ESTA

You must have an e-Passport to travel to the US
You should see a symbol on the front if you have an e-Passport.
If you don't have one you will not be permitted to travel.

What is an ESTA?
To make your visit to the United States, you must either travel under the country’s Visa Waiver programme (with an ‘ESTA’), or have a US visa (or be a US citizen, of course).

An ESTA allows you to stay in the US under the Visa Waiver programme for up to 90 days and allows travel to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.

An ESTA is valid for two years, (or less if your passport expires in that time).

Countries applicable for the Visa Waiver Programme
If you are from one of the following countries, you can travel under this programme unless

• You're a national of a VWP country who has travelled to or been present in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited exceptions for travel for diplomatic or military purposes in the service of a VWP country).
• You have dual nationality with a VWP country and either Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria. (Not including Libya, Somalia and Yemen)

If this applies to you, you will still be able to apply for a visa using the regular immigration process via the US embassies or consulates (contact details below), but you will no longer be able to enter the US under the Visa Waiver Programme (ESTA).

If you already hold an Electronic System for Travel Authorizations (ESTA) and you previously indicated that you have dual nationality with one of the four countries listed above on your ESTA application, your ESTA will no longer be valid.

ESTA Application Requirements:
To obtain your ESTA:

• You must apply at least 72 hours before you travel.
• You must hold an individual machine-readable passport or ePassport (one containing a chip). If you do not, you will need to get a visa instead.
• Provide accurate information on your ESTA application.
• Usually you will receive a response in seconds, but for very few passengers it could take up to 72 hours.
• If your ESTA is denied, you will need to get a visa.
• If you already have a visa for the US, you will not need an ESTA.

Apply for an ESTA Direct with US Homeland Security:
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

You can apply for your ESTA directly with US Homeland security, at a charge of $14

• Applications are usually instantaneous - For those applications, which are not immediately approved, travellers are required to continue to log in to the Government website to check for ESTA application approval.
• Please take note of your application number - Once an application is submitted and processed successfully, an email confirmation will not be generated. So it is advised to print the confirmation web page, or jot down your application number for safekeeping and future reference.

US Embassy
Opening hours: Mon to Fri, 08.30 - 17.30

Telephone: 0207 499 9000