Can I renew my children's expired ESTA while remaining in the USA?
I am an American citizen and my kids (11 and 7 years old) were born in Italy (Italian passport holders). They came to visit me on an ESTA. Can I renew their ESTA without them having to leave the country?
Thank you.
Best Answer
ESTA is not a visa. It's a travel authorization for the US. If you arrive in the US by plane or boat, on a Visa Waiver, you need this to board the plane or boat. It doesn't say anything about the length of stay in the US.
Your kids are in the US on a Visa Waiver, which is valid for 90 days. The ESTA is valid for 2 years. If you want them to stay longer than the 90 days, you'll have to work out what visa they can apply for. But it has nothing to do with the ESTA.
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Can you renew your ESTA while in the US?
Whilst you do not need to apply for a new ESTA if your current one expires whilst in US, you will need to apply for a new one if you would like to visit the U.S. again after your departure.Can I apply for ESTA while in the US?
ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to traveling to the United States under the VWP, and in most cases, ESTA provides an almost immediate determination of eligibility for travel under the VWP.Can you renew an expired ESTA?
There is no renewal system for ESTA. You must apply a new ESTA in these cases: If your ESTA was about to expire and your visit to the U.S. came up after it expired, or you need to reapply since it has already expired. In either of these cases, you must complete the same procedures for applying for a new ESTA.Is it possible to extend ESTA?
There is no option for an ESTA visa extension. So, if your plans change and you need to stay in the US for longer than you had intended, you are able to apply for a new ESTA, the same way that you applied for your existing one.Can I Renew My Child's Canadian Passport?
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Answer 2
AIUI (this is based on what I have read online, I am not an expert)
First you need to figure out if your children are dual citizens. Many but not all children born abroad to a US parent will be US citizens.
If your children are US citizens then they have the right to live in the US as long as they like. They should get US passports to allow them to freely leave and re-enter the US.
Secondly understand there is a difference in the US between "Visa" and "Status", similarly there is a difference between and "ESTA" and a "Visa waiver program status". Once your children are in the US expiry of the ESTA is irrelevent and extending it won't help, what matters is the expiry of the status granted when they entered the US.
Normally aliens admitted under the Visa waiver program are not allowed to change or extend their status. It appears there is an exemption for close relatives of a US citizen but it is not clear to me whether that exemption only allows adjustment to permanent residence or whether it allows the alien to remain in non-immigrant status.
One thing you don't say is whether the other parent is cooperative and contactable. I know that getting a US passport for a child normally requires the consent of both parents, I'm not sure if the same applies to adjustments of status. If the other parent is uncooperative or uncontactable then it is almost certainly time to get a lawyer involved.
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