Assistance for ESTA

What is ESTA?

The full form of ESTA is Electronic System for Travel Authorization. It is a kind of procedure which all those flying to US for a span of 90 days or less need to necessarily follow. An additional requirement is that the visitor must be from a country belonging to the Visa Waiver program (VWP). ESTA declares a visitor as eligible to visit United States. But that does not mean that he gets admission into the country. That part is decided by the Control and Border protection (CBP) officials at the time of arrival of a visitor. The CBP officials have the entire right to allow or deny a visitor into the country.

This involves a simple procedure of applying online through a form. You need to provide your biographic, financial and other information like if you are suffering from any disease etc. this is to ensure that the officials do not consider you as a potential threat to the country. If they find that you have forged or given false information anywhere, they can deny you ESTA or cancel it during its validity.

Even a child needs to have an ESTA if flying to US. Once approved, ESTA is valid for two years. If the CBP officials cancel or deny the ESTA during these two years, you can always re-apply.

How does one get assistance?

The formalities which are required during ESTA are much lesser than the visa procedure. Usually ESTA can be done on the government website all by yourself. But if you seem confused by the fact you need to do everything on your own, then there are several others websites willing to offer their services for getting you an ESTA application. Once you apply through them, the website gets back to you with the application details. All the details post application and then about the approval is provided to you through emails. They mostly send you a PDF file of the approval which you are expected to save as well as print. You need to keep it with you safely throughout the term of the ESTA.

Fees for assistance

The fee for ESTA on the government website is $14. But if you choose to take ESTA assistance from a private website, then you have to pay the governmental fee of $14 as well as the charges of the website.  It can range anywhere from $50 to $200. But if you wish to save spending too much, you can prefer the government website.