You must apply for an ESTA online to enter the USA after 12 Jan 2009

Incapuppy

Plenty of info here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=846763&highlight=esta

ENILORAC

hiya,

the online esta form is free of charge, see this thread

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=846763&highlight=esta

Caroline x

4Chickens

But I was on the official US website and entered card details or maybe it was showing a charge if I wanted a PDF download of the guidance. Have any of you been online and actually filed?

4Chickens

Oops, I've worked it out. I wasn't on the US Embassy website. I was on one of the others that looks real official and everything. :mad:

WARNING - USE THE US EMBASSY WEBSITE TO SUBMIT - IT'S FREE

kuczer2

You still have to fill out the paperwork as usual on the plane in addition to the ESTA online application. Why I do not know but there goes!

ferf1223

eventually they will phase out the green cards but for now they still have to be completed...so you won't really see any practical change at the moment.

NEIL77

Hi there just a few questions you good people may know the answers to.
I am getting married on aug the 15th we have not booked a holiday yet as i have not got the money till the 17th we are thinking about going to florida. we know we have to have a ESTA done but the problem is my fiancee's passport run out she has had a new one but the passport is post dated to the 15th august in her new name can we still apply for the ESTA with this new passport or will we have to wait till the passport is valid on the 15th. if we have to wait how long will it take as we want to book as quickly as poss after the wedding. thanks for any answers we recieve

dzug1

NEIL77 wrote: »

Hi there just a few questions you good people may know the answers to.
I am getting married on aug the 15th we have not booked a holiday yet as i have not got the money till the 17th we are thinking about going to florida. we know we have to have a ESTA done but the problem is my fiancee's passport run out she has had a new one but the passport is post dated to the 15th august in her new name can we still apply for the ESTA with this new passport or will we have to wait till the passport is valid on the 15th. if we have to wait how long will it take as we want to book as quickly as poss after the wedding. thanks for any answers we recieve

The ESTA must be applied for with the passport used for travel. It will only check on the expiry date - as this can be 10 years and 9 months ahead I would expect that you don't nned to wait until its start date to apply.

It is usually approved instantaneously by they ask you to apply at least 72 hours before travel

cbl123_2

Has naybody with a conviction travelled to the US recently without trouble?

I have a conviction, and am more than happy to fib on the esta form, but can they track crinimal records via my finger prints?

Marty_J

lapat wrote: »

i have just come back form new york and there not even likely to implement the online visa forms until late this year and again for the second time this year of travelling and applying for a visa online. i have still had to fill the bl**dy green form in on the plane.

What is this ire with having to fill out a little form?

How long did it take? Two minutes? Three?

Did you have something better to do while sitting on the plane?

Perhaps you were going to catch a show or go hiking in the Lake district.

cbl123 wrote: »

I have a conviction, and am more than happy to fib on the esta form, but can they track crinimal records via my finger prints?

Not unless you were convicted in the US, or are on international watch-lists.

After having lived here for a few months now, the idea that the US government is some all-powerful all-knowing entity is highly amusing. It's taken 5 weeks for the Department of Homeland Security to figure out if I'm legally present in the country (I am) so I can get a Social Security Number, and it's going to take them another 4 weeks. My fiancee petitioned for my visa application with the USCIS, and I applied for my visa with the US Department of State, and now the Department of Homeland Security needs a few months to figure out what's going on. It's very much a case of the left hand being surprised to discover there's a right hand at all. But, thems my problems, not yours.

If you're ever offered your dream job in the US though, you'll have fun explaining at your visa interview why you lied about your convictions.