Planning a visit to the US – Get your ESTA

Are you planning a travel to the US these days? If you belong to any of the approved countries who have the Visa Waiver program from the US administration, you would need to apply for a visa authorisation. Confused and don’t know how to apply for the ESTA Visa authorisation? Here are the tips. 

What does ESTA VISA mean? 

While the authorisation is termed ESTA Visa, it isn’t a Visa by any standard. In essence, it is an online authorisation and eligibility checker option for validating your Visa Waiver status. 

ESTA is an acronym for Electronic System for Travel Authorization. If you are from any of the 30 approved countries who enjoy the visa free travel to the US, the ESTA Visa is an option to validate your eligibility. Of course, ESTA does not grant you a permission to stay in the US; it can be a better option than applying for Visa. The authority to grant the entry lies with the US immigration and customs officials. 

How to Apply for ESTA?

The ESTA Application procedure is comparatively easy and simple. But, before you actually apply for it, ensure that you belong to one of the eligible countries or categories. You will also need to check if you have the necessary documentation available with you. 

A few of the guidelines in the application procedure may be a little complex and difficult to understand. In such situations where you are unable to understand the concepts, ensure that you can get in touch with the expert advice. The expert’s agencies dealing in ESTA application should be able to help you take a call. 

Do note that post getting the ESTA validation; you can only visit the US only for business and tourism purposes. Working or taking up a study on an ESTA authorisation is not allowed. Moreover, you would not be able to stay in the US for more than 90 days on an ESTA validation. 

The significance of ESTA

ESTA is an excellent option when compared to the traditional VISA and has been developed as a perfect alternative to Visa. Akin to the ETIAS system of authorisation used in the EU region, the ESTA system brings in a lot of simplification in the travel authorisation into the US. 

Introduced back in 2007, the ESTA regime can be the best option in many ways. In fact, it relies on the online mode and thus can be a time saver. Moreover, the costs and efforts involved in an ESTA application are quite affordable when you compare it to the conventional Visa. 

Opt for ESTA well ahead of time and ensure that you have all the documents ready when entering the US. Please note that ESTA is only an eligibility documentation, and the actual right to entry is decided by the documents you carry. Be a citizen who abides by the law and regulations to stay unaffected by any incidents. 

Cheryl Wheeler