ESTA form for $14 before 2022
The US administrative fee for ESTA has increased from $14 to $21 since May 2022. The ESTA authorization can be obtained before or after preparing your trip, up to 72 hours before your departure. In order to be able to fill it in, you will have to fill in your personal information but also pay the mandatory taxes.
Why a minimum ESTA fee of $21
Anyone wishing to travel to the United States can apply for ESTA if they are eligible: a national of one of the countries participating in the VWP program, with a biometric or electronic passport, etc. The ESTA application is made via the Internet, the applicant must fill out a form divided into several parts (personal information, passport information, various questions) so that the U.S. authorities are able to issue permission (or not). In all cases, it will be mandatory to pay a minimum fee of $21 by credit card for the application to be validated. If the payment is not made, the ESTA application is not finalized and therefore not processed.
The $21 price is a rate set by the U.S. government. Unless there is another change, this price is fixed for the coming years. It corresponds to the application fee and is redistributed as follows:
- The $4 application fee goes to the administration to fund the ESTA department;
- $17 authorization fee is donated to various organizations, in partnership or dependent on the U.S. government, for the international promotion of tourism in the United States.
Is ESTA $21 a one-time fee?
The $21 fee to obtain an ESTA authorization is the basic price when you go to the official website where no additional services are offered.
Private platforms offer additional services for a fee in order to optimize the time needed to obtain a visa or to take care of all the procedures so that the traveler does not have to worry about it. They ensure a proofreading and correction of the information that is transmitted. This allows us to avoid as much as possible mistakes when filling out the form, which unfortunately can lead to a refusal of the application. In this case, it is possible to reapply, but with a new payment of $21.
