Do you need to worry if the USA cancels your ESTA right now?

The Flight Detective
a woman looking at an airplane

The USA cancels your ESTA?! A what now? When travelling to the United States, people from certain countries may visit as tourists without the requirement for a Visa. Instead, people apply for a Electronic System for Travel Authorization, more commonly known as an ESTA. This costs US$14 and lasts for two years.

Thanks to the current travel restrictions, foreign nationals are generally not permitted to visit the USA. Those who have an ESTA who try to travel will have it cancelled. When the USA cancels your ESTA, it is quite disconcerting. Should you worry?

What Happens When The USA Cancels Your ESTA?

A friend of mine has parents who live in the USA on Green Cards and he decided to visit them. He had seen advice where children of Green Card holders were permitted to enter the country. All well and good, so he booked flights but did not enter his Passport information.

When it came time to online check-in, he entered the details and checked in for the flight. Not too long after, he received a notification that his ESTA was cancelled. Naturally this surprised him, so he contacted the relevant authorities to enquire as to why.

The rule is that children of Green Card holders can enter the USA, but they must be 21 or under. Since he was over 21, he is not eligible to travel at the moment.

Happily the representative assured him that the cancellation of the ESTA would not affect anything in the future. As a result, there is no penalisation for this and he can apply for another ESTA in the future as per normal.

Overall Thoughts

As you can see, it’s no big deal if the USA cancels your ESTA at this time. In normal circumstances, it would be more of a major deal since it’s unusual for these to be rescinded.

My advice would be to make sure you enter your Passport details in Manage My Booking for any upcoming flights you have planned. I’d certainly rather find out I am not permitted to go somewhere with more than the 24 hours or less notice you’d have if you waited until online check-in.

Have you tried to travel to the USA recently and had your ESTA cancelled? Did you get the same advice as my friend? Should the USA be cancelling these? I mean, you are losing some of your two years if this happens. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Arthur Edelman on Unsplash.

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colin Smith

I fly to to the US on 1st July 2021 and I believe that the only reason I was allowed in was that I was married to a US citizen and luckily could prove it with my marriage license or I believe they wouldnt have let me on the plane. They also said at the time my ESTA was invalid . I was due to fly again 1st Sept 2021 but the day before i was due to fly I had an email saying my ESTA was cancelled. For medical reasons we could fly but the question is my ESTA… Read more »

Ingrid

I had my ESTA authorized in 2019 October, and travelled 3 times to the US, always respected the rules. The last time I travelled it was during the pandemic 2020, October. On the February 1st, 2021 I got an e-mail that my status have changed and when I called they said I am no longer eligible for ESTA and I will need a visa from now one…. in the mean time I got in touch with 12 more people who got the same e-mail and response but they did not travel during the pandemic…I don’t understand why did this happen.

Dora

I got the same email on February 1st! I was travelling during October 2020 too. Did you get to solve this issue?

Kate

I managed to get into the US 4 days ago as a UK citizen on an ESTA because my husband is a US citizen. Reading this I feel very lucky because I entered my passport details in advance, but they had no way of knowing from my passport details that I am married to a US citizen (husband was not travelling with me as he was already in the USA). I think perhaps rather than just cancelling it outright, they should contact the traveller and find out their reasons for travel so that they don’t cancel the ESTA of someone… Read more »

Jan

Sadly, I was denied boarding because my ESTA was cancelled a few hours before my flight. I m Belgian, married to a U.S. citizen. I had all my documents ready, totally on top of the game. I checked in online, which probably triggered the US authorities and my ESTA was cancelled. We got married in the States, so we should be in the system. When i called the number on the ESTA website, they told me to go to check in with a copy of my wife s passport and our marriage certificate. They can call the ‘regional carrier liaison… Read more »

Steph

Hi Jan, i have the same issue and i am travelling from Brussels at the end of this month. What air carrier told you that?

Barbara

I too am waiting to visit my family in the US but I know about the restrictions on ESTAs because I regularly check the US Embassy website. It is madness to book a flight without first checking if the ban has been lifted that was first declared in March and then extended in June. I am shocked that your topic of expertise is travel and you don’t even know that all ESTAs have been cancelled, as the US is a very popular place for the British to visit.

John Hullican

Why do we have to put up with the USA changing its stupid laws at will. I am a US citizen and my wife was denied entry after I had filed and paid for I- 130, along with other pertinent filings. Then there was the loss of the tickets from the unscrupulous airlines.
Time for the touring innocent public to consider other nice landscapes for example Russia, China, Notwithstanding the vast commonwealth

Glenn

I have plans to go visit my wife this coming September 21 in Minnesota using ESTA. When will be the right time and date to get the ESTA?

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