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Project_gal
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The information Cats2010 is giving here is incorrect as anyone who has been through the process will know.

 

Sending the completed ESTA form to an embassy is a good way of losing it.

 

The best advice is to ignore Cats posts on this subject.

 

David.

 

 

I only fell on this post now, balf, and I have to repeat that my information is not incorrect. It does not seem to be applicable to UK citizens, but it does for mainland Europeans.

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[quote=Victoria2;43759531

 

An embassy only becomes directly involved if an applicant has to have a face to face meeting with a consular official in order to obtain a non electronic visa for whatever reason.

 

 

This might be the case for your country, but mainland Europeans have to submit their ESTA applications to their particular embassy if submitted electronically. Insofar the embassy is directly involved.

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Hi Cats2010,

 

No, but that's where the OP lives (England/UK), as you can see in the 1st post. You could have said "I'm not sure if this applies in all countries but where I live in xxx we have to do ESTAs this way... You may have different rules where you live"

 

Or not mentioned ESTA at all, if you were unsure.

 

Then the confusion in this thread you introduced would not have occurred.

 

Not everybody in this world lives in the same country as you :D .

 

Best wishes,

 

 

Hi Pepper,

 

Sorry for the late answer, I only saw it now.

 

Yes, you are right, I probably overlooked what country the OP came from.

 

However, I maintain that my information is not incorrect, it only does not help the OP in her particular case, BUT it might help people living on the continent.

 

I hope we can agree on this version ;).

 

Greetings

from mainland Europe

and Cats :)

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Greetings from mainland Europe and Cats :)
Hi Cats2010, which country in mainland Europe are you posting from, may I ask? (assuming you also have a passport for that country). I'm sorry if you've already said, I ask because I may have found the answer to the difference experiences reported here. I'm based in the UK, and have a UK passport. Thank you. Edited by pepperrn
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ESTA works the same for all countries that participate in the US Visa Waiver Program. Here is the list of current countries.

 

Andorra

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Brunei

Chile

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Monaco

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Portugal

Republic of Malta

San Marino

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Korea

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Taiwan[1]

United Kingdom

 

 

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/WebHelp/ESTA_Screen-Level_Online_Help_1.htm#vwp3

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

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Hi Cats2010, which country in mainland Europe are you posting from, may I ask? (assuming you also have a passport for that country). I'm sorry if you've already said, I ask because I may have found the answer to the difference experiences reported here. I'm based in the UK, and have a UK passport. Thank you.

 

 

Hi Pepper,

 

and thank you for your consideration. I think the OP's question has been answered in extenso, but knowing you as an extremely helpful and polite person with a great sense of humour, here is my answer:

 

I live in two countries on the European continent that participate in the Visa Waiver Program and have a European passport. Whenever I want to travel to the US, I fill in the ESTA questionnaire or renew the latest version, whichever prevails, and send it to the US Embassy. 'Embassy' also because the e-mail address reads '... gov ...', which means 'government'.

 

I am inclined to believe that all the questions asked are the same for all those countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program. I am also inclined to believe that any such application is handled by an US Embassy.

 

Be it as it is in my case or differently in others, I urge anybody wishing to enter the US to fill in the questionnaire and take a copy along.

 

However, it is always the US Immigration Officer who has the last word to say.

 

Regards,

 

Cats2010 :)

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Cats2010, thanks for clarifying what you do. It sounds like all you meant by "send to the embassy" was, one should complete the online ESTA app and push the "send" button. That is the correct process--there is no additional step required.

 

(Simply for accuracy, you may wish to read the ESTA FAQ and understand that when you push "send," it is electronically submitted to the Dept of Homeland Security (referred to therein as DHS), not your country's US embassy. The Visa Waiver Program came about post 9/11 and transferred responsibility for most <90-day visa issuance to DHS; embassies or consulates of participating countries only get involved in visa issuance when a visitor is ineligible for an ESTA and must submit a more involved visa application.)

 

Happy US visits on your ESTA!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

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Artemis, thank you for your explanations. I can assure you, however, and please believe me! that I am always contacting a European US Embassy concerning my ESTA applications, and not the US Homeland Security. Direct contact with them is most probably applicable to US citizens only.

 

Anyway, it has always worked well for me in the past; the system is very efficient.

 

Best regards,

 

Cats 2010 :)

 

 

Dear Pepper,

 

As a matter of female curiosity, would you tell me what your theory was in this matter that led to misunderstandings?

