ESTA stands for an electronic system for travel authorization. To ensure security-related measures to travel to the United States, important requirements for visa-free travel need to be fulfilled.ESTA steps in here as it is an automated system designed to check and assure the eligibility conditions of the travelers traveling under the Visa waiver program to the U.S.

Apply for ESTA involves the candidates seeking it satisfactorily answering the eligibility questions.ESTA checks whether the travel under the visa waiver program poses any law enforcement or security risk. However, ESTA is not a visa, and an approved ESTA application doesn’t confirm admission to the U.S.

Important points to be noted about ESTA

  • ESTA application is an online form filling available on the U.S. customs and border protection website.
  • Applying for ESTA requires the candidates to answer eligibility questions truthfully. It is a legal offense if the questions are not answered honestly or completely.
  • Generally, the questions are straightforward that require exact answers, and the applicant can get to know the result within 72 hours.
  • Before you start answering the form, it is helpful to prepare in advance and have all the necessary information beforehand.

ESTA eligibility questions

  1. Family name and other basic information:- These kinds of questions are basic and include family name, gender, date of birth, country of birth, city of birth, aliases, passport number, date of issuance of passport, country of citizenship, National identification number, expiry date of the passport. You can avoid common errors under this section, such as typos in passport numbers and omission of middle names.
  2. Questions regarding citizenship of any other country:- Under this section, questions related to the acquisition of citizenship of any other country are needed to be answered. If you do have citizenship from more than one country, you need to disclose the name of another country and how you acquired that country’s citizenship.
  3.   Questions related to parents:- here, you need to fill in the complete family name and names of both the parents. If this information is missing, you can choose the option of the unknown column.
  4. Contact information questions:- The eligibility questions related to address, if you have more than one address, then that also needs to be mentioned, city, country of residence, apartment number, telephonic, and email details all are specified in this section. The email address stated here will be used for future communication purposes.
  5.  Employment and travel questions: – In the case of an employed candidate, all the details regarding past and current employment should be duly mentioned. In addition, the reason for travel and travel to any other countries before, etc. needs to be filled in the form.

  6. History related to criminal background and medical issues: You need to answer honestly in case of any criminal history. Also, you need to state if you are suffering from serious medical issues and are taking any medication or not.

Conclusion

ESTA eligibility questions cover information on a wide section of topics. As an applicant, it is your responsibility to answer them to the best of your knowledge.