Visited Cuba, so cannot ESTA, USA visa appointment queue 5 months!!

digitaltwin

Visited Cuba for 8 days on organised tour in Mar 2021.  Now planning a USA trip for Christmas.

 

ESTA site has a single note on an early page saying those who have visited Cuba cannot ESTA but must apply for a US VIsa.  Because Mr Trump banned Cuba it seems.

It is now Sept 2022 and the next visa appointment in London is Feb 2023!!!. This is unbelievably slow for a country that wants to promote visitors.

Inside the less than slick ESTA site there is no further mention of Cuba, only the nine "usual suspects" countries that the USA dislikes. The Help files do not help.

There are experiences posted on the web saying if you arrive in the US on an ESTA but with a Cuba stamp in your passport you may be denied entry, or on a good day given a short term visa depending on how the agent feels.  If true sounds too risky.

Must we cancel our USA Christmas travel plans, or is there a legal way around this Cuba issue?

DullGreyGuy

digitaltwin said:

Visited Cuba for 8 days on organised tour in Mar 2021.  Now planning a USA trip for Christmas.

 

ESTA site has a single note on an early page saying those who have visited Cuba cannot ESTA but must apply for a US VIsa.  Because Mr Trump banned Cuba it seems.

It is now Sept 2022 and the next visa appointment in London is Feb 2023!!!. This is unbelievably slow for a country that wants to promote visitors.

Inside the less than slick ESTA site there is no further mention of Cuba, only the nine "usual suspects" countries that the USA dislikes. The Help files do not help.

There are experiences posted on the web saying if you arrive in the US on an ESTA but with a Cuba stamp in your passport you may be denied entry, or on a good day given a short term visa depending on how the agent feels.  If true sounds too risky.

Must we cancel our USA Christmas travel plans, or is there a legal way around this Cuba issue?

The FAQ on the Customs & Border Protection page states that you cannot use an ESTA if you've ever been to a country which the US declares has state sponsored terrorism. 12 Jan 2021 the US declared that Cuba has state sponsored terrorism and so invalidated ESTA

Legal way? No.

Other ways... renew your passport early to get rid of the Cuba stamp, apply for a 2nd UK passport (we are one of the few countries that issue 2nd passports) but you generally have to show a high level of travel to qualify or find out your gran was Irish and get a second nationality passport.

Voyager2002

Best solution: Christmas in Cuba.

stoneman

DullGreyGuy said:

digitaltwin said:

Visited Cuba for 8 days on organised tour in Mar 2021.  Now planning a USA trip for Christmas.

 

ESTA site has a single note on an early page saying those who have visited Cuba cannot ESTA but must apply for a US VIsa.  Because Mr Trump banned Cuba it seems.

It is now Sept 2022 and the next visa appointment in London is Feb 2023!!!. This is unbelievably slow for a country that wants to promote visitors.

Inside the less than slick ESTA site there is no further mention of Cuba, only the nine "usual suspects" countries that the USA dislikes. The Help files do not help.

There are experiences posted on the web saying if you arrive in the US on an ESTA but with a Cuba stamp in your passport you may be denied entry, or on a good day given a short term visa depending on how the agent feels.  If true sounds too risky.

Must we cancel our USA Christmas travel plans, or is there a legal way around this Cuba issue?

The FAQ on the Customs & Border Protection page states that you cannot use an ESTA if you've ever been to a country which the US declares has state sponsored terrorism. 12 Jan 2021 the US declared that Cuba has state sponsored terrorism and so invalidated ESTA

Legal way? No.

Other ways... renew your passport early to get rid of the Cuba stamp, apply for a 2nd UK passport (we are one of the few countries that issue 2nd passports) but you generally have to show a high level of travel to qualify or find out your gran was Irish and get a second nationality passport.

That sounds the best idea. Apply for a new IK passport. If it’s really early say you have damaged the old one and show your reservation to travel to the US to try and spread it up

NoodleDoodleMan

"Because Mr Trump banned Cuba it seems."

The Biden administration has continued that ban.

MATTR5

I need to get a USA Visa - have you checked appointments at Belfast? they can be quicker

But yes - agree re above - New passport may be way to go 

I bet a LOT of people are not aware of this rule 

DullGreyGuy

NoodleDoodleMan said:

The Biden administration has continued that ban.

More accurately, they haven't reversed it... as far as I am aware the list of countries with state sponsored terrorism doesn't have to be periodically reviewed etc. 

There is a general principle of good government that you dont blindly and en mass reverse every law/decree etc that the outgoing administration put in place when power is transferred. It creates massive instability and problems. Given what's been going on in the US and the world during the Biden administration it probably simply hasn't been a priority to reassess the situation and hence the default that its perpetuated remains

NoodleDoodleMan

Just strikes me as a little strange that the US includes Cuba as a country that sponsors state terrorism - yet allows their embassy in Washinghton, and maintains their own American one in Havana.

bagand96

I would wager that plenty of Europeans have fallen foul of this rule completely unintentionally, and entered the USA without any issue. 

nyermen

Sadly my company fell into this issue in summer this year, we had a conference in florida, and half the planned attendees couldn't get a visa from their countries.  No fast tracks were allowed for a conference in most cases, and the waits in some embassies were 9months+.  My colleague in UK (not UK passport) was told october/november earliest appointment - that was in May...

prowla

DullGreyGuy said:

digitaltwin said:

Visited Cuba for 8 days on organised tour in Mar 2021.  Now planning a USA trip for Christmas.

 

ESTA site has a single note on an early page saying those who have visited Cuba cannot ESTA but must apply for a US VIsa.  Because Mr Trump banned Cuba it seems.

It is now Sept 2022 and the next visa appointment in London is Feb 2023!!!. This is unbelievably slow for a country that wants to promote visitors.

Inside the less than slick ESTA site there is no further mention of Cuba, only the nine "usual suspects" countries that the USA dislikes. The Help files do not help.

There are experiences posted on the web saying if you arrive in the US on an ESTA but with a Cuba stamp in your passport you may be denied entry, or on a good day given a short term visa depending on how the agent feels.  If true sounds too risky.

Must we cancel our USA Christmas travel plans, or is there a legal way around this Cuba issue?

The FAQ on the Customs & Border Protection page states that you cannot use an ESTA if you've ever been to a country which the US declares has state sponsored terrorism. 12 Jan 2021 the US declared that Cuba has state sponsored terrorism and so invalidated ESTA

Legal way? No.

Other ways... renew your passport early to get rid of the Cuba stamp, apply for a 2nd UK passport (we are one of the few countries that issue 2nd passports) but you generally have to show a high level of travel to qualify or find out your gran was Irish and get a second nationality passport.

Are you asked if you've been to Cuba or whether you have a Cuba stamp in your passport?

If it's the former, then you're lying and if they have any hint of that you'll be refused entry.