ESTA for PhD interviews?

[zuska]

Hi guys,

I am a citizen of EU country and I will be traveling to USA for an interview and visit of a university. I assumed that for this short trip (3 nights at the university + 2 extra nights) I will only need ESTA, but I would love to hear from somebody with a similar experience. Would you simply put the admission assistant as a contact person in USA and the university address as address of stay? 

Thanks in advance!

[Guest]

You'll be entering the US as a tourist, so you'll be fine with the ESTA for the interviews as long as your stay is less than 3 months (which it is).

If you're admitted, though, you'll have to start a whole process of getting a student's visa before moving there. 

Good luck with the interview!

[zuska]

Hi, thank you for your response! I thought this is the case, but I am glad you were able to confirm it for me. I had F1 visa for 4 years, but didn't use ESTA for over 6 years. I guess better safe than sorry  Thanks again!

[zuska]

Hi all,

I am hoping to revive this topic and hear from somebody that actually traveled to an interview in USA on ESTA. While UMaine had no problem with me coming and actually were very welcoming about it, Virginia Tech told me that unfortunately international students can not visit due to visa limitations. They know which country I am from (They have a copy of my passport) and so I am now worried whether there indeed is some sort of rule that does NOT allow you to use ESTA for university visits? I can not find any clear information about this. Of course, I have also asked VTech where did they get this information but if anybody has a personal experience that would be absolutely great