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ESTA for land border crossing

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  • 10-01-2018 4:28pm
    #1
    jme2010
    Registered Users Posts: 974 ✭✭✭


    Hey all,

    I know Ireland is part of the Visa Waiver program and then we also need an ESTA for arriving by airport, but what about land crossing from Canada?

    What does an Irish citizen need to drive from Canada to USA and back across a few days later? Is it just a valid passport?

    Can anybody tell me of their experiences driving in and out of the States as an Irish person.

    Thanks


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    #2
    Daisy 55
    Registered Users Posts: 511 ✭✭✭Daisy 55


    We didn't drive, but we walked over the bridge crossing near niagra. No problem getting a visa on the spot.


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    #3
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,438 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    Having ESTA approval is optional when entering by land from Canada or Mexico but might speed things up......

    I am a citizen of a VWP country and am visiting the U.S. from Canada or Mexico?

    If you are a citizen of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), and you enter the U.S. by land from Mexico or Canada, ESTA is not required. If you do not have ESTA, you will be required to complete the paper I-94W form and proceed through a manual entry process at the land border crossing.

    If you have an approved ESTA when entering the U.S. at a land border crossing, you will not be required to complete the paper I-94W form and your entry process is expedited. However, if issued, you should return your green I-94W card upon departure from the U.S. If you are arriving by air or sea, you do need to apply for ESTA.

    https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/application.html?execution=e1s1


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    #4
    Daisy 55
    Registered Users Posts: 511 ✭✭✭Daisy 55


    It didn't take long. We were warned to hand in our visa when we were leaving the US for the last time or else we would be regarded as overstayers.


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    #5
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,438 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    Daisy 55 wrote: »
    It didn't take long. We were warned to hand in our visa when we were leaving the US for the last time or else we would be regarded as overstayers.

    +1 before ESTA, finding that green slip of paper still stapled into your passport caused a lot of anxiety for people a couple of years later when planning another trip to the US. There was a place in Kentucky you could mail it to with a letter explaining why it wasn't surrendered when you exited the US at the end of your last trip.


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    #6
    circular flexing
    Registered Users Posts: 2,587 ✭✭✭circular flexing


    Having ESTA will speed up the land crossing by a few minutes and the border agent will be happier (less work for them). US and Canada share entry/exit information so returning green slip is not a huge deal.


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