WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR OBTAINING ESTA?

TheESTA allows you to travel to the USA without a visa. To obtain it, you need to fill in a form and answer a series of closed questions (yes or no). You’ll still need to find out what ESTA rules apply before you start.

ESTA, RULES FOR OBTAINING

ESTA travel authorization is relatively simple to obtain, provided, of course, that the rules for obtaining it are respected.

ESTA is only available to nationals of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program. To date, this visa waiver program has 38 member countries, including France. The U.S. government has imposed a restriction, however: dual nationals whose nationality is not Iraqi, Syrian or Sudanese are not admitted to the U.S. under the ESTA program. These dual nationals must apply for a U.S. visa at the U.S. embassy.

To benefit from ESTA, a passport valid for the entire duration of your stay is required. Only electronic and biometric passports are accepted.

Your stay in the USA is limited to a maximum of 90 days. The immigration officer at the port of entry may ask to see an exit ticket, whether a return or onward ticket, respecting this temporary stay clause. The ESTA is mandatory for all travel to the United States, including stopovers, i.e. transit.

For security reasons, the US authorities consider that anyone who has traveled to Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia since March 01, 2011 may pose a threat to US homeland security. As a result, their ESTA application will be refused, and they must contact the American Embassy to obtain a visa. However, this rule does not apply to military personnel and diplomats on official business.

It can only be obtained via the Internet. You can apply for an ESTA using an online form available on the government website, or on a private website like ours for personalized assistance. There’s no need to go to the U.S. embassy for ESTA.

We emphasize that all these rules must be respected to apply for ESTA.

ESTA RULES

In addition to the rules for obtaining an ESTA, there are the conditions that define the ESTA itself.

The ESTA is a fee-based travel authorization ($14) that must be obtained before entering the United States. It does not, however, guarantee access to the U.S. territory; that decision rests with the immigration officer.

It is compulsory only for sea and air travel. In other words, land travel from Canada or Mexico is exempt.

The ESTA only authorizes short-term tourist and business travel. There is no question of residing, studying or doing an internship in the USA.

ESTA authorization is valid for two years, or until the passport expires, whichever comes first.

The ESTA is intrinsically linked to the passport, which implies two things. The first is that changes to the passport (passport number in the case of a new passport, or changes to its contents) trigger a new ESTA application, subject to the same rules for obtaining one. The second is that everyone traveling to the USA must have a passport, including minors of all ages.

The last applicable rule concerns the truthfulness of the information provided, whether on the ESTA form or when answering the questionnaire. The temptation to lie can be strong, especially if an initial ESTA application has been refused, notably because of a positive response to the questionnaire. We strongly advise against this, as the American authorities are very strict when they consider that the country’s national security is at stake.

Please note that an ESTA authorization request will probably be refused if a visa application has already been rejected by the embassy.