Travelers with multiple passport & ESTA
Travelers find US travel authorization requirements difficult withholding a single passport, but how about is someone has multiple passports or dual citizenship???
What could be the ESTA USA visa waiver requirements in these above-mentioned circumstances?
Before moving further it is essential to understand the difference between a visa and a visa waiver.
Visa & Visa Waiver:
A proper US visa requires completion of a DS-160 form and an interview at the US consulate or embassy for an interview regarding travel purpose to the United States and previous travel history. Plus, the visa application needs additional processing time to issue the visa physically in a passport and then post it back to the applicant. This entire visa application takes a minimum of two to three weeks or sometimes for several months.
While the ESTA or Electronic System of Travel Authorization is a visa waiver that is applicable for the citizens of the visa waiver program (VWP) participant countries. This is a permit for the citizen of VWP participant countries to travel to the USA for a visit up to 90 days. It can be applied entirely online and it takes a maximum of 10 minutes to fill ESTA application and approvals are granted within 72 hours. This convenient procedure is the best option for travelers who wish to visit the United States for business, tourism, transit, or medical purposes.
For travelers with multiple passports:
It is entirely the choice of the applicant on which of their passport they want to get ESTA approval. You can add the most recent passport information regardless of the expiry date of the additional passports you hold. It is necessary to mention all the information regarding other passports you keep. Citizens of Bermuda, Canada, Marshall Island, Palau, and Micronesia who travel to the US do not need a visa or visa waiver for the United States.
Additionally, nationals of VWP countries who have traveled to, or been present in, Iran, North Korea, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011, are no longer eligible to travel or be admitted to the United States under the VWP. Dual nationals of VWP countries and Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan are also no longer eligible to travel or be admitted to the United States under the VWP. This restriction does not apply to VWP travelers whose presence in any of those countries was to perform military service as part of the forces of a VWP country.
It could be confusing when an applicant keeps multiple citizenship or passports when it comes to applying for a visa or visa waiver to travel to the US. But, if you keep a passport form at least one participant country of the visa waiver program, they are eligible to apply for ESTA. When a person with multiple passports is a citizen of the United State, he does not need to apply for an ESTA and they are not eligible for ESTA visa waiver. If a person is not eligible for an ESTA or he/she is denied ESTA, they can still apply for a B1 business visa or B2 travel visa for the United States of America.
