New Guide Discussion: Everyone needs ESTA for US travel

It starts from the date it's approved and is valid for two years from that date, unless the passport expires earlier.


You can leave it until a week before, I've done it a few days before (was arranging a trip at short notice) and all was fine, as it will be for most people BUT if there's a problem it doesn't give them any time to get it sorted!


For the small amount it costs, for the sake of 2-3 weeks it's not worth it IMO - just apply now, then they can relax knowing it's all sorted

Hey guys,

I wanted to ask if anybody has had any experience of their ESTA being Denied at a later date after it was initially approved?

On the 29th November 2018 I was due to fly to New York for a wonderful winter trip with my wife, I had my ESTA approved on the 6th November so we continued to make more plans for our trip whilst out there.

However, at 4pm on November 28th (literally 16 hours before my flight) I received an email advising my ESTA status had changed, and to my horror I logged in to see that my ESTA authorisation was now showing as Denied!

I have travelled to the USA numerous times before and even as recently as last year in May, the only difference this time is I had to get a new ESTA due to having a new Passport.

All the info I provided was correct as I always triple check them when submitting, how can they approve it on the 6th November then deny it on the 28th November??

The distress this has caused myself and my wife is unexplainable, we had our hearts set on this trip and had it all planned in our heads only for it to be taken from us at the last minute.

The worst thing is, nobody will tell us why it was denied, when I called the ESTA office they confirmed it had been denied but would not disclose why, I just keep getting the same responses advising to get a VISA i now need to go to the US embassy in London, but their Visa appointments can take days and also days to approve, not really helpful when I was due to fly less than 24 hours away.

Can anybody help? We lost over £2,500.00 in trip expenses and none was refundable due to the hotel and flights being within 24 hours

One final thing to note... on the ESTA CBP website in the terms it clearly states... "Once you are approved, it's good for two years or until your passport expired, whichever comes first, and you do not have to apply again during that period unless one of the above mentioned things changes", this clearly isn't the case is it!

Essex Jim, you can go back into the official web site and check validity of a current esta. That may indicate if your application went through.

Essex_Jim wrote: »

Thanks Stevie11. Looked again and found how to check without the application number. The Application has been processed.

Nice one, have a safe trip.

AndBri wrote: »

Hi we will be travelling by car from my sons in Ontario to New York State via the Niagara border crossing for a 2 day site seeing visit . Does anyone know if we will need an ETSA please ?
‘Tia Everyone

You won't assuming you are a citizen of a VWP (Visa Waiver Program) country. See below:

I am a citizen of a VWP country and am visiting the U.S. from Canada or Mexico?
If you are a citizen of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), and you enter the U.S. by land from Mexico or Canada, ESTA is not required. If you do not have ESTA, you will be required to complete the paper I-94W form and proceed through a manual entry process at the land border crossing. If you have an approved ESTA when entering the U.S. at a land border crossing, you will not be required to complete the paper I-94W form and your entry process is expedited. However, if issued, you should return your green I-94W card upon departure from the U.S. If you are arriving by air or sea, you do need to apply for ESTA.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/application.html?execution=e1s1

I crossed from Canada to the US at Niagara in May 17 and didn't need the ESTA.