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I have to complete the ESTA application and I have a few question regarding the country of birth...

So I'm entering the USA with my Korean passport; however, I was born in Paraguay and so I also have a Paraguayan passport. However, my Korean passport just says that my citizenship Korean, so I would like to know if I would have problems getting the VWP in case I travel with my Korean passport?

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    I assume, like all the contributors who answered, you have a South Korean passport. Otherwise, no VWP for you.
    – Pierre B
    Commented Oct 16, 2018 at 0:04
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    As I remember, the application form asks for a list of all other passports you have or had (even expired ones).
    – Szabolcs
    Commented Oct 16, 2018 at 9:34

2 Answers 2

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Answer the questions as they're written.
If you're asked for your country of birth, give your country of birth.
Having a passport from some other country doesn't change your country of birth, and this is not a particularly uncommon circumstance - there are many people who have a passport from a country other than the one they were born in.
Since you are not a citizen of, nor were you born in, one of the countries which are specifically excluded from using the VWP, having different citizenship to where you were born is not a problem.

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    What if the other country is Iraq, Syria, Iran, or Sudan?
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 15, 2018 at 14:57
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    @phoog In that case, answer the questions not as they're written... (???) The message is "Always answer forms as asked. If there is space for clarification, add it (which there is none in this case). If rejected, apply for regular visa. Never lie."
    – FooBar
    Commented Oct 15, 2018 at 15:10
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    @FooBar I was reacting to the statement "having different citizenship to where you were born is not a problem" which is the only part of this answer that seems to respond to the question "I would like to know if I would have problems getting the VWP," and which at best does not address that issue completely.
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 15, 2018 at 15:18
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    @phoog so where's the problem? The problem you're pointing out isn't "having different citizenship to where you were born", the problem you're pointing out is having a citizenship or a birthplace which might be problematic on its own.
    – Beanluc
    Commented Oct 15, 2018 at 19:38
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    @Beanluc The question (as it stood when I left that comment) asked whether there could be a problem applying for ESTA, given certain circumstances which (at the time of the comment in question) included being born in and having the nationality of an unspecified other country. Given that the country was not specified, there was indeed a potential problem depending on the identity of the unspecified country, and this answer failed to mention that potential problem.
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 15, 2018 at 20:16
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I would like to know if I would have problems getting the VWP in case I travel with my Korean passport.

It depends on which other country you are a citizen of. A few years ago, the VWP was changed such that those who hold a VWP-eligible passport who also have the nationality of either Iraq, Syria, Iran, or Sudan are ineligible to use the VWP:

Under the Act, travelers in the following categories are no longer eligible to travel or be admitted to the United States, without a waiver, under the VWP:

  • Nationals of VWP countries who have traveled to or been present in Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, or Yemen at any time on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited exceptions); and
  • Nationals of VWP countries who are also nationals of Iraq, Syria, Iran, or Sudan.

Otherwise, holding a passport from a country whose nationals aren't eligible for the VWP (such as Paraguay) does not disqualify you from the VWP.

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  • This answer is ambiguous. OP asks whether it makes a difference to apply for ESTA with one of multiple passports. This answer sounds like it "depends". The reality is that it does not: Whether one of the countries of citizenship is barred from VWP or not, it never makes a difference under which of the two passports one applues: If one is banned, the application will get rejected irregardless of which passport is used. If none is banned, the application will be accepted irregardless of which passport is used.
    – FooBar
    Commented Oct 15, 2018 at 15:16
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    @FooBar the question is whether OP "would have problems getting the VWP", and the answer is quite clearly that it does depend on what other passport OP holds. It's not even possible to submit an application using a passport from Iran, Iraq, Syria, or Sudan. On the other hand, it's also not possible to submit an application using a Nigerian passport, but a dual national of Korea and Nigeria can get ESTA with a Korean passport.
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 15, 2018 at 15:21
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    @FooBar The asker clearly says that they're applying for an ESTA using their Korean passport details. As such, the only thing that matters about the other passport is whether it's from one of the four countries that disqualify you from VWP. Commented Oct 15, 2018 at 15:32
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    @PlasmaHH that is correct. But from the question as posed, we can infer that GCPO is a citizen of the country of birth, because the question said "I have been born in another country and so I have another pasport."
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 15, 2018 at 18:27
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    @PlasmaHH that is also correct. I made that statement in the context of the question, but for the general case that would indeed have been an unwarranted conclusion. I think I started the sentence that way because I was planning to write that being born in one of the 4 countries disqualifies one from the VWP, but then I checked a couple of sources that suggest that this isn't the case. I've changed it to something a bit more straightforward now; thanks for pointing it out.
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 15, 2018 at 18:34

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