Introduction of ESTA Registration Fee

Prague, August 10, 2010

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will introduce a fee for Electronic System of Travel Authorization (ESTA) beginning September 8. DHS has had the discretion to charge a fee to cover the costs of administering the program since ESTA was implemented.

The fee is comprised of two parts:

• Processing Charge - all applicants requesting an electronic travel authorization are charged $4 for the processing of the application.
• Charge determined by Travel Promotion Act (TPA) - if your application is approved and you receive authorization to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, an additional $10 will be charged to the credit card. If the electronic travel authorization is denied, only the application processing fee will be charged.

The fee must be paid by credit card at the time of enrollment at www.pay.gov.  Some debit cards may be used for payment but only if they do not require a numerical PIN.  Pay.Gov uses advanced encryption to protect transactions while applicants are logged in.  When accessing a profile, any account numbers applicants have entered will be masked on the screen. DHS is exploring the possibility of adding other payment methods in the future. 

Existing ESTA registrations remain valid for travel through their expiration date or until the passport expiration date if it expires sooner.

DHS also announced the elimination of the paper arrival/departure form (Form I-94W) for authorized travelers from nations participating in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which includes Czech citizens. All travelers seeking entry to the U.S. with valid visas still have to complete Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record. All travelers (travelling both on ESTA registration and on visas) still have to fill the customs declaration (CBP form 6059B).