It is true, that the United States government has made it compulsory for the citizens who come under the visa waiver program to complete the 1-94W form, as a part of the electronic system of travel authorisation. This has actually caused a lot of problems for the citizens who are not basically used to this system and have arrived at the US port of entry and are expecting to fill in the traditional paper-based form and they are immediately told that they can no longer do so.
However, a series of the gap and the year travellers have recently found that once they have returned home and have tried to claim for the cost of restoration on their travel insurance, they have not been able to do so.
This has actually started a series of statements from the insurance companies alike highlighting the importance of signing on the ESTA website and along with this filling in the important documentations up to 72 hours before the departure. This is all because, if the travellers are denied the entry through this they will definitely be able to claim back the cost of their flights back home but on the other hand, it is very important for you to understand that you won’t be able to payout the prices of accommodations and various other things.
You will be amazed to know that, the ESTA was introduced after the 9/11 US attack. The United States of America became very strict with the rules and regulations after this incident and proper verifications were started for the people of other countries who wanted to visit the US. The ESTA was introduced in order to make the United States of America safer but they have met some criticism by the business travellers who have basically used the booking at the last minute flights. It is true, that the online form does not differ too much from the traditional original paper version and along with this they focus on the questions such as:
- They can definitely ask you, whether you are involved in spying and sabotage or in the terrorist activities.
- Or whether you have ever been excluded or deported.
There is no way out, that you can save yourself from these basic questions. Therefore, we would recommend that the travellers who have been convicted in the past should definitely consult a US immigration lawyer before filling in the ESTA. There are various other important things that you should be aware of ESTA before applying for it.
Here are some of the important things about ESTA that you should be aware of:
When should you apply for an ESTA?
The most important thing you should be concerned about is when can you apply for an esta. Well, It is very important for you to apply for an ESTA before a particular time period as later on if by chance your ESTA application gets rejected you will be having some amount of time left with you to directly apply for the US visa. There is no doubt, that the US visa takes longer than the ESTA, but once your application is rejected by the ESTA visa waiver program you can definitely apply for the US visa.
For How Long Can You Stay On An ESTA?
ESTA is an electronic system for travel authorization that is tasked with the role of determining who is eligible to visit the United States of America based on the visa waiver program (VWP) and whether or not they pose any security risk whatsoever.
One of the important things you should note that the ESTA is only applicable to the citizens of VWP countries travelling to the united states by water and air.
You should be aware of the rules as the people travelling on ESTA are only allowed to live in the United States for the period of 90 days. If you plan to stay in America for more than 90 days, we would recommend you that you apply for the USA visa direct. As staying above the period of 90 days will definitely land you in a lot of trouble and it will definitely get you deported as the rules are really strict for the tourists in the United States.