Cancelled Esta

DisneyPain19

Hi all, thanks for the responses. To be clear, Esta's were applied for and granted 1 month prior to Travel. We checked in for flights the night before. Boarding passes were provided at bag drop 3 hours prior to the flight. When we arrived at the gate a man saying he was from homeland security asked to check our paperwork as we were boarding. He then said there had been a change in the Esta status. Moments later an email came through saying Esta cancelled. He did not give a reason and said I needed to go to the US Embassy in London to get a replacement Visa. They would not see us without an appointment. 

The reason for this thread is to try and identify a way to get our money back or at least some of it if anyone has any ideas please

TELLIT01

As has already been said, there wouldn't seem to be any way to recoup your losses.  It's USA authorities who changed the status of the ESTA, seemingly late in the day, but they have the right to do that.  The airline wouldn't know if something was going on it the background and have done nothing wrong.  The travel insurer says that what happened is not covered, and that is the only thing you might be able to contest.

It's the statement about being stopped by somebody from US Homeland Security which is confusing many.  I can find nothing to show that they work at Heathrow.  Could it have been an employee of the airline or Heathrow airport saying that Homeland Security have revoked your ESTA?

FlorayG

What an awful thing to have happen I feel for you. I agree with others that it's weird to have your ESTA cancelled after you've been isssued boarding passes.
I think until you find out what the reason was then you can't proceed with any hope of a claim
I had a friend once refused entry to the USA after his flight landed - it turned out he had the exact same name as a wanted criminal, so they do make mistakes. He was lucky to be on a business trip so he didn't lose anything himself

noitsnotme

TELLIT01 said:

It's the statement about being stopped by somebody from US Homeland Security which is confusing many.  I can find nothing to show that they work at Heathrow.  

This perhaps - https://www.discovernorthamerica.co.uk/us-pre-clearance-immigration-service-rolled-out-to-uk-hubs/

“Under the pre-clearance system, passengers will now be able to undergo immigration, customs and agriculture inspection by US Customs & Border Protection prior to boarding their direct flight to the US.”

Alan_Bowen

There is no pre clearance in the UK the nearest airports are Dublin and Shannon in the Irish Republic which are irrelevant in this case. 

DullGreyGuy

noitsnotme said:

TELLIT01 said:

It's the statement about being stopped by somebody from US Homeland Security which is confusing many.  I can find nothing to show that they work at Heathrow.  

This perhaps - https://www.discovernorthamerica.co.uk/us-pre-clearance-immigration-service-rolled-out-to-uk-hubs/

“Under the pre-clearance system, passengers will now be able to undergo immigration, customs and agriculture inspection by US Customs & Border Protection prior to boarding their direct flight to the US.”

There has been talk for years to have pre-clearance at Heathrow but it's never been implemented hence why some fly to Dublin first which does have pre-clearance. 

Voyager2002

Sadly, you have no right to get any of the money back.

Your story is so unusual that it is possible that some of the businesses that provided parts of your holiday might be willing to make a customer service gesture and allow you to travel later, if you ask them nicely and perhaps get parts of the media on your side. 

If you still want to visit the USA (now or ever) then you need to get a visa. You do this by making an appointment at the US embassy, and probably have to wait for many months for the next vacant 'slot'.

My advice is to avoid the USA, and if you really want to visit a Disney theme park there is a perfectly good one in Paris.

eDicky

FlorayG said:

I had a friend once refused entry to the USA after his flight landed - it turned out he had the exact same name as a wanted criminal, so they do make mistakes. He was lucky to be on a business trip so he didn't lose anything himself

I was thinking of this as the only likely explanation for such an extraordinary and unfortunate occurrence, the name identical or too similar to a known terrorist or criminal.

One would think that it would be flagged further in advance of departure, but seems that it can happen even on actual arrival.

I can see it being likely that a Homeland Security agent would be on duty in a UK airport, in order to prevent US arrival of any flagged persons.

As for recompense, I doubt that there's any such process in place by US authorities, even if they admit a mistake. But worth trying, if/when the reason has been ascertained.

noitsnotme

DullGreyGuy said:

noitsnotme said:

TELLIT01 said:

It's the statement about being stopped by somebody from US Homeland Security which is confusing many.  I can find nothing to show that they work at Heathrow.  

This perhaps - https://www.discovernorthamerica.co.uk/us-pre-clearance-immigration-service-rolled-out-to-uk-hubs/

“Under the pre-clearance system, passengers will now be able to undergo immigration, customs and agriculture inspection by US Customs & Border Protection prior to boarding their direct flight to the US.”

There has been talk for years to have pre-clearance at Heathrow but it's never been implemented hence why some fly to Dublin first which does have pre-clearance. 

Did you actually read it?  It says…

“The US government has announced a major expansion of its pre-clearance operations”

“The immigration service will be offered to passengers travelling from London Heathrow and Manchester airports.”

“Prior to the expansion of the scheme, pre-clearance was only offered at airports in Canada, Ireland, the UAE and the Caribbean.”

Although at a second glance the article doesn’t appear to be dated so it may not have happened yet.

DullGreyGuy

noitsnotme said:

DullGreyGuy said:

noitsnotme said:

TELLIT01 said:

It's the statement about being stopped by somebody from US Homeland Security which is confusing many.  I can find nothing to show that they work at Heathrow.  

This perhaps - https://www.discovernorthamerica.co.uk/us-pre-clearance-immigration-service-rolled-out-to-uk-hubs/

“Under the pre-clearance system, passengers will now be able to undergo immigration, customs and agriculture inspection by US Customs & Border Protection prior to boarding their direct flight to the US.”

There has been talk for years to have pre-clearance at Heathrow but it's never been implemented hence why some fly to Dublin first which does have pre-clearance. 

Did you actually read it?  It says…

“The US government has announced a major expansion of its pre-clearance operations”

“The immigration service will be offered to passengers travelling from London Heathrow and Manchester airports.”

“Prior to the expansion of the scheme, pre-clearance was only offered at airports in Canada, Ireland, the UAE and the Caribbean.”

Although at a second glance the article doesn’t appear to be dated so it may not have happened yet.

If you look at the page's source code it was published 29 March 2018 and last update 15 Dec 2020.

They've been saying they'll expand it to inc LHR and MAN since 2016 but nothing has come of it yet