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

chocolateteddy

Thanks, seeing it in black and white on the 'foreign and commonwealth office' website, and the US embassy's site makes me feel a whole lot better :jespecially as I am going to save £150 plus whatever the new esta charge when it comes in will be:D and the passports are short of 6 months by just 4 days. Thanks:T Now off to fill in those esta forms (on the free site of course!!)

jackswifty

Hi, I am getting married on 22nd May and travelling to Orlando & USA on the 25th May. My passport runs out in June so there was no way I could travel on my current passport. I renewed my passport in my married name, so it is postdated for the 22nd of May when my name changes. However since doing this we have discovered that the online ESTA application cannot be applied for until my passport becomes valis - (the day of the wedding). This concerns me for two reasons, firstly this is the last thing I want to be doing on my wedding day and secondly if something goewrong with the application we may not have enough time to sort it out bearing in mind we travel a few days later. Any ideas people??

Aquarius1980

Hi All,

Have been lurking around the forums for a while now, but thought I would finally register to post my recent experience regarding ESTA / USA immigration.

There seems to be a lot of confusion at the moment (between different ‘departments’) over what documentation is required for entering the USA.

In March 2010, I visited New York with 2 friends:
- Friend #1 had a copy of the ESTA approval printed out.
- Friend #2 had the application number written down.
- I had previously been to Orlando in October 2009, but sometime between returning from that trip and packing for New York, I had lost the print out. Checking the ESTA website though, I didn’t think this was a problem as the info would be stored on my passport.

When we got to Manchester airport the following happened:
- A guy doing security checks while we were waiting in the check-in queue said I would have to go on the ESTA website at the airport, and re-apply. He also said, if I didn’t have it written down I probably wouldn’t be let into America (which obviously panicked me slightly).
- However, when we reached the check-in desk, the guy there said a record was on my passport so everything was fine.

How 2 people working 10 feet apart can’t get their facts straight I don’t know!

We flew Continental - an American airline with American staff. You’d think they would know the correct procedure? WRONG…….
- A couple of hours before landing into Newark, a steward came round with the I-94 forms advising that if you didn’t have a print out of your approved ESTA application, you still needed to fill in an I-94 (I thought they had already been phased out).
- BUT, while we were in the queue at immigration, an official there was telling people that EVERYONE had to have a completed I-94, whether you had your ESTA print out or not (this caused chaos as many people were rushing to fill out the I-94 while queuing).
- And, to add to this, immigration weren’t even interested in the ESTA print outs!

So, the moral of the story is ‘be prepared‘! Who knows when the ESTA system will be fully up and running, but I would make sure you have got a copy of your ESTA print out, and if a steward is dishing out I-94’s, fill one in just in case!!

Sorry for the long post, but I thought this might give an insight as to what was happening only 2 weeks ago.

dzug1

Aquarius1980 wrote: »

We flew Continental - an American airline with American staff. You’d think they would know the correct procedure?

Well maybe not. I suspect the majority of their customers are American therefore not affected by the procedure.

And a slight correction - the I94 is filled in by passengers who have visas. It's a white form and as far as I know will continue indefinitely

The I94W is for ESTA/visa waiver travellers - a green form. It's supposedly being phased out, but who knows when. Several deadlines have been and gone.

Or are you saying that everyone was given a white I94? That would at least answer the question of how they are going to record departures for ESTA travellers.

KarenG

I have to agree with dzug about Continental. In my experience, they are far less switched on about the ins and outs of the VWP than, say Virgin Atlantic. I would tend to think that dzug's point about them being American and the majority of their passengers American, is the correct one.

Personally speaking I always take a print out of my online application form (ESTA) and I have not once had to produce it (five visits since it was introduced).

KarenG

Oh - and in every case we have had to do the green forms on the plane that we had already filled in online

*pinkie*

Is it that much of a problem to people to fill in the green forms anyway? Fair enough you are duplicating what you have put down for the ESTA, but i d fill out any form just so i can get into the USA. Who are we to say what we should and shouldn't fill out, its their rules not ours so let them get on with it no matter how ineficient it seems to be. Anyway it gives me something to do at the airport in the departure lounge

Aquarius1980

@ dzug1

You are correct - I do mean the I-94W green form (new I‘d get that wrong!) And I suppose Continental would have more American passengers, it’s just you would think they’d be more clued up on the immigration procedures in their own country……

@*pinkie*

You’re right, it’s not a problem to fill out the form (gives you something to do for 10 minutes on the flight!). I’m just saying that when they came round with the green forms they were categorically saying that anyone with the ESTA print out didn’t need to fill it in. But once we got to immigration the story had changed - so lots of passengers were filling them in while queuing (trying to find something to lean on which was actually quite amusing!).

I’m just basically trying to warn people that what you get told while checking in, and on the flight might not necessarily be correct, so just have everything printed and filled out to be prepared J

HouseHuntr

Aquarius1980 wrote: »

Hi All,

Have been lurking around the forums for a while now, but thought I would finally register to post my recent experience regarding ESTA / USA immigration.

There seems to be a lot of confusion at the moment (between different ‘departments’) over what documentation is required for entering the USA.

In March 2010, I visited New York with 2 friends:
- Friend #1 had a copy of the ESTA approval printed out.
- Friend #2 had the application number written down.
- I had previously been to Orlando in October 2009, but sometime between returning from that trip and packing for New York, I had lost the print out. Checking the ESTA website though, I didn’t think this was a problem as the info would be stored on my passport.

When we got to Manchester airport the following happened:
- A guy doing security checks while we were waiting in the check-in queue said I would have to go on the ESTA website at the airport, and re-apply. He also said, if I didn’t have it written down I probably wouldn’t be let into America (which obviously panicked me slightly).
- However, when we reached the check-in desk, the guy there said a record was on my passport so everything was fine.

How 2 people working 10 feet apart can’t get their facts straight I don’t know!

We flew Continental - an American airline with American staff. You’d think they would know the correct procedure? WRONG…….
- A couple of hours before landing into Newark, a steward came round with the I-94 forms advising that if you didn’t have a print out of your approved ESTA application, you still needed to fill in an I-94 (I thought they had already been phased out).
- BUT, while we were in the queue at immigration, an official there was telling people that EVERYONE had to have a completed I-94, whether you had your ESTA print out or not (this caused chaos as many people were rushing to fill out the I-94 while queuing).
- And, to add to this, immigration weren’t even interested in the ESTA print outs!

So, the moral of the story is ‘be prepared‘! Who knows when the ESTA system will be fully up and running, but I would make sure you have got a copy of your ESTA print out, and if a steward is dishing out I-94’s, fill one in just in case!!

Sorry for the long post, but I thought this might give an insight as to what was happening only 2 weeks ago.

Sounds like a complete load of TROLL tosh to me !

dora82

Hi,

I am going to the states in June. I went last april and did the waiver form online but have now lost it and cant reprint.

Shall I just re-submit?