If you plan to travel to the United States, you have two options. You can choose to either apply for a Visa or the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Many are times when people opt for the latter for obvious reasons. If you belong to that group, you must be thinking about several things regarding the process. One of them is whether it comes at a price or not. The answer to that is a resounding yes, and this article discusses the ESTA application cost in detail. Read on to find out!
ESTA Application Cost
As of now, the ESTA application cost stands at $14. Therefore, you need to have that amount before you can even start making the application. Interestingly, the money you pay is usually meant to cater for two categories. Let’s discuss that further to enlighten you on the same.
- Processing Charge
Upon requesting the electronic travel authorization, you have to pay a fee of $4. As the name suggests, this amount of money you pay caters to the ESTA application processing.The ESTA administration gets to pocket it, and you must pay it once you embark on the journey to apply for the ETSA application.
- Authorization Charge
Whether this is charged or not depends on the status of your application after the processing mentioned above. You will have to pay it once you receive the approval of your application and receive the authorization to travel to the U.S. as long as it’s under this Visa Waiver Program. The amount of money for this is $10.
Therefore, it is important to note that you can pay an ESTA application cost of $4 or $14. If your ESTA application is denied upon the processing period, the $10 fee charged for the authorization fee will not be deducted.
Are there Exceptions for ESTA Application cost?
In some situations, the likes of the students and children often receive special treatment. However, that’s not the case as far as the ESTA application is concerned. On the contrary, every applicant is treated equally. Regardless of the category, you fall under, the fee remains $14. Therefore, if you are in a family of 4, you have no other choice but to pay up to $56 for every member of your family. Yes, regardless of whether you are making all 4 ESTA applications, you will pay the fee for every individual you apply for without exception.
Conclusion
It is interesting to learn that there is a price to pay to know whether you are eligible to travel to the United States. It will cost you $4 to find out the answer to that question. If it is a no, that’s the end of incurring the ESTA application cost, and you better try the application later. However, if it becomes a success, you have to pay another $10 as the authorization charge. Under such a circumstance, the total cost will amount to $14. Keep in mind that everyone has to pay for that fee regardless of whether they are kids or even students, and that’s just it. More information can be found at esta-authorization.net
