Frequently Asked Questions on the ESTA application fee, effective September 8, 2010
Q. What is the new fee charged to travelers?
A. It is $14.00. Since the implementation of ESTA, the Department of Homeland Security -DHS- has had discretion to charge a fee to cover
administrative costs. DHS determined that cost to be
$4.00 per registration. The Travel Promotion Act of 2009 -TPA- fee adds an additional $10.00.
Q. When will the fee go into effect?
A. ESTA registrations on or after September 8, 2010,
will be subject to the fee.
Q. How do travelers pay the fee?
A. At this time, payment is required through the
following credit cards: Mastercard, Visa, American
Express, and Discover. Payments can also be made with a
debit card that holds the Visa or Mastercard symbol.
Please check with your bank on the compatibility of your
debit card. We are continuing to explore other payment
measures. The ESTA registration form already in use
will walk users through the payment process.
Q. What types of privacy protection exist on the
website?
A."Pay.gov" uses advanced encryption to
protect transactions while applicants are logged in.
When accessing a profile, any account numbers entered
will be masked on-screen.
Q. How long are ESTA approvals valid?
A. Each approved ESTA application will be valid for a
period of two years unless the traveler's passport
expires sooner. It allows for multiple visits to the
United States within that application.
Q. If I have a valid ESTA, will I have to re-register
when the new fees go into effect?
A. No, existing ESTA registrations remain valid for
travel through their expiration date.
Q. Is ESTA approval like a visa?
A. An ESTA approval is not a visa under U.S. law, nor
does it confer the same benefits as a visa.
Q. Will this attract more international visitors to the
United States?
A. Oxford Economics, a leading economic forecasting
consultancy, estimates that the TPA program will
generate $4 billion in new visitor spending, and lead to
the creation of 40,000 new jobs.
Q. Why do VWP countries have to fund this travel
promotion program through ESTA fees?
A. Some countries fund tourism promotion through
airline or hotel taxes. The Travel Promotion Act
legislation specified that the U.S. government fund this
program through a $10 fee added to ESTA registration.