Immigration Law

Electronic System for Travel Authorization to U.S. Planned

By John Combs

The Department of Homeland Security has issued an Interim Final Rule, establishing a new online system called Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), that will require citizens of Visa Waiver Program (VWP), countries to obtain approval prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the United States.  ESTA approval only authorizes a traveler to board a carrier for travel to the U.S. under the VWP. In all cases, Customs and Border Patrol officers will make the final admissibility determination at the port of entry.

ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel to the United States, and VWP travelers are encouraged to apply for authorization as soon as they begin to plan a trip to the United States. If applicants? destination addresses or itineraries should change after their authorization has been approved, they may easily update that information through the ESTA website.

Travelers will log on to the ESTA web-based system and complete an application online providing the biographical and eligibility information currently required on the paper I-94W form.  The ESTA web-based system will be available for voluntary applications after Aug. 1, 2008. 

In most cases, ESTA will provide an almost immediate determination of eligibility for travel under the VWP.  Possible responses include: Authorization Approved, Travel Not Authorized, or Authorization Pending.  An approved ESTA travel authorization is: valid for up to two years or until the traveler?s passport expires, whichever comes first; valid for multiple entries into the U.S.; and not a guarantee of admissibility to the United States at a port of entry.

Once an ESTA application has been successfully completed and submitted online, the application will be queried against appropriate law enforcement databases.  ESTA application data will remain active for the period of time that the ESTA authorization is valid.  DHS will maintain this information for an additional year, and then will archive the information for twelve years to allow retrieval of the information for law enforcement and investigatory purposes.

On Aug. 1, 2008, DHS will begin to accept voluntary ESTA applications through the ESTA Web site:  https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov  Initially, the website will be operational in English only, but additional languages will be available no later than Oct. 15, 2008.

Travelers are not required to have specific plans to travel to the United States under the VWP before they apply for anESTA authorization.  DHS recommends that an ESTA approval be obtained as soon as a VWP traveler begins to plan a trip to the United States, and no later than 72 hours before departure. ESTA has, however, been designed to allow for the accommodation of last minute and emergency travelers.

Full post as published by Immigration Law for Employers on June 03, 2008 (boomark / email).