Family kicked out of US as a minor..

immoral_angeluk

Hi all,
We're planning a family holiday to Florida in May, and am in the process of applying for the ESTA for myself and my two children.
However, I keep having a nagging worry about me being refused entry. When I was 5, my family moved to Florida and remained there on and off for 7 years before finally returning to the UK when I was 11. My parents always told me that we left due to being 'kicked out over our immigration status'. We never received citizenship and I always remained a british citizen, with a UK passport.
I never thought to get further clarification from my parents, who are now both deceased.
Can anyone think of any reason that could affect me being allowed entry to the US as an adult? With all the crazy going on at the minute over there I want to be more safe than sorry!

I tried calling the US embassy but it just went through a maze of automated messages about generic immigration queries.

trailingspouse

We can't say whether it'll make a difference to your ESTA application - but as an ESTA lasts for 2 years, and costs very little to get, my advice would be to apply for it now. Don't leave it too late. And certainly do it before you pay for any tickets etc. If you apply now, you give yourself plenty of time to go through any appeals process that there might be.

Best of luck.

Voyager2002

trailingspouse wrote: »

We can't say whether it'll make a difference to your ESTA application - but as an ESTA lasts for 2 years, and costs very little to get, my advice would be to apply for it now. Don't leave it too late. And certainly do it before you pay for any tickets etc. If you apply now, you give yourself plenty of time to go through any appeals process that there might be.

Best of luck.

Sadly, an ESTA is no guarantee of admission. People who need a visa (eg British citizens with a criminal record) will still get an ESTA if they apply for one...

HogMan

I would agree with trailingspouse.

Apply for the ESTA ASAP answering the questions as fully as you can. If your application is successful the charge is US $14, if it is not then I believe you will only be charged $4.

In the event an ESTA application is not successful then you will have to apply via for a visa is likely to take time.

Voyager2002

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

Hi all,
We're planning a family holiday to Florida in May, and am in the process of applying for the ESTA for myself and my two children.
However, I keep having a nagging worry about me being refused entry. When I was 5, my family moved to Florida and remained there on and off for 7 years before finally returning to the UK when I was 11. My parents always told me that we left due to being 'kicked out over our immigration status'. We never received citizenship and I always remained a british citizen, with a UK passport.
I never thought to get further clarification from my parents, who are now both deceased.
Can anyone think of any reason that could affect me being allowed entry to the US as an adult? With all the crazy going on at the minute over there I want to be more safe than sorry!

I tried calling the US embassy but it just went through a maze of automated messages about generic immigration queries.

My standard response is to point out that there are many other countries to visit, and personally I do not believe that the USA is worth the hassle that may be involved.

Anyway: if you have any relatives or friends in the USA you could ask them to contact their Congressman (like an MP) to find out whether you are eligible for "visa-waiver program". Or you could simply apply for a US visa: do be aware that if you were to apply today it is highly unlikely that you would have a decision by May. Or you could chance it: after all you do not know what happened in your childhood, and it is entirely possible that your family was there legally throughout and simply left when their visas were not renewed.

immoral_angeluk

I sent off my application for an ESTA today. Any idea who would be the best point of contact to find out whether there is an immigration issue I should know about?

immoral_angeluk

Thankfully I have travel insurance that includes cancellation for such things so if it all goes pear shaped I'm covered.

photome

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

I sent off my application for an ESTA today. Any idea who would be the best point of contact to find out whether there is an immigration issue I should know about?

when you say you "sent off" I assume that means you applied online on the US gov website, in which case you should get an answer within about 24 hours.

as unholyangel says that is no gtee that you will be allowed in.

AS for your other issue ,I have no idea

photome

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

Thankfully I have travel insurance that includes cancellation for such things so if it all goes pear shaped I'm covered.

The problem you may have is that you will get an ESTA which allows you to fly, of course when you get to border control they may not let you in. Would your insurance still cover you

HogMan

I would wait for the ESTA to be processed. It is usually pretty quick, try logging in again to see if it has been processed already.

Depending on the outcome you should be given the next steps in the response.

HogMan

The problem you may have is that you will get an ESTA which allows you to fly, of course when you get to border control they may not let you in.

To be fair the terms of the ESTA are such that that could happen to anybody regardless of any prior events.