WEBSITE OF THE DAY - esta.cbp.dhs.gov

Use this and getting into the US will be a lot less painless

WEBSITE OF THE DAY - esta.cbp.dhs.gov. Websites, Software, Online, WebsiteOfTheDay 0

4 August 2008 0:00 GMT / By Ian Hughes

The Summer holidays are well and truly here and if you're one of those people lucky enough to heading off to the Good Ole US of A this year, here's an essential link for you.

Getting through US Customs and Immigration these days is not what it once was. Post 9/11 every aspect of security has been understandably stepped up and so there's a bit of bureaucracy to deal with.

This new site, launched last Friday, is provided by the Department of Homeland Security and it basically replaces the paperwork you'll be expected to complete before landing in the US.

Don't let the scary looking pop-up put you off, this is really useful and should save you some time and possible aggravation.

And after 12 January 2009 its going to be required so if your travelling to the US best get signing up now before everyone else finds out and brings the process to a halt.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

If you have a website that you want to tell us about email us via the feedback form.


Full tags
Websites, Software, Online, WebsiteOfTheDay
UK Shopping
Amazon.co.uk, play.com, pixmania.co.uk, Currys.co.uk, Dixons.co.uk, 7dayshop.com, ebay.co.uk
US Shopping
Amazon.com, bestbuy.com, ebay.com

share Subscribe to RSS feeds email story save story print story pdf

Comments

  • Can't find the site, even removing the www. bit Posted by Adrian, UK
  • https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov Posted by L.Rawlins, UK
  • GOOD SYSTEM. WORKS FINE. DONT BOTHER APPLYING IF YOU HAVE BEEN CONVICTED OF MORAL TURPITUDE Posted by JANET, UK
  • iF YOUR PASSPORT IS VALID FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS THE SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK. IN THE UK UNUSED MONTHS ARE ADDED ON TO THE 10 YEARS. Posted by JohnJ, Portugal
  • we e mailed esta regarding the problem with passports with more than 10 years 'life' and they have amended the site. we've now used it successfully Posted by colin, UK
  • Use this and getting into the US will be a lot less painless

    Do you really mean less painless or less painful?

    Or is that a freudian slip?
    Posted by Fred, UK
  • THE NEW SYSTEM THAT IS COMING IN JAN2009 ONE HAVE TO AUTHORISATION BEFORE ENTRY IS IT THE SAME AS THE AIRLINE GIVING OUR DETAILS TO THE US BEFORE WE ARRIVE Posted by ORPHA , uk
  • Have applied as instructed but not recieved any info of confirmation Posted by michelle huddleston, England UK
  • 5 of us are going to usa january I am only one with pc ,got on really well completed all forms and printed.then my friend told me I had put her surname
    in correctly.contacted a help line told me to wait ten days it will be ok.
    tried 14 days later.it will nopt accept because they have differents details on
    existing application. any advice please.
    Posted by Dennis UK, UK
  • cannot access the https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov site even from your link. Posted by Richard Rivett, England
  • Initally could not get Email address to work.
    Used Google to look for it and that worked OK
    Everything else was easy.
    Posted by Brian Garlinge, England
  • no comment Posted by pramesh datt, new zealand
  • I made a mistake when entering the passport expiration date - it should be 11 December 2009, not 2008.
    How can I get my ESTA approval amended?
    Posted by James Wilson, UK
  • $50 bucks before you even start just great Posted by gordo, australia
  • Just got all of my family approved on line in a matter of minutes was very easy and straight forward, not to mention quick! Posted by carli, scotland
  • made an error with passport expiry date . cant change it is this a REAL problem please Posted by EC , wales
  • Can not find the web site my travel agent gave me.
    https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov
    Posted by Phill, UK
  • I have tried to use google to find https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov 20 times so far.. and each time it says Problem or error finding website as it is taking too long to respond.......Please help!
    I'd like to use the free ESTA application form, from the official Homeland Protection site, and there is no email contact address to let them know I cannot download their ESTA Form to fill out and submit...
    Posted by anne, australia
  • no problem accessing the site and found it really easy to use, applied for both myself and also for my mate ( checked the 3rd party application box ) and both successfully approved for travel Posted by Barry Leonard Bunting, United Kingdom
  • Really easy to use, so don't see why people have had problems. You get to review the form before you submit, so there shouldn't be any mistakes!! Posted by Philip Thebug, UK
  • the document asked me to reenter my pasport number for verification. WHERE? I Cant go any further. Posted by nigel hanks, u.k
  • I left travel/hotel details blank and received approval in less than a minute. Posted by richard, london
  • esta is free, be of scam changeing $49 95 Posted by henry, uk
  • My mum's got a flight tomorrow afternoon, and I cannot find the damn site.. it keeps on coming up as ERROR! What is that about? What happens if i don't fill it out online? Posted by Noori, Uk
  • GO TO GOOGLE then https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov then click on move temporarily Posted by DAZ , uk
  • I too am becoming concerned because I hope to leave UK 14 February. I had no acknowledgement of receipt of my application and have still heard nothing six days later. I am also having difficulty making contact. What next please? Posted by Margaret Terry, United Kingdom
  • this is so slow u think that they would just 4get dis form let us in anyways Posted by Aoife, Ireland
  • i have been trying for about two days now to get onto esta site. cannot get on whats happening with it? Posted by carole dyson, UK
  • I had no problems getting on the site. it seemed very easy to complete the form, and I received my approval almost instantly. Lets hope the entry is as successful Posted by Carol B, U.K.
  • Worked well once I used your link! Thanks - did it all carefully and received the travel authorisation and application number within seconds of completion. Thanks for this link as I had no end of trouble trying to access the website given by the travel agent. Thank goodness someone is on the ball.......... Posted by Carol P, Australia
  • I am looking for my record, already approved since January. The routing is Brussels- Detroit- BrusseIs. I hope you can help me. Posted by FILIPINAS SANTIAGO, Belgium
  • I hope you have already found my records and that t his is just a sort of reassurance about my request. Thanks you.