 

Many thanks

and regards,

 

Cats2010 :)

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.........I live in two countries on the European continent that participate in the Visa Waiver Program and have a European passport. Whenever I want to travel to the US, I fill in the ESTA questionnaire or renew the latest version, whichever prevails, and send it to the US Embassy. 'Embassy' also because the e-mail address reads '...gov ...', which means 'government'.

 

I am inclined to believe that all the questions asked are the same for all those countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program. I am also inclined to believe that any such application is handled by an US Embassy....

 

.....I can assure you, however, and please believe me! that I am always contacting a European US Embassy concerning my ESTA applications, and not the US Homeland Security. Direct contact with them is most probably applicable to US citizens only.

 

Anyway, it has always worked well for me in the past; the system is very efficient......

 

Just to shine a little light on this seeming "war of words":)....maybe...over all the various terms and differing opinions on where the ESTA is processed.

 

First: "The domain name "gov" is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The name is derived from government, indicating its restricted use by government entities in the United States....The U.S. is the only country that has a government-specific top-level domain in addition to its country-code top-level domain"....at least, according to Wikipedia. The "... .gov..." is used by many top US government agencies not just the embassies.

 

For a citizen from an eligible European country to apply for the ESTA, one goes to the website for the US Embassy for that country. This embassy's website does have the .gov in the address. One clicks on "Apply for ESTA in the visa section while at the embassy website. The applicant is then transferred to the online form which is found at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta". This https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/ is the Home page of the U.S. Government's Official Web Portal for all ESTA ... Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Securing America's Borders, DHS.gov...Department of Homeland Security. Once in the application is filled in, it is sent with a click...easy enough.

 

However, looking at the address that the application goes to, one sees it is the dhs.gov destination, not the embassy .gov destination though it seems one is still in the embassy website. The dhs.gov is the address destination for Homeland Security.....http://www.dhs.gov/ United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the DHS servers that allow for the fast approval of the ESTA. All ESTA's are processed by the Department of Homeland Security. The Embassy provides the form.

Edited by cwn
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Thanks, cwn. It's not really a 'war of words', but rather a questioning of proven facts. What some people could not believe is that US Embassies are involved. It is only logical and goes without saying that the information an applicant provides them is transferred to the US Homeland Security.

 

Earlier today I browsed a US Embassy's website to see the ESTA form, but no luck, no connection :D.

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Thanks for the added info, cwn and Cats. The only thing I will add is, as the Visa Waiver Program has been around for a while, tourists will often be instructed by travel operators, guides and other resources to go directly to the ESTA website and hence will never access it through an embassy website. Similarly, those who have secured an ESTA in the past may simply go directly there when they need to renew. Cats, you're obviously an experienced traveler who was familiar with utilizing the embassy to secure your travel docs pre-9/11, so naturally, you have continued to do the same to click through to the ESTA website. It's always interesting how we all get to the same online destinations from different paths!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

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  • 3 years later...

Not to get off the subject - but firstly here in Europe you can do the ESTA application on line and download immediately. No embassies involved.

Secondly - and by way of perhaps diverting the question - if I am travelling on a I-155 entry visa to the USA, do I still need the ESTA visa?

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the way I see it is this. If a want or need a VISA for the USA I have to apply to the embassy In London and go down for a face to face interview.

If I don't need a visa I log on to the esta web site and fill in the VISA WAIVER form at a cost of $14 (approx. £11 ).

I do not believe that there is an office somewhere with people sifting through the esta forms, it must all be processed by a computer in some homeland security building.

At the end of the day it matters not if one has a full visa from the embassy or the visa waiver form.

It is up to the guy at the immigration desk at the first checkpoint when entering the USA if he lets you in or not.

After completing my latest Esta application form and pressing send, I received a message asking if I was prepared to give feedback on my experience at US immigration. I answered that I would and they then said I would receive a feedback questionair the day after I returned to the UK. All this process was fully automated and not once did I have to mail anything or speak to a real person. This is my own experience so I cant speak for anyone else.

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It doesn't need to be sent anywhere. The ESTA application is approved online. Do you possess one? The clue is in the name "The Electronic System for Travel Authorization", Electronic authorisation rather than Embassy authorisation. Vous avez des questions?

 

Concur with this ---- from an Australian in Australia . Perhaps it differs for other Nationalities residing elsewhere??

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