Young Family Member Travelling Alone

Roland_Flagg

He's 20 and is quite introverted, but much to the surprise of his family has decided to fly to Florida to meet someone he has been internet friends with for a couple of years.

Of course he's and adult and he can do what he wants, but the family do not know much about this person, so we would like to know how best to check out this person and if who they are and where they live is true.
For example would the Police or British Embassy hold information on people who try to lure young people to the U.S?

Any other advice on how to handle this situation and how best to make sure he is safe would be appreciated.

Thanks.

BTW, He's bought a one-way ticket and has a 90 day Visa, so does that means he has already been accepted or could the U.S passport control still turn him away?

martindow

Roland_Flagg wrote: »

BTW, He's bought a one-way ticket and has a 90 day Visa, so does that means he has already been accepted or could the U.S passport control still turn him away?

I think you may be greeted with suspicion on arrival if you do not have a return ticket. It seems very odd if he only has a single.

DTDfanBoy

Does he have a visa or is it an ESTA, if it's an ESTA he's going to find it difficult to board the plane let alone enter the US.

tomtontom

I would also have concerns about the one way ticket, is he not planning to return? How much has he paid, one ways are generally very expensive?

shopaholicz

Hi Roland,

My next door neighbour had a son who did exactly the same. He was 19 then and very quiet and shy. He met a woman online from Canada. He thought she was the same age but when he got to Canada she was in her late 30s. She took him for every penny he had and then threw him out. Luckily the Canadian police let him phone home. His parents ended up paying for his plane ticket back.

I'd make sure he had access to a phone to phone home and that there was money put aside to cover the air fare.

somethingcorporate

This is a grown man, 20 years old. At what stage will they be able to make their own decisions?

At the end of the day it's Florida, not Burkina Faso. I really don't think there is anything you can do.

callum9999

As bizarre as it sounds to the rest of us, plenty of people make friends in this way. One of my friends went to Sweden to meet a girl they knew from online gaming and are now in a relationship.

Unless introverted is a euphemism then there's probably nothing whatsoever any of you can do. They won't have lists of people who "lure" adults to the UK and I find it hard to believe any police/embassy would take your suspicions seriously. Why would they be luring him? Does he have a lot of money? You'd need to hire a private investigator if you want more information.

As someone else said, that "90 day visa" is most likely an ESTA, not a visa, and his chance of being let into the country without a ticket leaving the US is close to zero. ESTA merely lets you get on the plane, it doesn't give you a confirmation that you can enter the US. An onward flight to somewhere like Mexico might be OK if you're really persuasive, but even that is highly unlikely to let you in.

callum9999

tomtontom wrote: »

I would also have concerns about the one way ticket, is he not planning to return? How much has he paid, one ways are generally very expensive?

Norwegian do one-way tickets.

tomtontom

callum9999 wrote: »

Norwegian do one-way tickets.

In which case he probably won't get further than Gatwick

callum9999

tomtontom wrote: »

In which case he probably won't get further than Gatwick

Agreed! I had a return ticket plus an itinerary showing every flight, coach and hostel I was staying in yet the G4S agents at the gate still gave me the third degree! (Though that was nothing compared to Chicago immigration, not something I wish to experience again...)

Voyager2002

callum9999 wrote: »

A
As someone else said, that "90 day visa" is most likely an ESTA, not a visa, and his chance of being let into the country without a ticket leaving the US is close to zero. ESTA merely lets you get on the plane, it doesn't give you a confirmation that you can enter the US. An onward flight to somewhere like Mexico might be OK if you're really persuasive, but even that is highly unlikely to let you in.

Mexico would not do, since the onward ticket has to be to a place outside North America. This could end up being rather expensive...