How to complete an ESTA form?

How to complete an ESTA form?

Are you planning to go to the USA soon and need an ESTA document ? To obtain your authorization, you must first complete the ESTA online form. Although this formality is not complicated, it still requires a certain rigor. Indeed, at the slightest error appearing on the form, the American authorities may refuse your ESTA application. Find out everything you need to know about the ESTA form, so you can travel to the United States with peace of mind.

First step to complete the ESTA form: bring a valid passport

To complete an ESTA form, travelers are systematically required to have a valid passport. Two types of identity documents are accepted: the electronic passport and the biometric passport. If your passport ever expires within six months of your boarding date, customs services may reject your ESTA application. To avoid this situation, simply apply for a passport renewal. Once your local town hall has issued you with your new passport, you can apply for a temporary residence permit.

Where can I fill in the ESTA form?

As its name suggests, ESTA authorization is an electronic travel authorization, meaning that it can only be obtained online.
The official site for ESTA applications is https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/.

Filling out the ESTA form: entering information

The ESTA form consists of three parts.

Traveler data

To begin with, travelers are asked to provide their passport details. Please note that the U.S. authorities insist that the data entered in this section must be strictly identical to those appearing on the passport. You are asked to upload your passport to the site so that the system can check the accuracy of the traveler’s passport data. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the information requested in this section:

  • marital status ;
  • passport number ;
  • date of issue ;
  • Issuing country ;
  • expiration date ;
  • parent’s name;
  • personal details ;
  • e-mail address ;
  • information about your current (or former) employer ;
  • social networking profiles (optional).

Once you’ve completed this first part of the ESTA form, you’ll need to detail the conditions of your trip to the USA.

Information about staying in the USA

In this section, U.S. Customs and Border Protection simply wants to make sure that you’re not planning to go to the U.S. to work, do an internship or study. You will therefore need to provide the reason for your stay, an address on site and the details of an emergency contact. Then comes the final stage of the ESTA form: the questionnaire.

Eligibility questions

This part consists of closed questions, i.e. you only have to answer yes or no.
The topics of these questions vary, but they are all related to health and safety. As such, you will, for example, be asked if you are subject to mental disorders or a communicable disease, if you have already had legal convictions or if you have already been refused access to American territory. Answering yes to any of these questions means that you do not meet one or more of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program eligibility requirements. But then what if you absolutely have to go to the USA? The only alternative is to apply for a visa at the American embassy or consulate.

Completed ESTA form: what’s next?

Once you’ve finished filling in your ESTA form, the payment window will appear, in which you’ll need to enter your bank details to pay the ESTA application fee. Once payment has been made, your ESTA application will be subject to analysis by the computer systems of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security). The status of your file will be decided within a maximum of 72 hours. If you have verified that you meet the ESTA eligibility requirements, your online application will most likely be approved. From that moment on, you are officially authorized to travel to the USA without a visa for up to 90 days, for tourism, business or transit.

How to update your ESTA form?

Updating the ESTA form is only possible under certain conditions. First, the timing of the update will determine what information can be updated on the ESTA form. If you have not yet paid the processing fees related to your request, you will be able to freely modify all the information. On the other hand, if you have already paid the requested amount, only two pieces of information will be modifiable: the address of residence in the USA and your e-mail address. If you want to update other information, you will have no choice but to fill out an ESTA form again and pay the application fee once again.