Group ESTA: A Comprehensive Guide

A group esta is required to visit the United States of America with your family or friends. In this article, you are going to know all there is to know about esta for groups. This includes how to apply for esta, the application process, and why you should apply.

What is Group ESTA Application?

Suppose you in the company of your family or friends want to visit the United States of America for a vacation and are under a visa waiver program (VWP) country. In that case, you need to submit an esta group application and process it for approval before making further plans. What is ESTA application? ESTA application and approval allows residents of countries under the visa waiver program to visit the United States of America without a visa for as long as they need to.

To apply for esta as a group, you need to visit their online platform and fill the appropriate form for family esta. The esta application form for a group or family doesn't require all the group members. You can represent your family if you have all their details, including name, date of birth, home address, and passport information. After completing the application form for your group, the next step is to wait for the approval. This type of group application is very suitable for traveling to the U.S.A with your kids as one family.

Why your Family Should Apply for Group ESTA

When going for a vacation as a group or family, there is a lot to plan for and not enough time. Besides, you need to take extra care to ensure that you do not forget anything. And this is why applying for esta as a group is a very nice idea. In addition to saving time, it also has many benefits for your family or group. Because only one person is tasked with the group application for family esta, it will be hard to forget. Suppose you or any member of your family tasked with applying forgets to submit a group application for esta. In that case, your group or family will not be allowed to visit the United States of America.

Another reason why group application for esta is encouraged is so that you and your family or group can be granted permission at the same time. If you and your group or family are granted permission simultaneously, you all have the same number of days to spend in the U.S A. there, which is 90. This means you can all spend your holiday together as a group. Time is an important factor when traveling or makes travel arrangements. To save time traveling with your family as a group, you shouldn't apply for esta individually. This may not only cause permission to be granted at different times, but you or any member of the family may likely forget. Applying for esta by filling the group application form will save you time since you can choose one person to do it for the entire group or family.

Another benefit of applying for esta as a group for you and your family is that it makes travel arrangements easier. Since only one person is needed to complete the group application esta form for the entire family, the other members of your group or family can settle one or two important things for the journey. If you want to travel with your family to the United States of America, you need to complete a group application esta form. This is to enable you and your family to travel together at the same time.

Is Permission Granted or Rejected for All Group Members?

After completing the esta family application form, the next step is to wait for permission to be granted or denied. To know if you and your family have been granted permission or not, you need to check esta status 72 hours after you have submitted your application. You must know that only the person who completed the esta family application firm will receive all the family members or group results. However, permission or rejection is not given as a group. This means some people may be granted permission in your group while others might reject others.

If you or any of your family members have been denied permission, you need to wait until after ten days have elapsed before applying for esta again. When do I need VISA? If you are asking this question, then the answer is right here. You need a visa if your esta application has been rejected for strong reasons. This means you can't join the rest of your family members who have been granted permission to visit the United States of America. Fortunately, you can apply for a visa, and if you are given one, you can join them.

Can Children Apply for ESTA?

Who needs ESTA? Anyone who wants to travel to the United States of America, whether for vacation or tourism, must obtain permission. If you're a country citizen under the visa waiver program (VWP), you need to apply for esta. If permission is granted, you can visit the U.S.A without a visa. Alternatively, you can apply for a visa to visit the United States of America if you are not from a country under the visa waiver program.  This also applies to children; a child must have a visa before visiting the U.S.A. if the child is not from a visa waiver program country. However, suppose the child is a citizen of a country that belongs to the visa waiver program. In that case, he or she must apply for esta, and the permission must be granted before that child can visit the United States of America. However, you must note that infants are also included and required to apply for esta.

Even though a child or infant must have permission before visiting the U.S.A, an adult can help the child complete the application process. If the child is going with one of his or her parents, then the other absent parent must grant permission also. Where a relative or grandparent is the person traveling with the child, then both parents must grant permission. This is done to reduce the kidnapping cases or a situation where a parent or relative absconds with a child. In other words, children or infants are required to have permission. An adult is to apply for an esta on their behalf in this case. If the child is not traveling with his or her parents, then signed permission is needed from both parents in addition to the permission granted by the esta.

Can a Member of an ESTA Group Application Travel Alone?

After you and your family have filled the esta group application form and permission has been granted, the permission is valid for only two years. Within the period where the permission is valid, you or any member of your family can visit the United States of America without the entire group. This means, even though you have applied for group esta, you are not forced to travel together as long as you have been granted permission, and it is still valid. This is because every member of the group has a passport that you used during the esta application.

However, this doesn't apply to children and infants. Even though a child or an infant has an eats permission that is still valid, he or she is not allowed to travel alone. The child or infant must be accompanied by an adult whenever he or she wants to travel. Even if you have visited the United States of America after obtaining permission, you can still go on another visit as long as your permission is still valid. It must not be more than two years since it was granted for your permission to be valid. You must note that you must not exceed 90 days when visiting the United States of America if you are under a visa waiver program and have been granted esta permission.

What to do if you had a Mistake When Applying for Group ESTA?

It is normal for you to make a mistake when applying group esta for your entire group or family. If you make a mistake when entering the information of any family member in a group application for esta, you can change it. However, some mistakes require you to complete a new group application esta form as they cannot be corrected or changed. The information you can change or correct in a group application esta form includes the address of your destination and the airline you and your family will be using for the flight. However, before you can make changes or correct any information on your group application, you need to access the file. To access the file, you are expected to provide details such as your complete name, date of birth, house, and email address. You don't have to be the person who completed the application form before you can access it. Interestingly, all family members who applied for the group application can access the file on their own.

FAQs On Group ESTA

Should the ESTA application fees for all members in the group be paid individually?

Most people applying for permission using the group application esta form often ask if the fees are to be paid. The representative or any member of the group can pay the ESTA application fees for all the members. However, you must do this with a credit card.  Interestingly, the name on the credit card doesn't matter and won't affect your ESTA application. Types of credit cards accepted include MasterCard, American Express, Visa, and a host of others. However, ensure you have a credit card since you can't make payments through any other means.

Things to note during an ESTA application

After submitting your ESTA application and permission has been denied, you can only apply again after 24 hours have elapsed. When you are applying after a rejection, ensure all the personal details you provided are accurate. However, you will pay the application fees every time you apply. In addition, you can apply for an esta visa online if you are facing constant rejection.

Who receives the result of a group application?

A group application is emailed to the person who completed the application for the entire family. This is because it is easier to send the result to the representative's email address than to send it to all the group members.

Conclusion

Group-based esta application has a lot of procedures and complications. As long as you stick to the guideline and the regulations, you should get an approved status. Never hesitate to ask or inquire about points that may be confusing to you.