ESTA Resources

Introduction Finding U.S. travel authorization requirements can be difficult for travelers holding a single passport. How about if you are a dual citizen or have multiple passports? This article is intended to provide information to individuals who hold multiple passports and want to learn about visa or ESTA requirements when traveling to the United States. ESTA for Travelers with Multiple…

President Trump announces that Guatemala will shortly sign agreement restricting applications for asylum in the United States In a move that immigrant rights lawyers claim is cruel and unlawful, Donald Trump announced last week that Guatemala will sign an agreement to restrict the numbers of applicants seeking asylum in the US. Migrants entering the country, including those from Honduras and Salvador,…

An ESTA is a visa waiver that can be used by travelers holding passports of visa waiver countries to visit the United States for visits of up to 90 days. An ESTA is issued for a period of two years, or the date of passport expiry, whichever comes first. ESTA provides a number of permitted tourism related uses such as sightseeing, vacations or holidays, visits with family, relatives or friends, medical…

ICE Plans Action on Immigrant Raids Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has signalled the beginning of raids on communities and residences deemed to be inhabited by illegal immigrants. President Trump stated that raids would commence soon after July 4th 2019. The President has argued for a more active stance on deporting individuals who have be residing illegally in the United States. With large…

Introduction If you are needing an ESTA for a family or a group of travelers, then you can apply as a group of applications. To apply for a family or group ESTA, all U.S. bound travelers in the group must hold a passport from a visa waiver eligible country. ESTA for a family or group of travelers What is the group ESTA application process? If you need ESTA…

Applicants for US visas must now hand over their social media user names Under the most recent changes to immigration regulations put in place by President Trump’s administration, nearly everyone who applies for a US visa, including temporary visitors, will now need to submit their social media history to the State Department via the DS-160 visa application form, including email and phone numbers…

Professionals look set to benefit as President Trump reveals plans to replace existing green cards with the merit-based “Build America” visa. In a shift away from a family-based green card policy, the plan is for a merit-based visa allocation system that will favour those with job offers, post-graduate degrees and high-level skills over applicants with relatives already on the country. However, the…

Introduction Parents and legal guardians should be aware of restrictions when traveling to the United States with a minor or child. In U.S. immigration law, a child is considered an individual that is under 18 years of age. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requires documentation to be provided so that children entering the U.S. are doing so with the knowledge and / or consent of the child’s parents…

Introduction A preliminary injunction has been issued by a district court preventing USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) from implementing the ”adverse policy” dating from August 9th, 2018, according to which the “unlawful presence” of foreign students and their dependents is calculated retroactively.  This is a significant action by the court as “unlawful presence” can be…

Trump administration plans to close international immigration offices USCIS has outlined projected target dates for the closure of all its international offices. Last month, USCIS Director Francis Cissna messaged all USCIS employees to say that plans were being drawn up for the duties of the international offices to be transferred to the State Department, with the aim of freeing up funds to clear…