Making plans for the USA! (part 5)

I know, I said that the next update would be when I had saved up enough money for my trip. I did not tell the truth.. I'm sorry..

Anyway - in this episode, we will go over my latest acquirement: the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, also known as ESTA. What is an ESTA, I hear you ask? Well.. I'm glad you asked!

Any tourist in the Visa Waiver Program, VWP for short, needs an authorization to travel to the USA. If you don't have it, you are not getting into the USA - full stop. It's 21 USD to get, so it's not the most expensive thing in the world. On the application form, you need to give the following information: The applicant must provide the following information:

Full name and gender
Other names or aliases, if any
Date and city of birth (according to passport)
Country of nationality and passport
Other nationality including historic, if any
Passport number and expiration date
Address
Parents' names, if known
Employer's name and address, if any
Emergency contact, name, phone and address
U.S. point of contact information (a person, business or hotel one intends to visit)
Whether the applicant is a member of Global Entry

Applicants must also specify whether any of the following applies to them by way of yes/no answers.

Applications will be denied if the applicant:
Has a physical or mental disorder posing a threat to others, or is a drug abuser, or has one of certain contagious diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, tuberculosis, plague, yellow fever, ebola or severe acute respiratory illnesses

Has ever been arrested or convicted for a crime that resulted in serious damage to property, or serious harm to another person or government authority

Has ever violated any law related to possessing, using, or distributing illegal drugs

Plans to engage in or has ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide

Has committed fraud or misrepresented oneself or others to obtain, or assist others to obtain, a visa or entry into the United States

Intends to seek employment in the United States or was previously employed in the United States without prior permission from the U.S. government

Has been denied a U.S. visa, or been refused admission to the United States at a U.S. port of entry

Has previously stayed in the United States longer than the admission period

Has traveled to Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011

Seeing as I'm not a danger to any form of society, my application was approved within two hours. This doesn't mean that I'm safe to enter the USA, though. An airport security person can still reject me, if they feel that I'm not honest about my visit to the States. Should that happen, I would be put on the first flight back home. But I'm quite confident that I will not be rejected at the border, and that I'm allowed to have a week full of fun and shenanigans in the USA. I have so much to see and so much to do!