ESTA

IS ESTA EVEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT A SPECIFIC PROJECT?

You may be worried that you haven’t defined your entire itinerary for your future trip to the United States. You just need to be clear about the temporary nature of your stay, and whether it’s for tourism, business or transit.

We remind you that it can take up to 72 hours to process an application. Avoid filling in the ESTA form online at the last minute!

ESTA APPLICATIONS DEPEND ON THE PURPOSE OF THE TRIP

ESTA is a system put in place by the United States to lighten the burden of processing visa applications. The Electronic System for Travel Authorization is dependent on the Visa Waiver Program. As its name suggests, it enables a number of countries (38 to be precise) to allow their nationals to travel with a simple travel authorization obtained online, i.e. without the need for a visa. The ESTA is issued (or refused in rare cases) after applicants have filled in various details on an online form.

Please note, however, that some stays do not fall within this scope, but within that of visas, despite the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). For example, if you intend to work in the USA, you don’t need an ESTA. This travel authorization applies to :

The ESTA is not free and is valid for two years: during this period, you can make as many visits as you like, subject to the time limit (90 days maximum per visit).

The ESTA does not apply to family reunification, business start-ups, marriages, au pairs, studies…. These reasons require either a non-immigrant visa or a green card. Of course, these two documents are much more complicated to obtain than an ESTA, which you can get in just a few clicks via our website esta-officiel-usa.com, which also offers online assistance to take care of the whole process!

For more details, see our page on the differences between ESTA and visa.

TOURIST STAY? YOU DON’T NEED DETAILS TO GET AN ESTA

As explained above, all you need to do is mention that you’re traveling for tourism when you apply for your ESTA. You won’t have to specify your project, reason or program once you’ve entered the US. This means you can completely change your plans mid-stay without having to inform anyone, as long as you still meet the ESTA criteria. If your tourism turns into work or marriage, you’ll need to apply for the appropriate visa.