Has my son blown his chances?

stephb34

A man who always asks us for prices on hols but never books, came in the other week bragging about his £6k holiday to florida for christmas pretending he wanted to purchase attraction tickets, what he really wanted to know about was the Esta, he said the internet hadnt mentioned anything about this when he booked which i find hard to believe but i haven't ever booked america on the internet. He got sacked from a shop 10 years ago for stealing and he wanted to know if this mattered, so we advised him he would need a visa not an esta, so off he went to be interviewed and they declined him a visa not for the stealing offence but on the grounds he had been to america a few years ago and hadnt declared this offence then. So the morale of this tale is to always tell the truth and get your Esta /visa before booking the holiday.

USAVirgin

Thank you everyone and the people who have recently responded. Haven't responded sooner as didn't think there would be any new advice here, but glad to see there is. All advice/help/info is gratefully received as the more I know the more I learn.

My son has his court date now on 19 November (8 days after we return from the States). He isn't coming with us, but staying with my SIL and starts on a 13 week horticultural course with the local council. I have now instructed a solicitor and hope to get an appointment with him BEFORE we go on holiday in 8 days time. I am still sad that my son isn't coming with us on holiday, but know that we couldn't lie on any forms and try and get him in on an ESTA for the fear of, like CharlesCooper says, the repercussions of that could be 10 times worse than the actual offence. I also feel that this is the wake up call that he needed to know that there are consequences to actions and the closer the holiday is coming the more the reality of the situation is hitting home.

He now realises what he is missing out on and how hard it is going to be for him when we are away. We have been careful not to openly discuss the holiday whilst he is around, but it is like the big white elephant in the room, at the moment, which is unavoidable.

Many thanks once again for all your help/advice and I will let you know what the outcome is from his court (if you would like to know, that is?).