Airbridge

Thank you for the clarification. Glad it all worked out ok.

I would hate to be one of those guys who forgot they were fingerprinted as part of the visa application process and turn up having thought blagging it with a different passport would work.

That NEVER ends well

GUWonder

"Never say 'never'" have an unfamiliar ring?

If the person were a naturalized Canadian or otherwise dual-Canadian citizen, then it has sometimes worked out when using a Canadian passport to enter the US despite having previously been denied a visa for a non-Canadian passport. That said Canadians getting an ESTA isn't generally normal, as Canadians don't need an ESTA to visit the US.

tentseller

Canadians are the only aliens that I am aware of who are exempted from being fingerprinted at entry into US.

GUWonder

Apparently, it's not been just Canadians. Are you aware of non-Canadian foreign citizens who applied for a visa as: a pre-teen; an adult 80+ years of age; someone aged between 14 and 79 years but without hands and/or any fingers at time of application and/or attempted entry? I'm sure you too have met at least some such foreign citizens who aren't Canadian.

tentseller

Thank you, I am now aware of more exemption to being fingerprinted at US port of entry.

flyingfkb

Yes you will be flagged. The "almost" same happened to my girl friend. Her ESTA was denied and she had to get a tourist visa. Make sure you check your ESTA status regularly. If you entered an email address during the application you get an email in case your status changes.

Her story:
German passport, wanted to spent a high school year in the US over a decade back, applied for student visa but couldn't get a necessary document from high school in time. Canceled her visa application, at least that's what she thought, but her visa application wasn't canceled. Instead it was rejected due to missing documents.

Fast forward:
She filed out ESTA, was approved at first but 72 hours later rejected . She had a new passport (still German but new number). She had to fill out the visa application, did the interview and got her tourist/business visa without a problem. The lady at the US consulate said this happens more often than you would think.

So in your case: You have to truthfully answer on your ESTA application if you were ever denied a VISA with "yes". If your ESTA is denied you have to go through the visa application process for a B1/B2 (tourist and business) visa. You will need new passport pictures (make sure they are within the requirements for US visas), you have to fill out an online application, get an appointment for the interview and have to pay the 120$ fee. The whole procedure takes about two to three weeks depending how long you have to wait to get an appointment at the consulate/embassy.

Two good things.
First: ESTA and Visas are not linked. If ESTA is rejected it doesn't mean that you don't get a visa.
Second: Even if your visa was once rejected you still can apply again for a visa. Each visa application is treated independently. With your new status being married, having a job etc. you should have enough evidence to prove that you don't want to immigrate.

flyingfkb

First step: Fill out ESTA and answer all questions truthfully. I guess you can answer all questions with "no" truthfully. Your Australian traffic offence will not affect your ESTA.
Second step: Wait, it takes sometimes minutes, sometimes 72hours before you are approved.
Third step: If approved you are okay (in a few circumstances you are approved at first but within 72hours it changes to denied, it is very very very unusuall that the status switches from pending to denied and back to pending)
Forth step: Enjoy our trip

In case ESTA is denied you can apply for a visa. The US embassy/consulate website will explain what you need to do. The whole process takes about two to three weeks, it depends how quick you get an appointment for the mandatory interview

Last word: ESTA has nothing to do with you being or not being denied at the US border. ESTA only allows you to approach the immigration officer without a visa to ask for entering the US. Without ESTA you need a visa to approach the border and immigration officer.

akb8812

I was wondering. When I applied for my ESTA and got approved, I didn't fill out any field concerning dates of travel. Did I miss anything?

I followed a Q&A link on the esta website and asked them a question about that but they say they can't answer until 2-3 weeks from now. So I'm a little concerned for some reason.

Any help appreciated.

elenanik

Thanks for that I think it is indeed more often than we think. My status hasn't changed and I hope it won't as I am few days away from my trip.

I never thought of not answering truthfully, I did say yes to the question. As by principle i never lie so I couldn't say no. i know they have my fingerprints, and I have not done anything wrong, neither I intend to so there is no point of lying.

Prusit

Hello, i went to the US in june on the VWP! I have been traveling to the us before 6 years ago. This time i changed my tickets twice, was only supposed to be there for a week, but i was enjoying myself so much, and wanted to see a lot more than what 2 weeks could give me. However, me and the airports didn't calculate my time right, so i ended up overstaying for 2 days (92 days) !

Now, the thing is i want to go back again in October, a bit over a month since i was there last time. Im applying for a B2 visa, and have my interview already in 3 days time, lets say i get approved and the wait time take the typical 1 week / 2 weeks.

