ESTA again - code?

[mick]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

I have the same issue with work. Haven’t worked in paid employment for twenty year, so I put the store that I did work in but it’s been closed for 15 years 😃

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Haven't done ESTA since May 2018 but doesn't the question still say "Do you have or ever had an employer?" We're both retired but we've both "ever had" an employer so that's what we say.

Mick

[TinselAngel]

Originally Posted by TheHughesCrew

I did a group application of 5 members of my family, but used my email and mobile number for all of them. Also the same emergency details.

I started doing mine on a laptop, and it took well over an hour, and was a laborious task, but safe to say they were all authorised quite quickly.

If I were to do them again, I would probably use an iPad or similar as I think you can scan the passport details in? It looked like you could, it not an option on my laptop.

As above, read the black guidance boxes, as they tell you exactly what to put in each field.

FWIW, we left the address and social media sections as blank/ unknown, but definitely added middle names in the FIRST NAME field!

Good luck

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For anyone scanning their passport for the ESTA : Check what has been scanned against the passport - my brother used this to scan his and was told when he got to the airport that he did not have a valid ESTA. Cue very panicky time reapplying while at the airport and waiting for approval to come through.

[disney332]

Originally Posted by TinselAngel

For anyone scanning their passport for the ESTA : Check what has been scanned against the passport - my brother used this to scan his and was told when he got to the airport that he did not have a valid ESTA. Cue very panicky time reapplying while at the airport and waiting for approval to come through.

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OMG... good job Im a technophobe !

Disney332

[tspill]

Originally Posted by mick

Joan's dad died in 1966 but we still enter the details. Simply proves something that I've said on here for years. There's absolutely no way the C&BP have access to any UK database to check the name against. Different surname for a start.

Same as where Joan worked when she retired in 2006. Absolutely no way of checking. May have even gone bust in 2007.


We've entered the USA around 15 or 16 times since ESTA introduced. Never been asked a specific ESTA type question.

Mick

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But it is nothing to do with checking the application.
In IT, one of the most complex things is unique identification of an individual. So the solution is to gather information about a person to try and get the best chance of identifying an individual. So the information gathered has best chance of being unique. I am guessing this is the reason for some of this.

[DisneyDaffodil]

Originally Posted by TinselAngel

For anyone scanning their passport for the ESTA : Check what has been scanned against the passport - my brother used this to scan his and was told when he got to the airport that he did not have a valid ESTA. Cue very panicky time reapplying while at the airport and waiting for approval to come through.

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Thank goodness it turned out ok for him. I think I will stick to manually inputting the details 😀

[mick]

Originally Posted by tspill

But it is nothing to do with checking the application.
In IT, one of the most complex things is unique identification of an individual. So the solution is to gather information about a person to try and get the best chance of identifying an individual. So the information gathered has best chance of being unique. I am guessing this is the reason for some of this.

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Indeed as I've said on here a number of times, the reasons for all the "new" questions, according to the ESTA web site, is to continue to gather further and better information on visitors in order to protect their borders.

Some Dibbers since Jan 2009 have believed that they check some things against a database and are concerned about parent's names - I've been estranged from my dad for 30 years, my mum remarried three years ago etc


Mick

[mick]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

Thank goodness it turned out ok for him. I think I will stick to manually inputting the details 😀

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The option to enter P/P details manually was there in 2016, 2018 and maybe earlier. Glad to see it's still there.

It takes me 5 minutes to enter my P/P details manually - it would take an hour for me to understand the technology to scan it

Mick

[TINKERBELL44]

Excuse my ignorance but what are these codes ? Xx

[disney332]

Originally Posted by TINKERBELL44

Excuse my ignorance but what are these codes ? Xx

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They are emailed to you by DHS in order to proceed.

It would seem they are in place to prevent robot applications.

Disney332

[TINKERBELL44]

Is this new ?