If you want to travel as a tourist to the United States you will have to apply for ESTA, in reality the translation would be like “Electronic System for Travel Authorization” and it is not exactly a visa but an authorization for entry into the country.
Eye, you can do it yourself online for $ 14 on the official ESTA application page, it is also very simple, so you do not need an agency to process your visa to the United States. You just have to follow these steps:
1. Enter the official Web from ESTA. At the top you can change the language to "Spanish."
→ //esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/
2. Click on the button NEW REQUEST -> INDIVIDUAL APPLICATION / GROUP APPLICATION. If you travel two or more people you can choose this second option to simplify the process and make the payment only once (the price is the same as two individual requests).
3. A security notification appears informing about the use of the security system that we must confirm and continue.
4. The first step is to fill in the group contact information. Basically it is the profile of who is going to deal with the requests of the whole group. (The “Organization” section is not mandatory and you can leave it blank).
5. We will have created a group with your ID number, we will receive an e-mail with this information (although it did not reach us), which we will need to check the status of the requests in the future. The next step is to add the requests of all travelers, including the one that appears as a group contact. To do this we click on ADD NEW APPLICATION.
6. We will have to accept the terms legal that tell us things like we can be stopped at the border and not be accepted in the US regardless of having the ESTA, that we cannot work, that our data will be used by the government, etc. And subsequently accept payment terms of the service ($ 10 for the authorization and $ 4 for the use of the platform, which means that if the request is not approved, you will only have to pay $ 4).
7. The next step and the one that is already getting warm is that of enter the applicant's data. It doesn't have much complication. To speed up the process you must upload the photo of the main passport sheet(We recommend that the photo is not large, so there are no upload problems). After uploading the passport photo you will be asked if the data you have recognized is correct, it will automatically add them to the corresponding spaces, although you can modify them. Check the data and fill in the fields with red asterisk that are mandatory (if you only have a citizenship, it will basically be your passport data, parents' names and contact information). When we finish we click on “Next”.
8. The next point is to add the travel and contact information in the USA. If you do not have friends who live there or you have them but do not want to put them in any brown, you can put the address of the accommodation where you will stay one night. You also have the option of putting UNKNOWN if you have no idea, and zeros in the phone number. And then the address of a contact in case of emergency (it can be from the US or your mother / brother / cousin ... in your country of residence).
* If you get errors, you can select "Check this box to state that this address is correct."
9. Next we will have to answer YES or NO to a series of questions Typical: if you take drugs, if you are a public danger, if you intend to kill the toupee ... we advise you to put everything that NO. Be careful if you have recently traveled to Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemem ... We leave the acceptance of the conditions selected and that of “third parties” we leave it blank (unless the procedure is for a third party).
10. The final step is review the request and confirm it. We click on “confirm and continue in each section”. In the end we will have to enter our passport data again as a security mode.
11. We will have finished with the data of the first applicant if we are with the group mode. If you are making the individual request you will go directly to the payment platform. If you are in group mode, this is the time to enter the data of the second and subsequent applicants, in the same way as the previous one, giving ADD NEW APPLICATION.
12. Once all the requests are included, you have to checkout, so click on PAY NOW, after leaving the “disclaimer” box selected. You can make the payment with a PayPal account or with a bank card.
13. Already made the payment will touch us wait for approval (or negative) of the request, which may take about 72 hours to become effective. Although it says that it is communicated by e-mail, we do not receive it, but no problem, you can go to the “Verify Request in Process“, Enter the applicant's data and the status appears. Print this page (although you will see later that it is not necessary) and take it on the trip.
If the electronic travel authorization (ESTA) is approved it means that you have the right to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, but it does not guarantee you entry into the country, the final decision is made by the airport border agent that you He will inspect, so don't mess it up when you arrive.
It is not necessary to bring a printed copy of the ESTA authorization page, as the agents already have all the information electronically, however it is recommended and it never hurts to take it (we do so). In addition, this sheet was requested by us both when checking in at the Madrid airport and on the London scale.
- It is valid for maximum trips 90 days.
- His price is $ 14 by request, regardless of whether it is done in individual or group mode.
- The duration of an approved ESTA is from 2 years from the date of approval (or failing that until the passport with which the application was made expires), and can be used on several trips during this period.
Those who meet these requirements can benefit from ESTA for the United States:
1. Be a citizen and have a valid passport from a country that is within theVisa Waiver Program. Which are? Look at the following list:
If your country is NOT in this list, you will have to apply for a visa to enter the United States.
2. Not having a visitor visa today.
3. Only for trips of 90 days or less.
4. The purpose of the trip is for pleasure, business or transit.
5. Have a return or departure ticket from the USA. (In the application process it is not necessary to present it, but if you arrive at the airport).
* Shutterstock main photo
