For anyone who doesn't follow us over on Instagram, you might not know that we offer a range of entirely FREE resources to help you with travelling to the USA, over on our 'link in bio'.
So here are the details of what you might have missed...
We have resources to help you with ESTAs & visas, guides on how to check your US exit & fix any issues, and consent letter templates for travellers aged under 18 travelling with only one parent/guardian, or without any parents/guardians.
FREE RESOURCE #1:
Do I Need an ESTA or Visa? (Or A New Passport First?)
One of the first things to consider when planning a trip to the USA is whether you'll need to apply for a visa (a lengthy, inconvenient and expensive process!), or if you can simply travel with a visa waiver - also known as an ESTA.
[Download ESTA v visa Cheatsheet here]
It's also important to check whether you need to renew your passport before submitting (and paying for) an ESTA application - ESTAs are linked to your passport, so if the latter expires so does the former.
Our FREE resource answers these questions and points you in the right direction.
The infographic also incorporates important online safety advice - making sure you only use the official U.S. Government websites to make applications and not falling for the (sadly numerous and convincing) scams.
FREE RESOURCE #2:
Should I Apply For My ESTA Yet?
Jump into a Facebook group talking about U.S. travel and you'll here any range of answers to this question.
Looking for a definitive answer on whether you should apply for your ESTA yet?
Here ya go! (FREE Infographic)
FREE RESOURCE #3:
Check Your Exit From the USA Was Recorded! (and fix it if not...)
This one is particularly important for those flying home with Tui, as they they seem to have a HUGE problem with not registering the exits of the passengers they fly home, but to be honest, checking your exit is good practice for everyone.
Why?
Because if your exit wasn't recorded, American authorities will think you're still in the USA.
Which is fine...until it isn't!
(Which for an ESTA is 90 days, and for a tourist visa is typically 180 days)
If you reach the extent of your permitted stay and, in their eyes, don't leave, you can have your ESTA or visa revoked, be rejected when you re-apply, or be prevented from travelling the next time you try to enter the USA.
This 'Check Your Exit One Page Guide' shows you where and how to check your exit, and what to do if yours hasn't been correctly recorded.
If you've been to the USA recently, go check...
Like, now! :)
FREE RESOURCE #4:
CONSENT LETTERS FOR U18S TRAVELLING TO THE USA WITH ONLY ONE PARENT, OR WITH NO PARENTS
I won't harp on about this one here, as I run through the issue and the solution in great detail in this article.
But if you already know what you're looking for, you can access the templates via the article above, or download them here.
What's Next?
Over the coming months we will have, as always, yet more free resources to help you plan your travel to the USA, but we will also be launching one or two low cost paid products which go vastly more in-depth in subjects that need that level of detail and take a lot of time to put together.
These more in-depth guides will be particularly useful to those travelling out to the USA for the first time, or perhaps those returning for the first time in a long time - such as Grandparents treating their families after visiting back in the nineties or noughties!
They also work quite well as refreshers or quick reference guides to those who have visited more recently - as one of our proof readers said, 'It works as my Idiots Guide when my brain is crammed full of Disney reservations and Universal Express Passes and hotels, flights, rental cars and theme park tickets, making sure I don't get this bit wrong!"
These low cost guides will also function as tasters for the MASSIVE project we are working away in the background on, which I've already teased in our Instagram stories to a great response, and I can't wait to share more details.
Watch this space...