My Country Of Issue Is Not In The ESTA - Visa Waiver

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• Most Popular Questions
• About ESTA and The Visa Waiver Program
• Getting Started
• Completing Your ESTA Application
• Updating Your Information
• Checking Your ESTA Status
• "Travel Not Authorized"
• Traveling with an ESTA
• Troubleshooting

Completing Your ESTA Application

My Country of Issue is not in the ESTA

If you don t find your country of issue in the drop down menu, make sure you are selecting the correct country. Your "Country of Issue" is the same as your "Country of Citizenship". For instance, if you are a citizen of the United Kingdom, but are getting your passport from the UK Consulate in Hong Kong, the UK is your country of issue. The UK Consulate may be located in Hong Kong, but Hong Kong is not the country issuing you the passport.

Otherwise, if you can t find the name of your country of issuance or the country of citizenship, then you probably should not be applying for ESTA. Only citizens of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) should apply for ESTA.

If you have dual citizenship and have registered with ESTA, you should use your VWP-eligible passport to board the plane when you leave your country of departure and when you arrive in the U.S. If both your countries of citizenship are VWP-eligible, then we strongly recommend you choose which one you want to claim for purposes of travel to the U.S. and use that country s passport each time you travel. One person with two different ESTA authorizations creates confusion that will only delay your travel.

If you are a citizen of the U.S. and also of a VWP country, you should not be applying for ESTA. One of the requirements of being a naturalized U.S. citizen is that you apply for, and use, a U.S. passport for your travels. While we are aware that in some cases naturalized U.S. citizens use their alternate country s passport to travel, our expectation is that you will use the U.S. passport to travel from another country to the U.S. at both points of travel, departing the foreign country and arriving into the U.S.

If you have a true emergency, and are unable to obtain a U.S. Passport before your travels, and only have a VWP-eligible passport, then you will have to apply through ESTA using that passport to travel to the U.S. When arriving at the U.S. airport using the foreign passport, you will have to use the non-resident queue.

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Completing Your ESTA Application

• How to apply for an ESTA?
• Guidance for some eligibility questions
• Apply for an ESTA without having travel plans?
• How do I correct a mistake on my application?
• ESTA will be denied if a mandatory field blank?
• Why do you need my employer information?
• Why is it necessary to expand the information in ESTA?
• When to apply for a visa instead of an ESTA?
• Additional questions with the new "Enhanced" ESTA
• I am traveling on a passport showing an "X" sex marker
• My Country of Issue is not in the ESTA
• My name contains especial letters
• ESTA won't accept my passport with my old name.
• Do I have to use the new "Upload Your Passport" feature?

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