ESTA, US clarifies given name requirement

[tspill]

Originally Posted by BerkshireBugsy

Without your middle names on the ESTA ? The least I would have expected is the rubber glove treatment but I'm glad you god there ok

But I'm not surprised really.

Have a great time

BB

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Without middle name.

And fortunately no rubber glove was deployed

Immigration was as quiet as we have seen it. We were flying Virgin UC and had no wait at all. But our friends were right at the back of the plane and last off and they ere through in maybe 10 minutes. Over 20 desks open for one flight.
Last year we waited 2 hours in the queue.

The new immigration hall is huge and as long as the staff it, then it should make a massive difference to queuing.

[BucksBugsy]

Originally Posted by tspill

Without middle name.

And fortunately no rubber glove was deployed

Immigration was as quiet as we have seen it. We were flying Virgin UC and had no wait at all. But our friends were right at the back of the plane and last off and they ere through in maybe 10 minutes. Over 20 desks open for one flight.
Last year we waited 2 hours in the queue.

The new immigration hall is huge and as long as the staff it, then it should make a massive difference to queuing.

See more...

New immigration hall ? I'm curious...last year when we flew to MCO we cleared CBP at MIA so didn't have to deal with the MCO scrum (MIA was empty in terms of immigration0)

[tspill]

Originally Posted by BerkshireBugsy

New immigration hall ? I'm curious...last year when we flew to MCO we cleared CBP at MIA so didn't have to deal with the MCO scrum (MIA was empty in terms of immigration0)

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They have been carrying a huge amount of rebuilding in MCO. Last year it was a disaster. This year, the immigration hall aspect is finished. Even so obviously they screwed up the A/C as they needed t wheel in portable fans. But it is now great (though we weren't there with 10 international flights landing).

[ChrisS]

As we're B2 travellers I haven't scoured the ESTA site - can anybody advise what, if anything, was updated on the application site? I note the red banner advising one should apply at least 72 hours pre-flight is back in-situ following the 'upgrade' notification(s).

[Thorpy]

I've had a quick look, I think the citizenship section may have expanded slightly, but it could very well be that I normally tick no, skip past it and have never noticed it before, but I don't recall ever seeing how did you acquire citizenship, or the difference between are you now and have you ever been a citizen of somewhere else.

All the old confusing factors are still there regarding names. The family name not surname, first name (singular), and then passport picture that shows you what to put includes the chevrons in the machine readable section, so they clearly don't read this thread

[YLL]

Originally Posted by PPM

Please show me on that pop up box where it says that.
Is this what you saw?

enter ALL names exactly as they appear on your passport in the First (Given) Name field. If a second or middle name is included in the First (Given) Name field on your passport, it must also be included here. This field is required to complete the application. If you have no first name, then enter the letters FNU which stands for First Name Unknown.

I assume you don’t have middle names on the passports either otherwise that note says if on passport put on ESTA ( or am I reading it wrong)

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From the highlighted info it seems pretty straightforward really.

Let's say my name is John Patrick Doe.

If my first (given) name on my passport is "John", then I enter John in my ESTA application. However if for some reason, the first (given) name on my passport is "John Patrick", then I have to enter that instead. Simples! Or am I missing something?

[Thorpy]

Originally Posted by YLL

From the highlighted info it seems pretty straightforward really.

Let's say my name is John Patrick Doe.

If my first (given) name on my passport is "John", then I enter John in my ESTA application. However if for some reason, the first (given) name on my passport is "John Patrick", then I have to enter that instead. Simples! Or am I missing something?

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Your passport will have a field "Given names", which is plural.
The ESTA asks for "First name" in the singular, so that is where people get mixed up. They know their first name so don't check the advice which is where the form actually indicates they want all "first" names. Then the clarification information is potentially confusing as it says put exactly what's in the machine readable section. This section has chevrons instead of spaces...so do I put a chevron or a space between my names. Fact is it doesn't make any difference, but the first time ESTA applicant doesn't know this.

It is dead simple when you understand what they are looking for, if you don't and try to understand from the instructions it's not so simple as they contradict each other. It's like working out how to operate some tech by reading the instructions.

[tomdan]

OMG here we go again😂

[ChrisS]

Originally Posted by Thorpy

I've had a quick look, I think the citizenship section may have expanded slightly, but it could very well be that I normally tick no, skip past it and have never noticed it before, but I don't recall ever seeing how did you acquire citizenship, or the difference between are you now and have you ever been a citizen of somewhere else.

All the old confusing factors are still there regarding names. The family name not surname, first name (singular), and then passport picture that shows you what to put includes the chevrons in the machine readable section, so they clearly don't read this thread

See more...

I did take a quick peek and noted the wording hadn't changed but the large sample pp diagram remains visible to the observant.

[holls]

Can I just go into my esta and update my middle name or do I need to do a completely new application