ESTA Scam: What to Do If You Paid More Than $40.27

What is ESTA and what is the official cost?

• The ESTA authorization stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization. Launched in 2007, it requires all travelers flying or sailing to the United States to complete a form on the official ESTA website. The fee is $40.27 per person as of October 1, 2026.
• Here’s the problem: several companies have created websites that look almost identical to the official ESTA site and offer to fill out the form for you. These fake sites charge outrageous fees. One member of our Destination New York Facebook group paid €79 for ESTA. In October 2025, another person reported paying $139 per ESTA.

What to do if you paid more than the official $40.27

• I regularly hear from visitors who realize they’ve been overcharged. Pressed for time or not paying close attention, they used these fake official sites and paid well above the $40.27 fee.
• What should you do? First, know this: disputing the charge is not a good solution. Even though the fake site overcharged you, it did submit your ESTA application and paid the official $40.27 fee on your behalf. Your ESTA is valid. If you dispute the charge, the site may retaliate or, worse, modify your ESTA to make it invalid.
• The best approach—used successfully by several visitors who’ve shared their experience—is to write a firm email to the site requesting a refund. Make a strong case: explain that you were deceived by a site mimicking the official one, that you believed you were using the real U.S. government ESTA site, and that the fee charged far exceeds the official price. A note that you will report the deception to U.S. authorities if they don’t refund you often helps.

A refund success story

• If you think getting a refund from these fake sites is impossible, consider the experience of Ghislaine, a member of our Destination New York Facebook group.
• Without paying close attention, Ghislaine landed on a site that looked official—she’d even been directed there by Google—and didn’t suspect anything. She ended up paying $104 per ESTA, totaling $208 for two people. Realizing her mistake too late, she sent a firm email to the site requesting a refund. Within days, they approved it.

Is an ESTA obtained from a fake site valid?

Fake ESTA sites make money by charging double or triple the official fee. But here’s the thing: your ESTA is still valid. Two important points:

• If you don’t get a refund, you can still use your ESTA. I recommend verifying it on the official site first. Here’s how to check if your ESTA is valid.
• If you do get a refund, apply again through the official site. The fake site may also cancel their payment for your ESTA, leaving you with an invalid authorization.

In any case, avoid these fake sites entirely and use only the official ESTA website. Your ESTA is too important to trust to obscure sites with unknown data security practices—especially when they hold your name, address, and passport number. Please share this article and spread the word: if no one falls for these scams, the fake sites will disappear.