Presentation of the fESTA form

The ESTA form is a simplified form of travel to the United States. Now you can travel to the U.S. without having to apply for a U.S. visa. It’s simple and convenient, because it’s done directly online, and takes just a few minutes.

ESTA is not available to everyone who asks for it. Certain conditions must be met to qualify. These include:

• Be in possession of a valid passport (biometric or electronic passport);
• Travelling to the USA for tourism, business or simple transit
• Stayin the U.S. for a maximum of 90 days.

Obtaining the ESTA is a mandatory step that allows the U.S. government to reinforce security measures by having information on travelers. information on travelers even before they enter the USA. This approval also allows travelers to avoid the cumbersome formalities and additional costs associated with applying for a U.S. visa.

General information on the ESTA form

As you can see, it’s no longer necessary to apply for a visa to travel to the USA. You simply need to apply for ESTA. The ESTA questionnaire is available on the US government website.

Who can fill out the ESTA form ?

The ESTA form is available to all nationals of countries covered by the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Citizens of the 41 countries concerned must also have a valid passport, whether biometric or electronic.

Your stay in the USA must last less than 90 consecutive days, and be for tourism or business purposes. Transit through the USA requires authorization, regardless of the final destination.

Finally, the ESTA form asks a series of questions about your state of health, your past travels, your relationship with the authorities, and so on. If you meet these conditions, you can then apply online for ESTA authorization.

Rates for ESTA form

The price to pay online for an ESTA application is 21 U.S. dollars on the official U.S. government website.

Form delivery times

Accessing the ESTA form is easy, because you don’t need to go to the U.S. embassy in your country. All you need is an Internet connection and a visit to the official U.S. government website. Since application processing is automatic and computerized, you may receive your authorization just a few minutes after completing your questionnaire. But it can also take up to three days (72 hours), depending on the number of requests in progress and the information included in your form. Your authorization may be granted, or your ESTA may be pending or refused.

ESTA validity

ESTA authorization is valid for 2 years. During this period, you can travel to the USA several times. Please note, however, that you must respect the 90-day maximum per stay, and return to your country of origin for at least as long.

The ESTA expires either naturally at the end of the two-year period, as you have just seen, or following a change to the passport, whether lost, expired or if the data has changed.

Complete the ESTA questionnaire

Before you start filling in the ESTA questionnaire, you’ll need to know your passport number and have a credit card to validate your application, as obtaining the ESTA document is not free, regardless of how you order it.

ESTA form on the official US government website

There are three steps to applying for ESTA authorization on the government website:

• The first step is to provide personal information such as your surname, date of birth, passport number, nationality, contact details and some information about your job;
• The second step allows you to enter the address where you plan to stay in the USA and to provide an emergency contact;
• The third step consists of a series of questions about your mental and physical health, your criminal record (convictions), your drug use, your history in the USA and, finally, your past travels to muslim ban countries.

After these three steps, you must review all your answers before paying the fee and validating your ESTA form.

To check the status of your ESTA authorization, visit the U.S. government website using the ESTA number you received.