Did you become a naturalized citizen a few months or years ago, and would you like to travel to the USA in the near future? To do so, you need to apply online for an ESTA. However, the fact that you’re a naturalized traveler can make this process confusing. What is the procedure for naturalized citizens? Which passport do I need to present? We explain everything in this article.
Which nationalities can apply for an ESTA?
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Before applying for ESTA, you need to be sure that you are a national of a country participating in the Visa Waiver Program. There are currently 41 member countries. These include all European countries, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and, since October 2023, Israel.
If you are a naturalized citizen, this means that you hold two different nationalities, and may be in possession of two passports. For travelers with dual nationality, there are four possible scenarios.
One of your nationalities is part of the VWP
If you have two different passports, and one of them allows you to travel to the U.S. without a visa, you’ll need to apply online using the same passport.
Let’s take a concrete example: by birth, you have Brazilian nationality. After living in France for many years, you’ve managed to acquire French nationality. As Brazil is not part of the VWP, you’ll need your French passport to apply online. As with other EU countries, French nationals are eligible for visa exemption.
Your two passports allow you to travel to the USA without a visa
If you have dual nationality and both your passports are VWP-approved, you are free to choose which identity document you wish to use. We suggest that you check the validity of your passports before making your choice. A valid passport is a prerequisite for entering the USA without a visa. If both passports are valid, you are free to choose the document of your choice, bearing in mind that if your passport expires before the ESTA validity period (two years), the ESTA will become unusable.
None of your passports are authorized by the VWP
If you hold the nationality of two countries that are not members of the Visa Waiver Program, you will not be able to travel to the USA without a visa. In this case, we suggest you contact the consular services of the U.S. embassy to apply for a visitor’s visa.
You are a naturalized French citizen, but hold the nationality of a “Muslim Ban” country
If you have benefited from the French naturalization program, but are also a citizen of a “Muslim Ban” country, implemented by President Trump, you are excluded from the ESTA program. The countries concerned by this scheme are: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The only alternative to travel to the United States is to apply for a visa from the American embassy using your French passport.
Have you made sure that at least one of your passports allows you to enter the United States without a visa? Then you can take the next step and fill in the ESTA form.
Completing the ESTA with an eligible passport
First of all, please note that the information required on the form must correspond in every respect to the data on your biometric or electronic passport. So be careful when filling in the form, or you risk making a mistake and having your ESTA authorization application rejected.
To access the ESTA form, simply visit the official U.S. government website. Three types of information are requested on the ESTA form:
- your marital status and details of your two passports (passport number, date of issue, country of issue, etc.);
- the reason for your stay in the United States (stay or transit, home address and emergency contact) ;
- questions about your state of health, your criminal record, and any previous visa applications.
Once you have completed your ESTA application, you must proceed to payment. This step is very important, because if you don’t pay the ESTA fee, your application cannot be sent to the American authorities.
Using ESTA
The vast majority of ESTA applications are approved. In concrete terms, an approved ESTA application allows you to travel to the USA without a visa for up to 90 days. During this period of validity, it will be possible to organize several trips to the U.S., as long as the trip is for tourism, business or transit, and you are entering the U.S. by air or sea.
