ESTA question

[.yana 597]

Hi everyone!

 

My mom and her husband (mom is a dual French / Russian citizen, husband is just a French citizen by birth) want to visit my husband and I in the US.

She's been to the US many times before (both to visit me and her friends from long time ago) and always had a tourist visa as she was traveling as a Russian citizen at that time.

No overstays or unusually long trips. Obviously no criminal history. She actually won the DV Lottery ~9 years ago but never pursued it since she had already met her now husband then but has since visited the US with no issues.

 

This is going to be her first time applying for ESTA and I was wondering if her case is pretty straight-forward and easy or if there's something I'm missing. 

She is in her 60s and her husband is in his 70s. Her husband is retired and I don't think he's traveled a whole lot outside of EU but my understanding is that it's pretty normal for French folks to travel once they retire

 

Thank you!

[Coco8 1,042]

For ESTA there is no visa application or application at the consulate. It's just an online form and it's pretty automatic.

[millefleur 5,047]

Maybe have her start the application and then if any particular questions come up, post them here. From what I know, ESTA is really straightforward and it is easy to get approved.

[.yana 597]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

Maybe have her start the application and then if any particular questions come up, post them here. From what I know, ESTA is really straightforward and it is easy to get approved.

I mean, I looked up the questions - they are pretty straight forward. Was just wondering if I'm missing anything bc she held a B1/B2 visa before and she used to visit as a national of another country, not sure. She's also unemployed right now (although they have savings and are paying for their trip themselves). You never know with these things  

[millefleur 5,047]

7 hours ago, .yana said:

She's also unemployed right now (although they have savings and are paying for their trip themselves).

I think unemployment is not an issue in this case, in France people retire in their 60's. Retired Europeans visit the US all the time. I don't know about the dual citizenship or previous B visas, but if she's coming over on her French passport pretty sure she'll just be viewed as a French citizen here by CBP? Maybe she also has to bring the Russian passport as well? It's a good question.

 

The key is she's never been denied a US visa (from what you've described) and if she turned down a DV lottery win, there's clearly no immigrant intent. I don't think her ESTA will be denied, she doesn't sound like an overstay risk to me.

[.yana 597]

Thank you!

 

Agreed, definitely shouldn't be an overstay concern. And her husband doesn't even speak English 🥴

One does need to provide their other passports (if any) for ESTA but since my mom doesn't have any red flags - guessing that's a non-issue.

 

 

[CMJuilland 485]

I don’t think she has anything to worry about. If I were her, I would just fill out the ESTA form, pay the $14, and then see what happens. Since she is a French citizen, and there’s nothing in the ESTA provisions that states you’re ineligible if you hold dual citizenship with most non-VWP country, she should be fine, and ESTA will most likely be approved quickly.  In the unlikely event that it isn’t, I would apply early so that there’s time to go through a B-visa application and still be able to travel when the trip is planned. 

As for their retirement, my parents got their ESTA approved five years ago with no issue to come over for our wedding. They were in their late 60s at the time and retired for a few years, and for my dad, it was the very first time in the U.S.  

Good luck to your mom and her husband; I hope they’ll be able to travel soon! 

Edited January 21, 2022 by CMJuilland

[.yana 597]

13 minutes ago, CMJuilland said:

I don’t think she has anything to worry about. If I were her, I would just fill out the ESTA form, pay the $14, and then see what happens. Since she is a French citizen, and there’s nothing in the ESTA provisions that states you’re ineligible if you hold dual citizenship with most non-VWP country, she should be fine, and ESTA will most likely be approved quickly.  In the unlikely event that it isn’t, I would apply early so that there’s time to go through a B-visa application and still be able to travel when the trip is planned. 

As for their retirement, my parents got their ESTA approved five years ago with no issue to come over for our wedding. They were in their late 60s at the time and retired for a few years, and for my dad, it was the very first time in the U.S.  

Good luck to your mom and her husband; I hope they’ll be able to travel soon! 

Thank you so much! 🙏