Visa Applicant

ESTA is an automatic system that regulates the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States, which is under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Your Authorization via ESTA does not define whether a traveler is admissible, or not but, it’s the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who will determine acceptability upon travelers’ arrival to the country. The Esta visa collects biographic information of candidate and answers to Visa Waiver Program eligibility questions. It is recommended to the applicant, to submit the Esta application at any time prior to travel as soon as possible, the applicant must have an e-passport to use the Visa Waiver Programme. It is known that an e-Passport is an enhanced secure passport with an embedded electronic chip.  Candidate can readily identify an e-Passport because it has a unique international symbol on the cover of the passport.

Visa Wavier Programme:  Overview

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows most citizens or nationals of participating countries to travel the US for different purposes.  Under VWP, Applicant could stay of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa for the US. Applicant must have a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval on a prior basis.  Applicant must be a citizen or national of the enlisted countries to be eligible to travel to the United States under the VWP.

In order to travel without a visa on the VWP, the applicant must have authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior at the time of arrival, if want to travel without a visa on the VWP. The ESTA is a web-based automated system operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to determine eligibility to travel the US for different purposes.  Browse the ESTA webpage on the CBP website for more statistics. Applicant must be a citizen or national of the listed countries (check on the official website of ESTA) to be entitled to travel to the United States under the VWP Frame.

Updating Your ESTA

In general, your ESTA will be valid for two years of span.   But the candidate must obtain a new ESTA under some conditions such as.

If you have received a new passport

If you have changed your name

If you have changed your gender

If you have migrated to some other country/ change of citizenship

If you need to change your responses to any of the YES or NO questions on TH ESTA platform.

Furthermore, there are few restrictions for some counties and conditions. Such as,  Citizens of VWP countries who have traveled to, or been present in some restricted counties( Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and/or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011,) are no longer eligible to travel or be admitted to the United States under the VWP  Frame.  Dual citizens of VWP countries and Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Sudan are also no longer entitled to travel or be admitted to the US.

And this restriction does not apply to VWP tourists whose presence any of those countries was to perform military service in the armed forces of a VWP nation. Additionally, in order to carry out official duties as a full-time employee of the government of a VWP country. The official Secretary of Homeland Security may waive this VWP restriction if he determines that such a waiver is in the law enforcement, such waivers will be decided only on a case-by-case origin.

An updated ESTA Visa USA application form is available on the official website.   And this new form contains additional questions to address the new travel eligibility necessities. It is best If travelers seeking an ESTA to use the enhanced system, which will support in making distinct determinations on the probable granting of a waiver.