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

viz

mmm let me share my experience with not getting the paper work just right ( that I had with me just going thru the US on a connecting flight 2006 ).....now it may not have anything to do with the fact i am brownish with a foreign ( could be mistakne for eastern ) surname......I was aksed why the paper work was not in order as i went to passport control. I behaved politly etc..anyway i got taken to a room full of people who were going to be questioned about the paperwork.

The initial questioning took place infront of everyone there at the front desk. Prior to this you had to fill out a long form. The people who couldnt ( for language reasons ) were told openly " you are in america now you shoudl be able to write english ".
The atmosphere was scary as hell and i felt that they really couldnt do anything as if i had no right s( thats even when i new i had done nothing wrong).

It took 3 hours for them to realise i was just a thicko who had filled in the wrong form; i filled in a form that stated i was wanting to stay in the country (rather than no form since only a connecting flight) -.and of course had no additional visa paper work to qualify this form stating i was staying in the country..).

They had no concerns about my connection , and i just made it - after also being frisked by the plane entrance ( honestly I just look like i have good suntan with no other marker sof being a maniac)

so in short ..yes you could be lucky and get away with paperwork not being in order...but beware if you fit any " profile " you could be put thru the mill and it isn't nice.

well just got that off my chest !

i do not mean to scare anyone but just to say dont assume you can " wing it in the USA".

pennylane99

keep a note of the application reference number you are given, as you will need it to log in and amend your details for future trips...they dont email it to you.

Sweet_cheeks

i am travelling to the states on 12 january 09 and cant seem to find stated if i need to complete online visa or will fill in the usual paper one on the plane! does the after 12th jan include the 12th jan or does it mean from the 13th? Sorry to be so thick! only saw this thread by chance and coincidence that it happens to be same date i travel so a bit flustered and bemused:p

hansi

It applies from the 12th January, so yes, you would have to apply for it. It's not an online visa, it an application for the visa waiver to gain entry to the usa.

skil_ful

A friend who's uncle works at Gatwick passport control told me about this new system that was comming in last June - when I went to New York in August I asked the people in the immigration dept as we were waiting in line to enter and they new nothing about it, I wonder if this is going to be a monumental kok up on the day :rotfl:

jayemcee49

Just to let you know that when we saw the tip about the ESTA site on MSE that my son was travelling on the 15th December. He had already been to the US Embassy in London to apply for a non-immigrant visa. In his naievety (he is a freshfaced 18yr old) he thought he could get a multi entry visa as he wanted to travel throughout the year. He was declined and this showed as a refusal in his file. The advice he was given was that he did not need a visa because of the Visa Waiver Program and he could apply once in the States. He duly paid for his ticket at £590 arrived in Florida and ticked the box saying he had been refused a visa (as the Embassy had told him to do) and was checked out in a holding room and they summarily refused him entry as he had already been refused in the UK. I am fuming. The poor boy had to return to the UK on the next flight with no redress whatsoever feeling lower that the proverbial. It was his first holiday to see friends in the States and it turned out to be a very sour experience. Needless to say I am writing to the Embassy as this initial advice cost him $131 when they knew it could have been avoided! He now has to apply anyway for a visa at another $131 because of the ESTA form!!!! And the nearest appointment is February 18th!!!!:mad:

Anyone have any ideas?

Slothy

To those people commenting on still needing to fill out the green Visa Waiver form. When I applied for my ESTA approval, it was made clear on the page that this was an eligibility check for Visa Waiver, not a replacement for Visa Waiver. So approval does not guarantee entry into the USA, it simply means you're approved to use the Visa Waiver and hope immigration approve of you. Immigration can still deny entry even with ESTA approval.

No doubt this system is a first step in phasing out Visa Waiver in the long term, but for now, expect to have to do both, and still be nice to the immigration guys whilst they check your green forms!

dplumb

babble wrote: »

I think I'll do the much easier thing and go somewhere else for an holiday and spend my tourist money with them!

I'm with you on that one... I've been to the states a couple times and enjoyed it, I'd go back again and my girlfriend is desperate to go but I won't go with all this nonsense. I've got nothing to hide but my fingerprints are my own until I do something wrong. Just seems a step too far for me. Photo ok, retina also ok but prints? No thank you. Once given they can't be taken back

They could just get enough details from your passport and get your permission to access PNC and bosh, get an answer. It's supposed to be a land of the free, right?

sturll

dplumb wrote: »

I'm with you on that one... I've been to the states a couple times and enjoyed it, I'd go back again and my girlfriend is desperate to go but I won't go with all this nonsense. I've got nothing to hide but my fingerprints are my own until I do something wrong. Just seems a step too far for me. Photo ok, retina also ok but prints? No thank you. Once given they can't be taken back

They could just get enough details from your passport and get your permission to access PNC and bosh, get an answer. It's supposed to be a land of the free, right?

It is the land of the free, sadly there are always going to be people who attempt to take away that liberty.
For that reason steps have to be taken to protect the citizens of that nation and that includes registering everyone who enters.
As for the PNC that is well protected by UK legislation so no worries about access to that.

However if through what i can only deem to be ignorance and arrogance you opt not to travel to the US because the nasty man wanting to protect his country wants to take your finger prints then you will miss out on one of the most naturally beautiful countries and amazing places on earth.

BritSwedeGuy

Unsurprisingly the website is badly coded and you'll probably get problems if, like any sane person, you are not using Micro$oft Internet Explorer.