Visa tips

As always, here are a few of our customers’ questions, answered by our counselors. This time, we only picked questions concerning the new electronic travel authorization system ESTA, since we received many questions concerning that program over the past few weeks.

As of January 12, 2009, Germans, Swiss, Austrians and nationals of other countries that qualify for visa-free travel have to register with the ESTA system online before traveling. We set up an information website containing all necessary information about the new system.

All of our counselors possess many years of experience with the American immigration law and have profound knowledge of visa regulations, kept up-to-date by constant further and advanced training.

Please note that the following answers, even if they seem apply to your individual situation, do not necessarily have to be the correct answer for you. Since each situation is different, no responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information. To get information and advice for your own individual situation, please only rely on personal counsel and assistance from our experts.

The American Dream GmbH is accredited as an emigration counseling center for the for travel to the US according to German “Auswandererschutzgesetz” (emigrant protection law) and is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce.

Please let us know how we can help you. If you need counseling or an appointment, please contact us and we will assist you flexibly and as soon as possible. Any questions concerning our services and prices can be asked online anytime.

Your questions about the ESTA program:

YOUR QUESTION: I would like to travel to the US within the next six months. Now I have heard that you have to register with the ESTA program online three days prior to traveling. Can’t I register sooner so that I won’t be cutting it too close?

OUR ANSWER: Yes, you can also register sooner. The important thing is to already have a flight booking number, since you will need that for the ESTA application.

YOUR QUESTION: My passport expired, and in it is a tourist visa. Now I applied for a new passport. As soon as I have that: which passport number do I use for the ESTA system, the old one or the new one. And another question: Do I have to have the visa transferred to my new passport?

OUR ANSWER: Please do not use either your old or your new passport number for the ESTA application, since as a visa holder you don’t have to have ESTA registration. The visa will not be transferred to your new passport, but will be valid for travel in combination with your new passport (so you must have both passports on you). As a rule, you have to travel on your visa as long as it is still valid, during this time you cannot use visa-free travel. (Exceptions are visas like, for example, the F-study visa or similar ones that cannot be used, even if they are still valid, after you finished your studies in the US, i.e. the purpose of your stay changes.)

YOUR QUESTION: I recently found a website where I was required to pay a fee before I could register. Now I am confused, because I heard registration is free?

OUR ANSWER: That’s correct, registration is free of charge. Those websites are commercial providers who will, for a fee, handle the application for you. It is indeed possible to have someone else apply for you, even for a fee, but the US government itself currently does not charge for the registration.

YOUR QUESTION: I have a green card, I am in Germany right now and neither the US embassy nor the German embassy abroad could tell me whether I have to register with the ESTA program as a permanent resident before returning to the US.

OUR ANSWER: No, you don’t have to register. The program is only for those people who want to enter the US under the visa-free travel program. All persons holding a visa or a green card for the US do not need a separate entry permit before traveling to the US. In some cases, especially for green card holders, the application could even do more harm than good, since it could be assumed that you no longer have the intention of being an immigrant in the US. This especially applies to green card holders who have only recently received their green card and try to enter the US by means of visa-free travel. In this case you could be regarded as a tourist who does not yet want to stay in the US permanently.