    Posted by FILIPINAS SANTIAGO, Belgium
  • For several days now this site is down!

    --------------------------------------------
    This webpage is not available.

    The webpage at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.

    More information on this error
    Below is the original error message

    Error 320 (net::ERR_INVALID_RESPONSE): Unknown error.
    ---------------------------------------------
    Posted by Tom Steenhuysen, usa / belgium
  • No problem, did all four of us for summer holiday in a matter of minutes. Approval in seconds. Posted by Audrey Deans, UK
  • Mar-09 and the site not working for past two days - webpage not available, site might be down. What is the story? Posted by Paul, Ireland
  • All i get is internal server error!!!!! March 2009 Posted by Star, London, England
  • how come it says on some sites its free and on others you have to pay i too have trouble logging onto the original site keeps coming up with error please advise thankyou kim Posted by kim trower, England
  • if anyone is using CHROME the website will NOT !!! NOT !! work.

    Try IE of Firefox.

    Again - it will NOT work with CHROME, you will get an internal server error with Chrome
    Posted by Michael Auton, England, UK
  • May 15th 09 - Just applied for myself and my wife on the homeland security site

    https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/

    and it took only a few minutes. It gave us approval immediately and a reference number in case we need to go back and change any details. Can't believe so many sites are charging for the same service!!
    Posted by Ross, UK
  • I arranged my application back in march when I booked my flight but haven't received any confirmation of this. Now I've been told I need a print out of a successful application and am unable to get back onto the website through google or the BA link! Can anyone help?! Posted by Bernie, UK
  • I have been trying all morning to open website https:esta.cbp.dhs.gov but to no avail. I may have to go at short notice to USA and will need a visa-waiver.
    Jean UK
    Posted by Jean Trainor, UK
  • I click on the link, does nothing. i google the link, does nothing. This is supposedly the last superpower, lord help us! I tried in IE and Firefox Posted by Paul, UK
  • can any one advise i live in uk and all my family are going to usa, on holiday they all have uk passports but i have canadian do i need to fill in visa waiver. Posted by kim, uk
  • I am not travelling to the USA until January 30th 2010. I know I need a waiver but am not keen to pay the $50 for something which was given to us previously on the flight.

    Tell me please, is is free or is it not, seems to be different schools of thought
    Posted by Patricia Palmer, U.K. (England)
  • Hey guys, just did my waiver just there, ;eaving onthe 8th july to go to dallas

    https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html?_flowExecutionKey=_c93301880-0418-F3FA-60AD-DBC6478048E2_k21E5EF3F-561D-FF16-C1C4-5BE351BD454D

    this is the website, works fine as far as i am aware!

    Hope this helps
    Posted by Vishaal Sood, Scotland
  • please find me esta.cbp.dhs.gov web site Posted by lynton roy bennett, england
  • Its free!
    1/ Don't scroll to any other than 'U.S. Customs & Border Protection - Travel'.

    2/ Tip:- Look for the official U.S. round Seal Icon, you will recognise it as
    'Liberty' holding up her torch, inside a circle.
    Posted by Bernie B., U.K.
  • The CBP website is not great I must admit. You can apply for ESTA also on http://www.estavisaapplication.co.uk . They charge a small admin fee of £15, but provide clearer application form and anwer to all questions you may have about ESTA.

    Just be aware that there are also some website charging even $250 for an application so better watch out!
    Posted by Pete, UK
  • We were scammed for£20 each for visa to America to visit friends,every one at the Heathrow desks said they should be free and no one wanted to even see the visas,just had to fill out the one on the plane as usual. We have obviously been ripped off and cannot get our money back.So Beware.
    Anyone know of anyway of getting our money refunded?
    Posted by Mr I Harris, UNITED KINGDOM
  • all the websites seam to be chargable where is the normal website that you can enter on? Posted by mandy , england

(Will not be published)

  (Next time sign in to bypass captcha)

Latest in Websites

Latest on Pocket-lint

Top 10 Broadband

Compare 50+
broadband packages

Home Broadband »

Pocket-lint poll

Q. Do you use the same password for everything?

Vote YES Vote NO

» LAST TIME
When asked Do you check emails, twitter or surf the internet in the loo? 65% said yes and 35% said no

About Pocket-lint

Pocket-lint is your one stop shop for gadgets, technology and consumer electronics, bringing you the low-down on the latest televisions, cameras, phones, GPS and much more. Whether it's learning about what's hot in the world of Apple, finding out about the latest home cinema kit from Samsung and Sony or merely seeing what not to buy, we have you covered. So check out our reviews, news, comment, hands-on photo galleries and videos. Enjoy.

Top products

tip us on news

reviews hub

Rss feed

Follow us on Twitter