While an ESTA is good for two years, it expires before then if your passport expires. You definitely want to keep track of your passport. Now you also know how long is ESTA valid for authorizing your travel to the US. If you are wondering about how to apply for ESTA, there is an official site.
That’s right, you apply online. That makes it sound so simple, don’t you think? It is for sure, but that doesn’t mean everyone is going to get approved. There are countries not on the list, and that leaves a whole bunch of people ineligible.
That is definitely a negative, but there are also plenty of countries on the list. Checking that list should be your first step so that you know if you are eligible to apply. Then you can move forward with your application and get the approval you’re seeking.
There are still other issues that can disqualify you, but the only concrete issue is if your country isn’t on the list. The rest of the application is based on personal information, background, etc. Applications are of course going to be reviewed on an individual basis.
Yet the authorities review them rather quickly. They only need 72 hours prior to you departing for the US to approve you. Yet you yourself might want to apply well in advance because of needing to make travel plans. You wouldn’t want to book tickets and everything without having first received your ESTA approval notice.
This is your first step towards traveling to the US. You might already know, too, that if you’re going to stay longer than a 3 month period of time, you need a visa. The visa waiver program is only for short-term travel. If you are eligible to apply with ESTA, all it’s going to take is for you to fill out the online application.