Visit to US - ESTA question

[Chrysalis]

Hi
Last summer we had a family holiday to the US and obtained our ESTAs as a group - my husband did the application for all of us.
I’m about to visit again briefly this week, on my own, and assumed my ESTA from last year is still valid (I think they last 2 years?)
Is this the case, or do I have to apply for one myself? What documentation do I need, or will it all be held on their system already?
Thanks!

[Spet0789]

99% sure you’re fine. They last for 2 years and there’s no concept of a group ESTA. You will have your own.

Google ESTA check and you can find the US govt website which will allow you to confirm.

[Chrysalis]

Thanks,I will try and check

[yorkshirelad1]

99% sure you’re fine. They last for 2 years and there’s no concept of a group ESTA. You will have your own.

Google ESTA check and you can find the US govt website which will allow you to confirm.

Making sure, of course, that when you Google, you select the right (US govt) website, and not some lookalike that pops up in the Google results that will charge you handsomely for a service that is free from the US govt (the check that is free, not the ESTA for which there is a standard US govt fee, direct from the US govt website and not a third party)

[pochisoldi]

The site for checking is the same as that for making an application: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/

Note that there are two buttons "Check Individual Status" and "Check Group Status"

Unfortunately "group" means group, and you can't "Check Individual status" for members of a group - you have to use "Check Group Status".

To check a group application you will either need the group ID, or you need the name/date of birth for the person who made the group application and they'll email the group ID to you.

PochiSoldi

[elkay]

There is an option to check status if you don't have the application id. It requires passport details. Might be worth trying that.

[pochisoldi]

There is an option to check status if you don't have the application id. It requires passport details. Might be worth trying that.

No it isn't worth trying - if the original application was done as a group, click on "Check group status".
As I said earlier in the thread - if the application for a person was made as a group, searching for an individual application id using that person's details will not give any results.

I've been there, and got the t-shirt.
I travelled to the US with my sister, mother and niece.
I did my own ESTA as an individual.
My sister did her application + mother + her daughter (my niece) as a group.
Despite having all their details, I could not search for any of their applications using the "Check Individual status" button.
To be honest, I got the impression that there was no ESTA for any of them, which was only corrected when my sister told me she did it as a group.

[elkay]

There is an option to check status if you don't have the application id. It requires passport details. Might be worth trying that.

No it isn't worth trying - if the original application was done as a group, click on "Check group status".
As I said earlier in the thread - if the application for a person was made as a group, searching for an individual application id using that person's details will not give any results.

I've been there, and got the t-shirt.
I travelled to the US with my sister, mother and niece.
I did my own ESTA as an individual.
My sister did her application + mother + her daughter (my niece) as a group.
Despite having all their details, I could not search for any of their applications using the "Check Individual status" button.
To be honest, I got the impression that there was no ESTA for any of them, which was only corrected when my sister told me she did it as a group.

Thanks, useful to know.

[evilbungle]

Not sure if things have changed but just to add my experience in case it helps someone else.

I booked my ESTAs (Myself, Wife and daughter) as a group but forgot the group ID (Make sure you write this down when you apply as you don't get notification) so I tried to recover as Individuals and it brought us all up so for me at least it was definitely worth checking as individuals even though I did them as a group.