Cancelled Esta

Bicycleman22

Personally I would contact the press / BBC  and see if somebody is interested enough to help with this..

eDicky

DullGreyGuy said:

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

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

DullGreyGuy said:

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.

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

Full US immigration facilities at departure airports and the presence of Homeland Security agents as part of their program are, however, not the same thing - the latter being relevant in this case.

Hoenir

Bicycleman22 said:

Personally I would contact the press / BBC  and see if somebody is interested enough to help with this..

Without having first made an appointment with the US Embassy to discuss the issue and determine the reason. There's little point. 

FlorayG

OP when you went to print your ESTA are you sure you printed the one already approved and didn't fill in the form for a new one? I know this sounds like a really stupid thing but there are people who have done this and if you start a new application your previous one is cancelled. I'm in a Disney holiday group elsewhere and it's happened to a couple of people in the last few years

FlorayG

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.  Could it have been an employee of the airline or Heathrow airport saying that Homeland Security have revoked your ESTA?

the UK has a homeland security department as well, it would have been one of their officials I would suppose

eskbanker

FlorayG 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.  Could it have been an employee of the airline or Heathrow airport saying that Homeland Security have revoked your ESTA?

the UK has a homeland security department as well, it would have been one of their officials I would suppose

Why would a UK homeland security department be interested in ESTA status of someone travelling from the UK to the USA?

DullGreyGuy

FlorayG 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.  Could it have been an employee of the airline or Heathrow airport saying that Homeland Security have revoked your ESTA?

the UK has a homeland security department as well, it would have been one of their officials I would suppose

The UK Homeland Security is counter terrorism rather than immigration or visas plus they wouldn't have the authority to decide who the US is willing to let in without a visa (though they naturally could share data with them and that result in the US making such a decision)

SW17

The article link posted about the expansion of US Preclearance probably dates back to 2016 or earlier, and could not be later than Jan 2017. It quotes Jeh Johnson, who was Secretary for Homeland Security during Barack Obama’s second term, which ended in mid Jan 2017. 

If and when it ever happens, there would be Homeland Security (DHS) agents at UK airports with Preclearance, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which handles immigration, is part of DHS. Logistically it will be a challenge to implement Preclearance at LHR, it would require either building the necessary facilities in multiple terminals, or forcing all airlines to consolidate their US flights into a single terminal (presenting issues with space, boarding gates, ground handling, connecting traffic etc)

It’s pretty unusual for an ESTA to be cancelled after boarding passes are issued, though of course people are sometimes denied entry even after travelling on a valid ESTA. As someone else posted above, there may be some way to appeal the insurance company view, given that on the face of it the OP could not have done anything more than they did to ensure they had the correct paperwork to travel. Perhaps some way to get goodwill from Virgin, since they did accept the OP for travel (though if the ESTA was valid at that point, they had no reason to deny check in). Even if it turns out the ESTA was wrongly revoked, the most the US authorities will do is issue a redress number to allow for a new ESTA application, no chance of financial recompense from them. 

I was asking about the passport in case the OP had a Hungarian passport, since ESTAs on Hungarian passports are now single entry and only valid for one year, but if the ESTA was obtained only a month prior to travel, it’s less likely to be the second trip, even if a Hungarian passport. 

I always double check ESTA validity a few days before each trip (along with my i94 record after each trip), but that wouldn’t have saved me in the OP’s situation. Very unpleasant situation.

FlorayG

eskbanker said:

FlorayG 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.  Could it have been an employee of the airline or Heathrow airport saying that Homeland Security have revoked your ESTA?

the UK has a homeland security department as well, it would have been one of their officials I would suppose

Why would a UK homeland security department be interested in ESTA status of someone travelling from the UK to the USA?

I would guess the USA team contacted them and asked them to step in. I'm just pointing ut that it doesn't have to be US Homeland Security you speak with

DullGreyGuy

FlorayG said:

eskbanker said:

FlorayG 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.  Could it have been an employee of the airline or Heathrow airport saying that Homeland Security have revoked your ESTA?

the UK has a homeland security department as well, it would have been one of their officials I would suppose

Why would a UK homeland security department be interested in ESTA status of someone travelling from the UK to the USA?

I would guess the USA team contacted them and asked them to step in. I'm just pointing ut that it doesn't have to be US Homeland Security you speak with

At Heathrow it would be more likely to be UK Border Force but to be honest just inform the airline and let the normal staff do the deny boarding at the gate like they have to with drunks etc. If they fail to stop them then it becomes the airlines problem at the other end, or at least is my understanding of the US system.