Do you want to travel blogs to the USA and are you wondering what the administrative formalities are? Are you a little lost in the face of the abundance of information. Do not panic in this article, I explain to you, step by step. How to obtain all the documents necessary for your trip to the USA. All you must do is follow the guide! Good reading.
The formalities for entering the USA differ depending on your situation:
First, I specify that the formalities of this article only concern people who go to the USA:
– for purely touristic purposes,
– for less than 90 days,
– are French, Belgian, or Swiss citizens.
If you wish to live, do an internship, or work in the USA. Or if you are a national of a non-European country (I know that I have readers in the Maghreb for example). The formalities are different from those described in this article.
In short, if you are in a classic situation, the kind you want to spend a week in New York or treat yourself on a road trip on the east coast of the United States, you are exactly within the criteria. You just must follow the formalities described below in the letter and everything will go well for you.
I hope this article will help you prepare for your trip to the USA. If so, remember to click on I like at the bottom of this article: it’s the best way to thank me for my work.
Come on, let’s get to the heart of the matter: the detailed steps of the formalities to enter the USA.
The 7 steps to follow to complete all the formalities for the United States:
There is nothing very complicated to do to have the right to return to American territory. Just be careful with the timing and be square in filling out the statements. In these cases, you must follow a different procedure which involves obtaining a visa (and therefore approaching the consulate or the American embassy in France to obtain it). If you are not concerned about this, follow the guide below: it’s simple, fast, and you’ll be fine.
Step 1: check the validity of your passport
The first formality to follow before considering a trip (any trip, in fact), is to make sure that your passport is valid. Most countries in the world require that your passport be valid for another 6 months after the date of your departure from the territory. If not, renew your passport now.
Concretely, we are currently in August 2019 at the time of writing this article. If you are planning a trip to the United States for January 2020 and your passport expires in March 2020, it is safer to renew it now, otherwise, you risk being turned away at the border (that would be a shame).
Count between two and four weeks to obtain the precious sesame, depending on where you make the request and the time of year (in the middle of winter you will have less demand than around summer when everyone starts getting ready to go on vacation).
All the information necessary for the realization of your passport is on the site of the French government.
Step 2: buy your plane ticket
Once you’re sure you have a valid passport for the dates you plan to travel, the second step to getting to the United States is simple: buy your plane ticket.
For that, no need for complicated formalities: go to a flight comparator (I use Skyscanner), find an affordable ticket (for the United States it should not exceed 450€ round mother daughter trips, and follow the airline’s instructions. Once your plane ticket has been booked, write down the details of your flight (print them out), and take them with you to the airport on D-Day (see below).
Step 3: Apply for Esta
Ok, this is the crucial point of the formalities for the USA: you must apply for an ESTA USA form online. Without the ESTA, you cannot enter American territory: the ESTA is simply a travel authorization. This formality consists in asking the American administration if they authorize you to visit their country or not. So don’t mess around with i
Double-check the information you fill in to be sure to put everything correctly (no mistakes in your name, no error in your email address or your passport number, etc.).
At the end of your request, just before the payment (because this request is not free, unfortunately), the system provides you with a tracking number. Write it down and keep it in a safe place in case you need to come back to it (normally this is not the case, but it is useful if you have to change something in your application, such as your passport number if you change it in the meantime).
After 72 hours, you will receive an email from the American authorities essentially saying that your entry into their territory is authorized. It’s all good, you can move on!
Step 4: Get on the plane
If you have never flown, I recommend that you follow the formalities detailed in this ultra-comprehensive article.
I know it can be stressful to fly, but don’t put pressure on yourself: the only important thing is to plan to arrive at the airport early. You will thus have time to orient yourself, to follow the various usual formalities and you will avoid the stress of having to run to catch your flight. If you are unfamiliar with airports, plan to arrive 3 hours early. Otherwise, 2 hours is enough.
Step 5: complete the knowledge form
So here you are on the plane to the United States! A little before starting the descent towards the destination airport, the crew of the plane will ask you to fill out a small form (CBP Declaration Form 6059B), to know a little more about you and what you will do once there. So, remember to have a small pencil with you, just to avoid having to begone from other famous world travelers.
I was missing a silly detail that I was unable to fill in. If you are interested in knowing about this stressful episode in my life as a traveler photos, I invite you to read this article (I arrived by train from Montreal, but the form to fill out is the same).
Step 6: confront the American customs officers
You have set foot on the tarmac of the American airport: you are finally treading the ground of the New World! All formalities are completed. All? No: a formality resists again and again: that of questioning the customs officers. They will ask you what you do for a living, where you plan to go on your trip and other questions that are sometimes very personal and not related to sauerkraut. Depending on your luck, the interrogation can last a minute or an hour.
After this particularly stressful ordeal, here’s some good news: it’s over. You are finally authorized to officially enter American territory.
Step 7: Enjoy your trip to the USA
Well, it’s not a formality but I wanted to put it anyway because that’s the goal of all this administrative mishmash: enjoy your trip! The USA is a grandiose, fascinating, surprising, rich, and varied country. No matter where you go, you can’t go wrong: there is bound to be something to see, to discover.
To know about travel formalities for the United States:
Two more small things that I wanted to tell you before letting you continue your preparations.
How much do these entry formalities cost in the USA?
Applying for an ESTA application costs 4 dollars (about 3.30€). These costs are spent no matter what.
Then, if your request is accepted (and it will be in 99.99% of cases that meet the criteria. I mentioned at the beginning of the article). You must add 10 dollars of additional costs (so count a total of 14 USD out of your pocket. Around 12€). On the other hand. The 4 dollars spent for the ESTA solicitation are not recoverable.
Finally, other costs may be added: the cost of your passport, for example. If you must have it edited specifically for this trip. At the time of writing these lines. The price of this administrative formality is €86 (to be paid in tax stamps).
Finally, of course, you will have to pay for your plane ticket. By going through a quality flight comparator. You won’t get too expensive (between 300 and 400€ if you are flexible on your travel dates).
So much for the expenses related to the administrative formalities. Then, of course, there will be accommodation, food, and something to please you on site.
How long is the ESTA valid?
The ESTA is valid for two years from the date of acceptance of the application. This means that if you apply on January 1, 2020. You can use the same ESTA for a trip in March 2020 as for a trip in September 2021. There is still one condition to this: all data provided on the day of the request remains unchanged. That is to say that your passport number remains the same, as well as your name.
Note that if your ESTA expires while you are in the United States. You do not need to redo one to be able to leave. According to my example above, let’s say you enter the US territory on December 24, 2020. And leave on January 5, 2021. Even if your ESTA expired on January 1, 2021. You do not need to re-follow all the procedures to leave the territory.
Other questions about travel formalities in the USA?
I have tried to answer the best questions you may have about the paperwork to enter the United States. Normally, by following the steps described in this article. If you have a classic tourist profile (and this will be the case for 95% of you. See the points I mentioned at the start of the page). You only to follow this guide so that everything goes well.
If you ever have any questions left. Do not hesitate to write to me: I will complete this little “tutorial” with your information to help others. Internet users may find themselves in the same situation as you.
