How to obtain the ESTA Form to travel to the United States: tips

When plan a trip to the United States has to take into account the strong security measures at airports to fly to that country.

But it is also essential to know the requirements needed to enter in it, where immigration controls are very demanding.

Below I detail the most important points to consider in this regard.

Who and how you can travel to the United States without needing a visa

• Spain It is one of the few countries in the world whose citizens we can travel to the United States en business or tourism trip, for example to the West Coast, without the need to apply for a visa (Visa Waiver Program).
• For travel to the United States without applying for a visa, period of stay in the United States it must not be longer than 90 days.
• Furthermore, you must leave Spain with a round trip plane ticket.
• And you also have to comply certain legal requirements (not having been convicted of a crime...) that prevent you from entering the United States without having to apply for a prior visa.

What it is and how to request Authorization to travel to the United States

• However, since 2009 for travel to the United States It is mandatory to meet an essential requirement: complete the Contact Sales ESTA Authorization, acronym with which in English the Electronic System for Authorization of Travel to the United States.

How much does the ESTA Form cost: price

• You must also pay the corresponding fee; currently, the price of the ESTA Form is U.S. dollar 14.
• El ESTA form is filled out online through the website of United States Department of Customs Security, and must be completed by each of the people who are going to make the trip, including children.
• It has to be valid passport during the entire period of stay in the United States, which must be less than 90 days.
• The purpose of the trip must be business or tourism.

How to request the ESTA Form online

• Through the Embassy website you must access the Electronic System for Authorization of Travel to the United States.
• Completing this procedure will take you about 25 minutes.
• Before completing the form, payment must be made online of the aforementioned fee of 14 dollars, of which 10 dollars are charged for receiving the permit, and 4 dollars for management expenses.
• If you are denied authorization in the process, you will only be charged $4.

Credit cards to pay the ESTA Form

• Payment can only be made with credit or debit cards MasterCard, VISA, American Express, Discover (JCB and Diners Club) and PayPal.

– After accepting a disclaimer, you access the form where you fill out your personal information, passport information, the flight you are going to take, and the addresses where you will initially reside (the usual hotel address) after arriving in the United States.

What questions must be answered in the ESTA Form

Now, you must answer seven questions similar to those that prior to this system it was necessary to respond on the green form that they gave you on the plane.

1.- Do you suffer from a contagious disease, a physical or mental disorder; or are you a drug user or addict?

2.- Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or a controlled substance violation; or has been arrested or convicted of two or more crimes for which the total sentence of imprisonment was five years or more; or has been a trafficker of controlled substances; or is he trying to get in to engage in criminal or immoral activities?

3.- Have you ever been or are you now involved in espionage or sabotage; o in terrorist activities: o genocide; or between 1933 and 1945 he was involved, in some way, in persecutions associated with the Nazi Germany or his allies?

4.- Do you intend to look for work in the US; or have ever been excluded and deported; or have you previously been removed from the United States or have you sought or attempted to seek a visa or entry to the United States through fraud or false testimony?

5.- Have you ever detained, detained, or prevented a US citizen who has obtained custody of the child from having custody of a child?

6.- Have you ever been denied a US visa or entry to the US or had a US visa cancelled?

7.- Have you ever asserted your immunity from accusation?

How long does it take to approve the Authorization to travel to the United States?

Once completed the ESTA form, the normal thing is that you immediately receive the entry permit into the United States with reference number that you must save printing the aforementioned provisional authorization and attaching it to the passport.

It is possible that the authorization is pending resolution, which can last up to 72 hours.

To know the status of our application during those three days, from the same website you can go to the section “Update or Review the status of a previously submitted authorization to travel to the United States”, where you can also update data, such as the flight or the address of the first hotel of stay.

What to do if I am denied Authorization to travel to the United States

If after filling out the form, or after the 72-hour resolution, You are not authorized to travel to the United States, it does not mean that you will not be able to go, but that you should go to the U.S. Embassy a request clarification Or in her case, a visa.

The approval of the authorization does not guarantee that you will finally be able to enter the United States, since you will need the sometimes cumbersome procedure of clearing customs at the airport.

How long is the ESTA form in force?

The authorization will be valid for two years, So if during that period you want to return to the United States, it is not necessary to fill out the ESTA form again, unless your passport expires first. In this case, you will need to reapply for travel authorization.

La completion of this form Before it was free, although as I have already mentioned, now you have to pay the aforementioned fee of 14 dollars.

But you have to keep in mind that on the Internet you will find websites that offer you the service of managing your name, for which they charge you an additional fee that substantially increases the price to pay.

It is not at all necessary to hire this service, which makes it very expensive, since Filling out the ESTA form is a very simple procedure which you can do yourself directly by following the guidance that I have given you in this article.

More information for traveling to the United States

• Visa Waiver Program for travel to the United States
  
• Find out what the Redress Number is and if you need it to travel to the United States
• Low cost airlines for internal flights in the United States