it during its initial validity and travel with it now that the US borders have been reopened. 

Butts

Westin said:

I don't think Ganga is suggesting that the ESTA's should now be free - just that the ESTA he/she purchased previously (which would have been issued and valid for two years) is "reactivated". This hopefully means that they can use it during its initial validity and travel with it now that the US borders have been reopened. 

Perhaps Ganga should give some thought as to why Americans don't have to reciprocate any sort of ESTA procedure when entering the UK ?

Ganga

Westin said:

I don't think Ganga is suggesting that the ESTA's should now be free - just that the ESTA he/she purchased previously (which would have been issued and valid for two years) is "reactivated". This hopefully means that they can use it during its initial validity and travel with it now that the US borders have been reopened. 

Thats exactly what i meant ,do not expect anything for nothing BUT would expect something that i payed for to be honoured .

Thrugelmir

Butts said:

Westin said:

I don't think Ganga is suggesting that the ESTA's should now be free - just that the ESTA he/she purchased previously (which would have been issued and valid for two years) is "reactivated". This hopefully means that they can use it during its initial validity and travel with it now that the US borders have been reopened. 

Perhaps Ganga should give some thought as to why Americans don't have to reciprocate any sort of ESTA procedure when entering the UK ?

The US has extremely tight rules on immigration into the country. Generally tougher than the UK. 

Butts

Thrugelmir said:

Butts said:

Westin said:

I don't think Ganga is suggesting that the ESTA's should now be free - just that the ESTA he/she purchased previously (which would have been issued and valid for two years) is "reactivated". This hopefully means that they can use it during its initial validity and travel with it now that the US borders have been reopened. 

Perhaps Ganga should give some thought as to why Americans don't have to reciprocate any sort of ESTA procedure when entering the UK ?

The US has extremely tight rules on immigration into the country. Generally tougher than the UK. 

However surely if we let them in Esta/ Visa Free it should be reciprocated ?

Ganga

Butts said:

Thrugelmir said:

Butts said:

Westin said:

I don't think Ganga is suggesting that the ESTA's should now be free - just that the ESTA he/she purchased previously (which would have been issued and valid for two years) is "reactivated". This hopefully means that they can use it during its initial validity and travel with it now that the US borders have been reopened. 

Perhaps Ganga should give some thought as to why Americans don't have to reciprocate any sort of ESTA procedure when entering the UK ?

The US has extremely tight rules on immigration into the country. Generally tougher than the UK. 

However surely if we let them in Esta/ Visa Free it should be reciprocated ?

I agree ,make them buy a visa of some sort ,the country needs as much revenue as possible.