ESTA, Visa Waiver Program and visiting the US
 

I am visiting the US in August and have a few questions. Since my experience with CBP's support staff shows they are little more than trained monkeys I figured I'd ask here instead.

My itinerary:
ARN->EWR->SFO
SFO->IAH->EWR->ARN

First of all, what name am I supposed to put on my ESTA application? My "first name", including middle names, is "John Kim Robert", and this is how it appears on my passport. The actual given name that I use however is Kim. The information on the ESTA application page says that I should enter my first name as it appears on my passport but not include any middle names. All my names appear under "First Name" on my passport. What then would they consider my first name to be?

When I arrive at the port of entry, will I have to provide any specific documentation other than passport? The CBP website seems rather unclear about this. I don't want to get deported as soon as I arrive ;)

At which airport will the immigration processing happen? EWR or SFO?


I think that's all (for now). Thanks.

I would say to follow the ESTA instructions and use just John.

You don't need anything other than a passport and the address in the US at which you'll be staying. It could prove useful to also have proof of your return ticket and also of your occupation, in case you are questioned.

Immigration processing will take place at EWR.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks, I'll do that.

I'm a university student, so I don't have any proof of occupation. I hope this won't be a big problem?

I find the "First name only" thing on ESTA a bit off. Like many ethnic Chinese, I have a Chinese "first name" and an English "Christian" "first name". In the end, I entered both into ESTA as one long first name and it was valid and the application immediately approved. At immigration, I'll just explain it to the CBP man if asked. I wonder what happens if the person only has one name i.e. no first name/last name, just one name.

For tourism and business, I was never asked for proof of occupation though CBP did ask me for my occupation. In fact, I don't remember ever giving any additional documentation ever except in the pre-9/11 era when arriving in US to attend grad school (and that was just only for the initial arrival).

EWR :)

First point of entry

Thanks for your replies, everyone. I feel a lot less nervous now :)

No, shouldn't be a big problem. In fact, shouldn't be a problem at all! :)