What paperwork do I need to complete for a holiday to the US?

[PtraciDjelibeybi]

I am sorry if this is a really stupidly easy question, but I don't want to cock up and I cannot find the answer myself...

My DS (11) and I are travelling to the US in a fortnight to visit friends.

We have (obviously) valid passports and our ESTAs have been approved. Is there any other paperwork / online thing that we will need to fill in or have before we travel.

I am rather paranoid because my American friend (US passport) with her two kids (US passports) and her British husband (UK passport and had travelled to US before) actually missed their flight last year because they arrived at the airport and were told they hadn't done some crucial thing, and had to spend aged trying to do it online at the airport, but they are not very good at explaining and I do not know what it is they had to do!

Any help / advice from you lovely people would be gratefully received - thank you!

(btw we are flying direct, LHR to LAX - in case that is sigificant...)

Your flight to LAX itself would not be an issue but you must ensure that all the documentation required is completed. They will not let you fly otherwise.

Hard to know what your friends did not do; it may have been her British H not completing the ESTA in advance. No ESTA completion - no travel.

Have you completed the API as well (Advanced Passenger Information) required by the airline and authorities?. This is asking for information like name, date of birth and passport number (its completely separate from the ESTA). That is usually found on the airline's website.

Do arrive at the airport around 3 hours prior to departure for such a flight; that is when the check in desk opens.

If you remain unsure at any time prior to departure you can always contact the airline's customer services department as well.

Thank you Attila that is helpful.

I have completed our passport details on the Air New Zealand website.
I have found on there a form which has downloaded as a pdf to be printed out and filled in showing showing the address we will be staying in.
Cannot find how to complete the API!
And I am totally confused as to whether we have seats selected together or not!

I am embarrassed at how difficult I am finding it to understand all all this

Do not feel embarrassed; this can be sorted out via their customer services department.

What is the PDF form you have found?.

In your circumstances I would contact their customer service line re both the Advance Passenger Information and your seats.

The pdf was on the ANZ website. It is from the US authorities to be handed in on check in (it seems to say). Just asks for address where staying in USA and my home country.

I ended up panicking so much about the seats (it looked like we were going to be sitting at opposite ends of the the plane) that I paid extra to book the next seat level up

I can't believe I I am finding this so confusing - I am hardly hardly the first person ever to fly from London to America!!

Right, this not about the flight itself, but is important. Do you have your travel insurance in place?, and if you are driving, have you taken out excess insurance, as you will get stung if you buy it at the counter. And will there be tolls you need to deal with?

HalfSpam I have travel insurance organised - don't usually worry about travel insurance but was concerned about potential medical costs mostly if we had an accident.

I won't be driving at all and will be with friends the whole time so hope that anything I need to know while there they can tell me.

I have organised a new credit card which is free to use abroad, and set up a direct debit to pay off.

Have printed off my e-tickets, our ESTA applications, my travel insurance documents and have a copy of my medication prescription.

Will my phone automatically work over there?! I know I need to let the bank know I may be using my account abroad.

I have written out a letter for my son's father to sign giving permission to take him out of the country.

I really hope I haven't missed anything!

Re: your phone- not necessarily automatically. Also you may need to turn data off so you don't get a nasty bill when you get back. I would advise ringing your network to get a clear, definitive answer of whether anything needs to be done and to see how much you would be charged.

I take photocopy of our passports, just in case they get lost/ stolen.
Last unrelated tip....If you change cash before you go, ask for some $1 bills as they are useful for tips.
You will have a fab time, and its great you are with friends so they can 'show you the ropes'

On an airline web site, you will have something like "manage my booking" as BA does. You have a booking code to access your flight booking via this portal - numbers and letters. You choose the seats through this format whatever grade of seat you are in, even first class! Sometimes you pay for an early choice of seat but often it is free between 3 days/24 hours before flying. If your seats were allocated apart from each other, which for a mother and son is extremely unusual, there is a facility to change them and it would be rare for the aircraft to have no vacant seats near each other so far ahead. Who booked the flight? I fear you have been given poor information about sitting next to each other. Don't leave choosing a seat until you get to the airport because there will be little choice at that stage, even in a better class of seat!

When queuing for passport control in the USA they insist, usually, on phones being off. They will have the ESTA electronically registered and that is the where you will have declared where you are staying. Nothing else is required. I think your friend's DH probably had not done ESTA. Perhaps they did not realise he needed it as the rest of the family did not. You also have to have an unlocked suitcase for the USA or use a case with an approved lock.

don't usually worry about travel insurance but was concerned about potential medical costs mostly if we had an accident.

or get ill, or have to come home early because someone else does, or all the other things that mean it is bonkers not to be insured.

for future reference you should have travel insurance whenever you leave your home country. Medical costs may not be as high as in the States but they can still be huge, and repatriation if needed will bankrupt your family.