Folks,
Just a heads up, the nice US homeland security people cancelled my wife's ESTA a couple of days ago with just a few days before we travel on our holidays, her passport was in date, the ESTA had 18 months left to run on it & she'd previously used the same passport/ESTA combo for a trip to New York, the reason for cancelling was as stated below:-
"Effective April 1, 2016, the United States requires a valid e-Passport (passport with a chip) to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. You are receiving this email because your passport has been identified as a non e-Passport or it was issued prior to your country of citizenship’s issuance of e-Passports. Your ESTA application is cancelled due to this new travel requirement.
You will need an e-Passport to travel under the Visa Waiver Program or you may obtain a non-immigrant visa from a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your non e-Passport. Once you obtain an e-Passport, you may re-apply for ESTA. The cancellation does not affect your future ESTA status. For more information regarding travel requirements, visit http://www.cbp.gov/travel.
I was aware that this new regulation was coming into effect from 1st April 2016 & read up on it, we travel prior to this date & so I believed that this didn't apply & we intended to replace her passport when we came back from our holiday as it ran out a couple of months later.
So yesterday, we both took a short notice day off work, (having booked an appointment for the passport office in London the day previously, paying a premium for a fast tracked service), here's how our stressful day went yesterday:-
-Good drive up to London, gave ourselves plenty of time fortunately.
-Park up at Hounslow West - loads of spaces, we found out why approx 2 minutes later!!
-Piccadilly Line not running due to strike action - I had no idea as we're not local.
-Two H91 busses pulled in & then left empty
-Eventually a bus lets us on
-Stuck in traffic on the North Circular, we still have plenty of time
-Time now getting tight & pretty much gridlocked still so get off the bus at Gunnersbury & pick up a District line to Victoria.
-Made our appointment slot with 3 minutes to spare
-Some good news, the passport application is pretty slick & my wife is out in approx 50 minutes, collect new passport 4 hours from appointment time.
-Collect new passport, again, no hassle - in & out in literally 3-4 minutes.
-Tube back to Hammersmith, train in front breaks down & so we are asked to get off the tube at Sloane Square - have coffee for an hour
-Apply for a new ESTA over coffee, a bit fiddly via an iPad mini but all approved ok
-District line now running ok, have to wait for another Richmond train as the first one is rammed full.
-Back at Hammersmith, wait for an age for an H91 bus back to Hounslow West, bun fight to get on, my wife loses her rag with queue jumpers.
-90 minutes later to do the 8 miles from Hammersmith to Houslow West we finally make it back to the car.
-Feeling hungry & not fancying more junk food we plan for a roll from Subway at Fleet services.
-Arrive at Fleet services & we are the 1st people to NOT get served by Subway staff as they shut at 10pm :headbang:
-Get home at 11:45pm, tired & frustrated but with a new 'chip' passport & an approved ESTA
So if you've made my ramblings this far - well done, but more importantly, if you've got an upcoming trip to the US, please please please log in & check that your ESTA is valid still, the email to say that its been cancelled is a very unassuming one that I so nearly dismissed as Junk, the implications of a family travelling & one being declined entry to the US doesn't bear thinking about.
Tony
Just a heads up, the nice US homeland security people cancelled my wife's ESTA a couple of days ago with just a few days before we travel on our holidays, her passport was in date, the ESTA had 18 months left to run on it & she'd previously used the same passport/ESTA combo for a trip to New York, the reason for cancelling was as stated below:-
"Effective April 1, 2016, the United States requires a valid e-Passport (passport with a chip) to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. You are receiving this email because your passport has been identified as a non e-Passport or it was issued prior to your country of citizenship’s issuance of e-Passports. Your ESTA application is cancelled due to this new travel requirement.
You will need an e-Passport to travel under the Visa Waiver Program or you may obtain a non-immigrant visa from a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your non e-Passport. Once you obtain an e-Passport, you may re-apply for ESTA. The cancellation does not affect your future ESTA status. For more information regarding travel requirements, visit http://www.cbp.gov/travel.
I was aware that this new regulation was coming into effect from 1st April 2016 & read up on it, we travel prior to this date & so I believed that this didn't apply & we intended to replace her passport when we came back from our holiday as it ran out a couple of months later.
So yesterday, we both took a short notice day off work, (having booked an appointment for the passport office in London the day previously, paying a premium for a fast tracked service), here's how our stressful day went yesterday:-
-Good drive up to London, gave ourselves plenty of time fortunately.
-Park up at Hounslow West - loads of spaces, we found out why approx 2 minutes later!!
-Piccadilly Line not running due to strike action - I had no idea as we're not local.
-Two H91 busses pulled in & then left empty
-Eventually a bus lets us on
-Stuck in traffic on the North Circular, we still have plenty of time
-Time now getting tight & pretty much gridlocked still so get off the bus at Gunnersbury & pick up a District line to Victoria.
-Made our appointment slot with 3 minutes to spare
-Some good news, the passport application is pretty slick & my wife is out in approx 50 minutes, collect new passport 4 hours from appointment time.
-Collect new passport, again, no hassle - in & out in literally 3-4 minutes.
-Tube back to Hammersmith, train in front breaks down & so we are asked to get off the tube at Sloane Square - have coffee for an hour
-Apply for a new ESTA over coffee, a bit fiddly via an iPad mini but all approved ok
-District line now running ok, have to wait for another Richmond train as the first one is rammed full.
-Back at Hammersmith, wait for an age for an H91 bus back to Hounslow West, bun fight to get on, my wife loses her rag with queue jumpers.
-90 minutes later to do the 8 miles from Hammersmith to Houslow West we finally make it back to the car.
-Feeling hungry & not fancying more junk food we plan for a roll from Subway at Fleet services.
-Arrive at Fleet services & we are the 1st people to NOT get served by Subway staff as they shut at 10pm :headbang:
-Get home at 11:45pm, tired & frustrated but with a new 'chip' passport & an approved ESTA
So if you've made my ramblings this far - well done, but more importantly, if you've got an upcoming trip to the US, please please please log in & check that your ESTA is valid still, the email to say that its been cancelled is a very unassuming one that I so nearly dismissed as Junk, the implications of a family travelling & one being declined entry to the US doesn't bear thinking about.
Tony
