Visa Requirements for International Visitors to USA

If you are planning to visit the United States and get to know famous cities like New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, how you go about getting a visa or other permission to enter the USA will depend on your citizenship. Visa requirements for international visitors to USA and Chicago, New York, Las Vegas and more differ from country to country. While most of the world needs a tourist visa to enter and travel in the USA, citizens of 40 nations qualify for the Visa Waiver Program. If you qualify you will use the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) to apply and receive authorization to travel within the USA for 90 days.

Who Can Use ESTA for the Visa Waiver Program?

As of 2021 there are 40 nations whose citizens can qualify for the US Visa Waiver Program using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. They are as follows:

Although more nations may be added to this list over time, these are the countries whose citizens are currently eligible for the US Visa Waiver Program.

What Is the ESTA?

ESTA stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization. This system began in 2009 to facilitate US entry and travel authorization under the Visa Waiver Program. This program allows citizens from the EU, nations long allied with the USA to visit the USA without having to go to a US embassy or consulate and apply for a visa such as the B1 or B2. The visa waiver obtained by using ESTA lets one make multiple visits to the USA. Each visit can be for up to 90 days. ESTA lets a person access the system online and provide information from their passport plus personal information. The process takes a few minutes and the valid ESTA for entry and travel in the USA arrives by mail.

What the ESTA Is Not For

ESTA and the Visa Waiver Program are for travel in the USA, seeing the Grand Canyon, enjoying a deep dish pizza in Chicago, or visiting friends in San Francisco. If you are traveling to the USA in order to study or to work you need to visit a US embassy or consulate to apply. The ESTA system facilitates visits of up to 90 days to the USA and, in fact, allows one to make multiple visits with one authorization. It is not used for longer visits and for purposes other than simply visiting the USA.

Using ESTA to Apply for a Visa Waiver

You will access ESTA online. The system will ask for personal information and information from your passport.

Important: This system is for citizens of any of the 40 nations that qualify for a visa waiver. If you are traveling with children every person needs to have a passport. Having your children listed on your passport does not work for this system. And, make sure that all of the passports will be valid for the length of your expected stay in the USA. Your waiver needs to be approved before your trip and is only applicable if you arrive in the USA by air or sea. For entry by land from Mexico or Canada eligible individuals fill out an I-94W form at the border. 

To use the ESTA system for a waiver you need to have an ePassport with an embedded electronic chip.

What Does ESTA Cost?

It costs $4 to apply and $10 if you are authorized. Payment is made online using MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover (JCB, Diners Club), or PayPal. Here’s a helpful site that will take you through the ESTA steps for a small fee.

Filling Out the ESTA Form

Before starting to fill out the ESTA form make sure you have your passport in hand. Your passport will need to be valid through the days that you expect to travel in the USA. And, your passport must have an IC chip in order for you to use the ESTA system. Each person traveling with you needs to have their own individual passport. And, have a credit card ready. The name of the card does not have to be the same name as the person applying for ESTA authorization.

When filling out the form make sure to get all of the details correct. Names on the application form must be the same, including how they are capitalized, as on each passport. If a person goes by an alias name, that should be included as well.

Provide your email address and telephone number. Make sure to use the drop down menu to choose the right country for your phone and choose the type of phone you use as well (land line, cell phone).

For your home address make sure to add all of the details including the name of your building and unit number.

For your passport you will provide the passport number, date of issue, and date of expiration. And, if you have passports of other national identification numbers for other countries include those as well.

You will need to provide information regarding your country and city of birth as well as any information about other nationalities or citizenship that you possess now or possessed in the past.

If you are a member of the Global Entry program, provide your nine digit number and then click yes or no regarding whether or not you will transit to another country. You will have the option of registering any address where you will be staying and the name of a US point of contact if you will have one.

Other information requested will be work experience details and if you have an SNS (social media) account and the details. The “parents information” section allows you to list parents as emergency contacts and to provide contact details.

The eligibility questions section includes 9 questions which, when answered with “yes” are common reasons for your being refused entry into the US. They include questions about diseases, drug dependence, mental disorders, criminal history, drug possession or use, espionage or terrorism associations, use of an illegal visa, previous refusal of a visa, intent to work without permission, inter to overstay, travel to specific countries like North Korea or Syria.

Make certain to read carefully the disclaimer and terms of service and then click “agree” if you do agree.

Before paying the application fee review your answers and double check that the information you provided is correct. Then pay and your application will be complete.

You will immediately receive an email confirming that authorization is processing. If you do not receive an email, check your SPAM folder. Likewise, you should receive confirmation of your travel authorization within 72 hours. It sometimes takes that long when system maintenance is being carried out or when there are issues with your application in which you should receive a “travel authorization on hold” notice. In either case, check your SPAM folder if no email arrives.

How Does ESTA Differ From a Visa?

The ESTA system provides visa waivers for citizens of the 40 nations that qualify. These waivers allow travel for up to 90 days. If you want to work or study in the USA or stay longer than 90 days you will need to go to the US Embassy or consulate nearest to you and apply for the appropriate visa.

What if My ESTA Application Is Denied?

If the reason for your ESTA application being denied is a simple error in the information that you enter in your application you can wait 10 days and apply again. If that is not the case and one or more of your answers triggered a concern in the ESTA system you will need to apply for a visa in order to enter the USA. If your application is denied, your money will be refunded. The refusal notice you receive will not specify why you were refused. If you suspect that your refusal was due to a simple error in filling out the form, review it and fix any mistakes. Then wait 10 days and reapply. If your refusal has to do with an issue such as a prior criminal record, visiting one of listed countries of concern, or a similar issue you may still be able to obtain a visa, depending on the severity of the problem and the level of concern that it will raise on the part of those reviewing your visa application.