Eligible citizens or citizens of countries benefiting from the visa waiver programme must be in possession of a travel authorisation or visa to travel through the United States. If you intend to travel through the United States to another country, you will need to complete a ESTA travel authorisation application.
ESTA in transit is compulsory
On a long trip, you could find yourself in the United States. In this case, even travellers in transit must have valid authorisation to set foot on American soil.. Even if you are only staying a few hours in the United States, you will need to apply for ESTA authorisation.
Is ESTA authorisation required for transit?
US law requires all passengers stopping on US soil to pass through immigration, collect their baggage and then go through customs. Once this has been done, they can proceed to their next flight. So, whether you're travelling through the United States or not, you'll go through the same security and immigration checks..