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I am a UK citizen, and also a citizen of two non-VWP countries. I am planning to travel to the US and therefore I'm applying for ESTA.

I'm trying to answer the question "Have you ever been issued a passport or national identity card for travel by any other country?". The answer to that is that I have five such passports (including current, expired and stolen), but the form only allows me to enter four foreign passports. When I click the "Add another" button, nothing happens on the form, and "Only a maximum of 4 cards allowed" is displayed in the Javascript console.

What should I do? Would I have any problems if I omit the oldest one (stolen and expired), and mention the other four? Or do I need to give up thinking about ESTA and get a visa instead?

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    I'm pretty sure you just need to mention your current passport details from each country who has issued you a passport.
    – Greg Hewgill
    Commented Jan 15, 2019 at 20:50
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    I can't believe that they want you to list every passport you've ever held; I think they just want to list the most recent from each country (note that it asks for "other country"). Otherwise, older people would be unable to get ESTA altogether. Even someone with 5-year passports issued at 0, 5, 10, and 15 years of age, and a 10-year passport issued at 20 years, would be unable to apply for ESTA after receiving the next passport at age 30.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 15, 2019 at 20:51
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    @GregHewgill: That's what I would have thought too, but there's a hovertext on the application form that says "If you have multiple passports or national identity cards for each country please list all current and expired documents for each country that issued you a document." However, the FAQ says "If you have any additional passports, please enter the most recent passport information, even if that passport is expired," which seems to contradict this. It's very strange.
    – Michael Seifert
    Commented Jan 15, 2019 at 21:01
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    @MichaelSeifert it's a great illustration of the phrase "good enough for government work" (which, to my surprise, as I just learned when looking it up, originally denoted something that was up to the government's high standards, back in the days when having high standards was seen as important).
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 15, 2019 at 21:28
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    @MichaelSeifert: Perhaps if you have citizenship for another country, but your most current passport for that country is expired, then you would enter the expired passport details since that's the most current passport. I can't see it asking for details of all expired passports.
    – Greg Hewgill
    Commented Jan 15, 2019 at 22:05

1 Answer 1

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What should I do?

  1. Ask support what to do (use the phone number or link at the bottom left of the ESTA application page).
  2. Wait for the answer, which may take longer than ususal because of the government shutdown.
  3. After you get the answer, return to this site, post it as an answer to this question, and accept it by clicking the green check mark.

If you are traveling so soon that you need to submit the ESTA application before you receive an answer from support, list the most recent passport or national ID card from each non-VWP country, then list the two next-most-recently-issued expired or stolen documents from those countries, and submit your application.

Would I have any problems if I omit the oldest one (stolen and expired), and mention the other four?

It's extremely unlikely.

Or do I need to give up thinking about ESTA and get a visa instead?

Only if your ESTA application is denied.

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