US ESTA visa or Electronic System for Travel Authorization is one of the most exclusive facilities in the United States Visa policy. Though it is applicable only for the countries under the Visa Waiver Program, only when the person is traveling via air or sea, not by land. ESTA enables the eligible applicants to visit the US without obtaining a visa for only tourist or business-related purposes and your stay plan for the US must be less than 90 days in each entry. With Tourist Visa Online you can undoubtedly get the best travel experience at a really low cost. But before applying for the US ESTA visa, you need to learn about it in more detail. Here you go:
What is the US ESTA?
Under the visa policy of the United States, the eligible countries for the Visa Waiver Program have to apply for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization or ESTA, instead of any normal visa. It includes so many facilities, even traveling without obtaining any visa. Not every country is eligible for this facility, there are just a few ones who can get a hold of ESTA.
What is the US Visa Waiver Program?
As per the visa policy formed by the Government of the United States, the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a really special facility for some certain countries, which enables the citizens of those countries to stay in the US for a specific period of time without obtaining any visa. According to this facility, the traveler can stay in the US for around 90 days for certain purposes like travel for business trips and for transit purposes. VWP is actually administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of the United States and it allows only 39 countries to participate in this.
Eligible Countries for ESTA Facility:
So as you learned before that as per Visa Waiver Program only 39 countries can get the facility of ESTA. Those countries are:
The United Kingdom Those citizens can also stay in Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, or the islands in the Caribbean if the arrival was through the United States, but only in the authorized time period of 90 days. In spite of being eligible, all the citizens of those above countries need to maintain a few requirements to prove their eligibility and show as evidence.
Requirements of ESTA:
For ESTA, the applicant must need to provide some really important information and documents to prove that they're from the eligible countries and they can afford this ESTA. Those requirements are:
- Your passport with a validity of at least 6 months and will minimum 2 blank pages to get the visa printed and for immigration stamps as well.
- Proof of funds, so that the authority understands that you can afford all travel expenses and financially support yourself.
- Letter with an explanation about your purpose of visiting the US and also about your whole travel plan.
- Adequate insurance coverage and last six months' bank statements and also income tax return documents.
- Details of who you are staying with and where, like at any relatives or friend's house, or in a hotel or rented house.
- Air tickets for both your arrival and departure.
- Proof that you are from one of the eligible countries like residence proof and family and other evidence.
- Evidence that you will return to your home country
- Other travel insurance and other supporting documents
Online ESTA Application Process:
The ESTA visa application process is the same as any other US visa application. You can either apply it offline via one of your nearest embassies or online by applying through any online websites or resources. The online visa application process is really the easiest one and you can get the visa online by the email id that you have provided at the time of registration. But in this case, choosing the right website is undoubtedly one of the most important and toughest parts. Well, guess what?! There's just nothing to worry about because you are just in the right place!! Tourist Visa Online provides you the best ESTA service with the easiest visa application process at the cheapest price. So let's get a glance of the visa application process:
Step 1: Fill the online application form with all the required general information very carefully.
Step 2: Submit all the important documents and revise once to check you have not done any mistake and everything is alright.
Step 3: Now you have to pay online using any of the available methods, like:
- PayTab
- PayPal
- Google Pay
- You can also pay directly from your bank account.
Step 4: Finally now you just need to wait till we process your visa application and then we will send you the ESTA via your email id which you have provided in the application.
ESTA Fees:
ESTA visa fees generally vary as per the websites and agencies, but with Tourist Visa Online you can get the best visa services with various facilities at a really low price. It costs around 65 US dollars, including service fees as well.
ESTA Processing Time:
The whole visa application process takes around 15 minutes for the applicant. But the visa processing takes around 2-3 days as per our website. But if it is more urgent, you can get the visa within 48-72 hours with our express visa service. You can also get it at the airport on your arrival.
ESTA Validity:
Actually the ESTA comes with a validity period of two years with multiple entries. So you can have multiple trips to the United States until your passport or visa gets expired. But with each entry you can stay up to 90 days, it should not exceed than that or you will be fined for each overstay.
FAQs:
Q. Who does need to apply for an ESTA?
A. All the citizens of the VWP countries need to apply for an ESTA, but only if they are trying by air or sea. If the applicant is a citizen of VWP but traveling by land, then they don't require ESTA. And if you are not a citizen of a VWP country, you have to apply for a visa.
Q. Do I need to print the ESTA?
A. No, it is not necessary to print the ESTA, as it actually stays linked with your passport number digitally, so you don't require a printed copy. But while traveling, the airport or during the hotel reservation for the authority may ask for a printed copy so you can keep a printed copy of ESTA for your own records.
Q. Can I get the ESTA on my arrival at the airport?
A. Yes, ESTA allows the sudden emergency and even the last-minute travelers. So if you are a citizen of any VWP country and don't have an approved ESTA, you can get it at the airport as well.
Q. Do children need to apply for ESTA?
A. Yes, regardless of age, all children need to obtain their own, totally independent ESTA. Adults, Children, and even infants, all the individuals need to travel with their own ESTA.
So this is how the whole system of ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) of the United States takes place.
