Clueless about travel to USA, please help! :)

Pharmo_Girlo

I'm planning on travelling to America in June for three weeks to visit my boyfriend who's working there until December. I just have a few questions that I haven't been able to find answers to, any help would be greatly appreciated!

Firstly I was wondering if it matters what order I get my flight/ESTA in? I'm awaiting my renewed passport so I don't have a passport number to enter when booking my flight, but I'm eager to book as prices have gone up by 130 in the last few days! Does it matter if my flight is booked without a passport number?

Also I read somewhere that you could be refused admission if you don't have a certain amount of money in your account, I'm not planning on travelling with a massive amount of money as I won't have a lot of time to earn between when college finishes and when I go! My boyfriend has an apartment and he'd be supporting a lot of our expenses whilst I'm there. Could I be refused entry anyways? And if so, how much money should I get into my account to be safe for a three week period?

BuffyBot

No, it doesn't. You can book a flight, and apply for your ESTA after.

There is no "magic" number in terms of money. US Immigration will look at whether you have enough funds to support yourself for the time your staying..if they ask at all. In my travels there, I recall only being asked about what money I had once.

As you're staying with someone, etc this obviously means you'll need less cash than someone else might do. So think spending money: buying some food/drinks, shopping etc. So if you have some cash, your debit and/or credit card etc, that's already what 99% of people get through perfectly fine with.

You can *always* be refused entry: admission to the US is at the discretion of the immigration officer. If you've got everything in place, and a valid reason for being there, it's unlikely you will be refused though

ProudDUB

You don't have to have a certain amount of money in your account. You have to verify that you have adequate funds to support yourself while you in the US, so that you won't have to go and look for work illegally. If you were going to the US for months, your funds would be looked at. But if you are only going for a 3 week holiday & you are staying with friends, you wouldn't be expected to have any thing more than spending money really. I wouldn't worry about it. Do have your boyfriends full name and address and phone number on your person as you go thru Immigration. It is highly unlikely that they will query where someone going for such a short time is staying, but best to have the info on you just in case.

rockonollie

Buffybot is correct....you can book your flights without your passport details, but you will have to provide them to the airline in advance of travelling.

You cannot do your ESTA until you have your new passport, but you can do that later also, it does not have to be done at the same time as you book your flights.

Also, only complete you ESTA through your airline website or directly through the Dept of Homeland Security website here Don't google ESTA because there are alot of fake sites out there that will take your money but may or may not actually file your ESTA.