French, Belgian or Swiss nationals are increasingly numerous to travel to the United States each year. It must be said that the steps to travel to the USA have been greatly facilitated thanks to the establishment of the ESTA travel authorization. Belgium, Switzerland and France being part of the member countries of the visa waiver program, member citizens no longer need to go to the embassy to apply for a visa, they just need to make a simple Online ESTA application .
What is the request for an ESTA form to go to the United States?
Applying involves filling out an online form on the internet. You must enter personal information about yourself and answer a questionnaire with 7 closed questions. So the honest answer is yes or no. Once the request has been made, you must pay the application fee and wait for the response.
How to apply for travel authorization
Commercial sites offer to complete your ESTA application online. You will be able to make your request for 59 euros. Once the payment has been made, you will only have to wait for the result. If granted, we recommend that you print the ESTA form and keep it with you during the trip. On the other hand, if the authorization is pending, you will only have to wait for the evolution of the situation while following the directives given. The cause of this pending may be due to an error filling out the application form. On the site at the bottom of the page, know that you will benefit from all the necessary help if necessary as well as assistance in filling out the form and verification of the data you have submitted in order to maximize the chances of obtaining.
What if the national has a passport from a country that is not a member of the Visa Waiver Program?
For a national holding a passport from a country that is not part of the Visa Waiver Program, there is only one way to travel to the United States. This is the filing of a normal visa application with the consular services of the American Embassy. It is always advisable to learn about the subject in order to avoid unpleasant surprises.
As a reminder, 40 countries are members of the Visa Waiver Program in 2022, including Germany, Greece, Monaco, Belgium, Singapore, Luxembourg, Hungary, Finland, Australia, Austria, etc. For those who can travel to the USA without a visa with an ESTA authorization , they must have a return ticket on a regular flight, and must not plan to stay in the USA for more than 90 days and above all be in possession of an electronic passport. or biometric. The passport must be valid, so if not, it would be better to check it.
Online registration
Once connected to the Official ESTA USA website, you must complete each box with the necessary information. On this site, the application is available in French and you will be guided throughout the process. You also benefit from the other services of the site such as the correction of errors, the verification of the data submitted, the possibility of updating certain information for free, the customer account with storage or even archiving for two years and assistance by e- email or chat. The acceptance rate for applications is close to 100%.