Help Visa for the US after holiday in Cuba

Voyager2002

zagubov said:

It used to be routine that you could apply for two British passports if you routinely visited the USA/ Israel/South Africa/Taiwan and what we used to call the Western Bloc but also visited the Eastern Bloc, Cuba, Arab republics, Iran, most of Africa, mainland China and most of the rest of the world.

I thought we'd moved forward from this but so it goes.

We have moved forwards.

The USA receives API from airlines flying through US airspace and so having a second passport would no longer work.

DullGreyGuy

Voyager2002 said:

zagubov said:

It used to be routine that you could apply for two British passports if you routinely visited the USA/ Israel/South Africa/Taiwan and what we used to call the Western Bloc but also visited the Eastern Bloc, Cuba, Arab republics, Iran, most of Africa, mainland China and most of the rest of the world.

I thought we'd moved forward from this but so it goes.

We have moved forwards.

The USA receives API from airlines flying through US airspace and so having a second passport would no longer work.

It only "doesnt work" if you believe that the US government are told about all travelers to Cuba or if certainly friendly governments like the UK hold information of where its citizens have been and share that with the US.

Does API include address? If not, which most things online suggest, then you have two people with the same name and dates of birth with different passport numbers (2nd passports are individually numbered) and so are plausibly two different people. I certainly know when my former boss used to travel excessively to the US and had a second passport that it didnt flag any type of link to his other as he was getting hassle which stopped as soon as he used the new passport... though one guy did recognise him and questioned how he was allowed to have two passports. 

CKhalvashi

zagubov said:

It used to be routine that you could apply for two British passports if you routinely visited the USA/ Israel/South Africa/Taiwan and what we used to call the Western Bloc but also visited the Eastern Bloc, Cuba, Arab republics, Iran, most of Africa, mainland China and most of the rest of the world.

I thought we'd moved forward from this but so it goes.

With API, we have.

OP, I answered this comprehensively the other week, try to get a Belfast appointment and don't be tempted to lie on forms, you'll find quickly that it's not worth it.

You should have no problems entering as long as everything is declared fully.

bagand96

The US does receive API data on overflights - that we know.  What is less clear is exactly what data they do receive, and what they do with it.  Do they routinely scan years worth of API data to ascertain whether an ESTA traveller has ever overflown the US to or from Cuba?  The evidence up to now would suggest they don't given that plenty do seem to have accidentally fallen foul of this rule but still entered the US without issue. 

I'm merely raising this as a discussion point, I would never suggest or recommend anyone to break or try and circumvent entry rules to the USA or any other country.

CKhalvashi

In a worst case scenario the data could be added to a traveller profile (name, d.o.b, potentially passport number/expiry) which may be flagged up on entry. A database like this wouldn't be unheard of or overly surprising for the US.

Our sales and CRM systems can store surprising amounts of data (and we have turned some of the functionality off), so it wouldn't be too difficult to build.

Of course we don't know what data is received, someone who has been to Cuba could potentially attempt to get that information under GDPR from the airline although that may be refused on security grounds. I personally have no interest in travelling to the US (as a country it doesn't offer what I want on holiday and the business market isn't suitable for most of what we offer without significant modification), but I wouldn't want to risk being detained at a border and sent back, especially from what my perception of US immigration is.

bagand96

I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but I wasn't sure it was worth a new one of it's own.

The USA have recently clarified that they only consider trips to Cuba after 12th January 2021 as ineligible for ESTA travel to the USA.  If travellers visited Cuba before that date then they can get an ESTA.  This is after some mixed messages last year where they had said they'd backdate the restrictions.

Cuba Esta ban: Washington DC scraps punitive rules for tourists | The Independent  (not the best headline from the Independent - the punitive rules aren't scrapped they've just been relaxed somewhat)

bellabella

Unfortunately I visited Cuba in June 2022 so i had to cancel my cruise and now i am aware i will visit the US with a visa but will have plenty of time to prepare now i am aware of the regulations