I was invited to stay for thanksgiving, and SOME of December to see a bit of how christmas is being held in the US compared to Denmark where iam from.

My plan is to stay there until December 15th, go home for 1-2 months, and go back but this time only for a month.

3 months (2 days overstay) from June to September third.
2½ months from October to mid December.
1 month from February to March, and then i wish to repeat this.
I know its a LOT of frequent visits, BUT ;

I can prove i have a residence i pay for every month, i can even show them the last 3 months of my paymens.
Im going to school, studying online and can prove i have income from there until December and from December until August etc.

Meaning, i have a lot of things i can bring, to show im not there to work, nor to live. And iam able to support myself during all my visits.
And afaik, all they care about is wether my intentions are to live, or work there. - I can even show them i have a boyfriend im living with in Denmark.

However, i AM romantic involved in the US, and if they ask wether iam or not, im supposed to tell the truth, but in this case it would be like shooting myself in the foot wouldnt it?

I have normally a 180 days stay on a B2 visa depending on the border officer and what he feels he wanna give me, but lets say i have a total of 180, meaning i have 88 days to spend in the us .
How do i count these? Is it from year to year? The days from when i enter to i leave? Or do they count it in a whole different way ?

At some point, i wish to immigrate to the US, howevr i do not have any qualified visas that would work for me, to be able to become a citizen, and marrying one over there, is not an option either.

Any suggestions, and answers is greatly appreicated, thank you !
- Stina.

NYCfan

Hi everyone,
I have a question regarding an ESTA application.
I applied , paid for and received my ESTA authorization last December (2013) with the intention of flying to NYC at christmas. Ultimately I didn't fly.
(An ESTA is valid for 2 years from issue date. My passport is valid for 10 years, expiring in May 2019.)
I now plan to fly to NYC next spring (2015) .
I wished to update an email address on my ESTA account via the official website. I went to the page and entered my details and it came back with the message "Application Expired".
This I do not understand. Has anyone experienced the same? What could be the reason for such a message?
Any feedback welcome.
Thanks

NYCfan

UPDATE:
I tried again to update my details entering my names, and not the ESTA application number supplied first time. (One can enter either piece of info to gain access)
This time I didn't get an "Application Expired" message but I gained access to my file for updating, printing etc.
However, the application number had changed. It didn't request another payment or anything of that sort.
So, it seems that my original application number had expired and I was issued with/assigned another one.
Still wondering why.
Will try accessing again in a few days to see what happens then.

CL87

Some things in your favor:
You are studying and are young. After you finish school, you will no longer have a chance to travel much. Therefore, you should let the interviewer know that your stay in the U.S. is just to broaden your experiences which you still have a chance as a student.

You also have the financial ability to stay afloat while in the U.S. You have every intention of going back to Denmark since your job skills are more suited to Denmark. After all, people like to speak their native language every day, especially in legal situations, like problems with the electric company, car insurance problems, etc.

Even though you might have romantic feelings for someone in the U.S., I wouldn't announce them until they are firm. The other person may not share those feelings. It might just be a short term friendship. If nearly engaged, then disclose it. If still early in the relationship, then the other person is a friend.

However, I wouldn't try to be deceptive. Either you are romantically involved with two people (U.S. and Denmark) or you are developing closer friendships with two people (U.S. and Denmark) but don't have a boyfriend. I would tend not to claim that I have a boyfriend in Denmark but not in the U.S.

Nightbus to Dalson

I was checking my ESTA status & it came up as expired so I went to re-new but the system tells me that I have an open ESTA & that my new application would cancel this existing one.
I checked my flight history & saw that I last flew to JFK from SNN where I was denied a boarding pass because my ESTA at the time had expired.
The check-in lady then went online for me & I got & paid for a fresh application so was allowed to fly (fantastic service from Aer Lingus check-in for stepping in like that).
That was last January this year so why oh why does it come up as expired when I now check status online?
I've looked on ESTA's Q&A but to no avail
Can anyone shed light into the dark waters that are ESTA's inner workings?
I fly there next week so didn't want to be caught out again

waspsl

I had happen to me a few months back when I changed passports and invalidated the ESTA.
I kept seeing a message asking if I had completed all documents and answered yes, forgetting about the passport change issue. Only when I got to the check in desk did they ask me to demonstrate my ESTA was completed as the system did not show as complete.
I had to complete one on my phone at the F check in desk, a complete pain in the rear and not recommended.
My advice complete a new one or allow time at the airport to do so!