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I'm a EU citizen living in Canada. I'm taking a road trip to the US next week. According to the CBP website, I don't need to renew my ESTA to do so.

In hopes of slightly accelerating the paperwork at the border, I just tried to fill out and pay for the I94 form ahead of time. However, the slick new online form doesn't let me do so, because I don't have a valid ESTA anymore.

Given that ESTA is a transparent money grab rather than a security measure (of the $14 fee, $10 goes to fund tourism ads and $4 goes to fund CBP), this seems like CBP is actively trying to con visitors into paying for something they don't need. Am I missing something?

sk29910
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Unfortunately that's how the CBP website is setup at the moment - they expect you to have an ESTA by default, even though its not required for land crossings. Short of complaining to CBP and asking them to modify the website, there's not much you can do.

However do note that their online form doesn't end up saving much time for you in practice as per Would I save much time by applying for an I-94 online before arriving to a land border?

JonathanReez
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