Travelling to the US on ESTA

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. I am going to visit friends in the states over Christmas and have applied and been accepted under the ESTA programme.

However, I did once get rejected for a 6 month holiday visa (a long time ago) and had to reapply. I was on second attempt given a holiday visa.

I only ask as on all other travels I have used my holiday visa, it has since expired. I just want to check I will be ok entering the USA on an ESTA?

Welcome to the forum .

If you have been approved for an ESTA, you will likely be okay to travel.
 
However, I'm surprised you were approved, given that you have a visa refusal on your immigration record... because I was under the impression that a visa refusal automatically made you ineligible for ESTA... but maybe that's not the case.

I'm just looking at the FAQ on the ESTA website and it says:

IF APPROVED, DOES MY TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION GUARANTEE ME ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES?

If your electronic travel authorization is approved, this approval establishes that you are eligible to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, but does not guarantee that you are admissible to the United States. Upon arrival in the United States you will be inspected by a Customs and Border Protection officer at a port of entry who may determine that you are inadmissible under the Visa Waiver Program or for any reason under United States law.

(https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/application.html?execution=e1s1#)

Thanks for your reply.

That has me slightly worried now. I when my visa in an expired passport and on checking it I have a year left on it. Can I still use that?

That has me slightly worried now. I when my visa in an expired passport and on checking it I have a year left on it. Can I still use that?

Yes, you can use your visa - in fact, you shouldn't use the ESTA anyway if you have a valid visitor visa.

I have a B2 visa as well... it's valid until 2021, but the passport it's in expired in 2013... so when I travel to the US, I take both passports. They check my visa in the old passport and then stamp my current passport with the visitor stamp and a note that says 'VIOPP' (Visa In Other Passport).

I'm not sure if I'm technically ineligible for ESTA but when I applied for my old student visa in 2007 I was told by the US Embassy in London that I would always have to apply for a visa now (I have a minor conviction), so I've been applying for visitor visas ever since.

Thanks that has put my mind at rest! I will just take my two passports.

Thank You!

Yes, you can use your visa - in fact, you shouldn't use the ESTA anyway if you have a valid visitor visa.

I have a B2 visa as well... it's valid until 2021, but the passport it's in expired in 2013... so when I travel to the US, I take both passports. They check my visa in the old passport and then stamp my current passport with the visitor stamp and a note that says 'VIOPP' (Visa In Other Passport).

I'm not sure if I'm technically ineligible for ESTA but when I applied for my old student visa in 2007 I was told by the US Embassy in London that I would always have to apply for a visa now (I have a minor conviction), so I've been applying for visitor visas ever since.

Just one last question - last time I used my B2 visa was 4 years ago and you needed to fill out a small white piece of paper. I had a right chew on as the air steward said everything was done electronically and when I got to the border desk and had to go to the back of the queue and fill one out.

Do you still need to complete one of those white paper forms? Just if i know for sure I can make sure the air stewards give me one. Cheers

Just one last question - last time I used my B2 visa was 4 years ago and you needed to fill out a small white piece of paper. I had a right chew on as the air steward said everything was done electronically and when I got to the border desk and had to go to the back of the queue and fill one out.

Do you still need to complete one of those white paper forms? Just if i know for sure I can make sure the air stewards give me one. Cheers

No, you don't - they stopped them a few years ago (probably right around the time you travelled).

It used to be that you filled out a green I-94W form if you were travelling on the visa waiver program and a white I-94 form if you were travelling on a visa. They replaced the green I-94W form with the ESTA in 2008 and then the white I-94 form was replaced with an automated system in mid-2013.

The white I-94 form automation was rolled out across different airports on different dates in April and May 2013, so it was probably the case that the air steward was correct that it was now electronic, but it just hadn't been implemented at the airport you landed at yet.

See here for confirmation that you no longer need it:
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/i-94-instructions
and
https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2016-Mar/i-94-automation-fact-sheet.pdf

I've travelled to the US on my B2 visa 4 times since they got rid of the white I-94 form and have had no issues.

In fact, when I landed in Atlanta a couple of months ago, they had even automated part of the immigration line, so you could scan your passport and it would take your fingerprints and photo, then print out a piece of paper with your details and photo on it, and then you took that to the immigration officer.

However, it didn't seem to speed up the process at all, since it still took 45 minutes of waiting in a queue after that to reach the immigration officer, and they still had to take your fingerprints and photo again anyway! And given it took almost 10 minutes to get the machine to work, it seemed like a bit of a waste of time.

No, you don't - they stopped them a few years ago (probably right around the time you travelled).

It used to be that you filled out a green I-94W form if you were travelling on the visa waiver program and a white I-94 form if you were travelling on a visa. They replaced the green I-94W form with the ESTA in 2008 and then the white I-94 form was replaced with an automated system in mid-2013.

The white I-94 form automation was rolled out across different airports on different dates in April and May 2013, so it was probably the case that the air steward was correct that it was now electronic, but it just hadn't been implemented at the airport you landed at yet.

See here for confirmation that you no longer need it:
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/i-94-instructions
and
https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2016-Mar/i-94-automation-fact-sheet.pdf

I've travelled to the US on my B2 visa 4 times since they got rid of the white I-94 form and have had no issues.

In fact, when I landed in Atlanta a couple of months ago, they had even automated part of the immigration line, so you could scan your passport and it would take your fingerprints and photo, then print out a piece of paper with your details and photo on it, and then you took that to the immigration officer.

However, it didn't seem to speed up the process at all, since it still took 45 minutes of waiting in a queue after that to reach the immigration officer, and they still had to take your fingerprints and photo again anyway! And given it took almost 10 minutes to get the machine to work, it seemed like a bit of a waste of time.

Thank you so much for your help. It is much appreciated.

I know for a fact they only take appointments on  Wednesdays ... so if u have enough time before your travel date try and make the call !!!

Good advice, though not applicable now for this trip as liam1682 has realised he still has a valid B2 visa in his old passport and will travel on that visa instead of the ESTA.

When the visitor visa expires though, I would advise applying for another B2 visa rather than using the ESTA, just in case.

Even though I think I could technically be approved for an ESTA, I'm not going to risk it, because I have already applied for and received 3 US visas since my conviction, and they know my personal history.

Plus, I get a 10-year visitor visa now, which means only having to reapply every 10 years (instead of 2 years for ESTA) and it allows me to stay in the US for up to 6 months at a time, compared with 90 days on ESTA (not that I've stayed longer then 3 weeks at a time though).