Cancelled Esta

FlorayG

DullGreyGuy said:

Not sure what class of appointment it will be considered but the current wait time for a visitor visa is 110 days in London

I don't think she wants a visa - she wants to know why she was denied boarding. If she's lost all her holiday money she won't have need of a visa. So sad

DullGreyGuy

FlorayG said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Not sure what class of appointment it will be considered but the current wait time for a visitor visa is 110 days in London

I don't think she wants a visa - she wants to know why she was denied boarding. If she's lost all her holiday money she won't have need of a visa. So sad

But they've already been and told they need an appointment to discuss... the US Embassy has long waiting times for most types of appointment but "why was my esta cancelled" isn't one of the listed classes hence saying if they treat it similar to the class of entry wanted (ie a visitor) then current wait is 110 days. 

IvanOpinion

My ESTA application, last year, got revoked for the heinous crime of having visited Cuba - thank you Donny T.
Had to get a VISA, although I think you can travel on an ESTA now if you visited Cuba prior to 2021.

sheramber

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/entry-requirements#:~:text=To enter or transit through,has more information on visas.

You cannot apply for an ESTA visa waiver if you have:

• been arrested (even if the arrest did not result in a criminal conviction)
• a criminal record
• been refused admission into, or have been deported from the US
• previously overstayed under an ESTA visa waiver

You cannot normally apply for an ESTA visa waiver if you were in the following countries on or after March 2011: 

• Iran
• Iraq
• Libya
• North Korea
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Syria
• Yemen

You cannot apply for an ESTA visa waiver if you travelled to or were in Cuba on or after 12 January 2021. 

blindman

DisneyPain19 said:

Hi, my 5 year old daughter and I have just been through the worst experience ever. We were going to Disney in USA for her 5th birthday, had all the correct paperwork, Esta's for both of us approved and boarding cards after we checked in at Heathrow. As we were boarding a man from Homeland security asked to check our documentation then said we could not board as my Esta had been cancelled. He gave no reason and just said to discuss it we had to go to the US embassy in London. Virgin Atlantic would not help and we were left at the departure gate, my daughter in tears and no idea what to do. We went to London hoping to resolve this but the UIS embassy would not see us without an appointment so we lost our holiday. Over £10k! Now the insurance say they wont pay out as it is not a specific issue listed as to why it was cancelled so we have lost everything. Can anyone give any advice please?

Are you sure this is not a wind up?

IIRC Virgin would not you fly\check in without confirming you had a valid ESTA.

On boarding they're saying some random "Homeland Security"  picked them out to check their ESTA???
Then "an email came through to say it was cancelled??"

They then went to London to the Embassyy to get it sorted so they could fly (The same day???)

Utter codswallop. Kids off school me thinks.

Any issues with a "Valid ESTA" would be picked up when landing in USA.

And if it is true ---

Then take it up with your MP
Local news \Local paper\ BBC\ITV

jimi_man

blindman said:

DisneyPain19 said:

Hi, my 5 year old daughter and I have just been through the worst experience ever. We were going to Disney in USA for her 5th birthday, had all the correct paperwork, Esta's for both of us approved and boarding cards after we checked in at Heathrow. As we were boarding a man from Homeland security asked to check our documentation then said we could not board as my Esta had been cancelled. He gave no reason and just said to discuss it we had to go to the US embassy in London. Virgin Atlantic would not help and we were left at the departure gate, my daughter in tears and no idea what to do. We went to London hoping to resolve this but the UIS embassy would not see us without an appointment so we lost our holiday. Over £10k! Now the insurance say they wont pay out as it is not a specific issue listed as to why it was cancelled so we have lost everything. Can anyone give any advice please?

Are you sure this is not a wind up?

IIRC Virgin would not you fly\check in without confirming you had a valid ESTA.

On boarding they're saying some random "Homeland Security"  picked them out to check their ESTA???
Then "an email came through to say it was cancelled??"

They then went to London to the Embassyy to get it sorted so they could fly (The same day???)

Utter codswallop. Kids off school me thinks.

Any issues with a "Valid ESTA" would be picked up when landing in USA.

And if it is true ---

Then take it up with your MP
Local news \Local paper\ BBC\ITV

It might be a wind up but personally I doubt it. 

1. Virgin checked her in because the ESTA was valid. It was only at the airport that her ESTA was cancelled. So your first statement is not correct. 

2. Doing a quick Google seems to suggest that others have had similar issues and it can be done at any stage - before checkin, afterwards, in transit, on arrival or during the stay.  

3. We can only take the OPs word that they travelled (unsuccessfully) to the US Embassy that same day but I’ve no reason to doubt them. 

It doesn’t come across as ‘utter codswallop’ to me, more that she has not travelled and therefore lost a considerable amount of money. I think you’re being slightly harsh. 

Of course the reasons behind the ESTA cancellation aren’t known but I got the impression the OP was more concerned about trying to get some of her money back. 

LightFlare

The reasons behind the cancellation are crucial.

If the OP has failed to disclose something that has later come to light then it’s on them

If it’s a genuine mistake - I 100% sympathise but have no idea who your claim for reimbursement would be against 

DullGreyGuy

jimi_man said:

3. We can only take the OPs word that they travelled (unsuccessfully) to the US Embassy that same day but I’ve no reason to doubt them. 

Not really... US embassy if you are extremely lucky is 45 minutes from LHR, add to that the time to get from departures back to a vehicle/taxi so realistically lets say an hour.  If you are highly optimistic you can think an hour each way plus 30 minutes there so 2.5 hours. Once back at Heathrow you'd undoubtably have to recheck in, go back through security etc. 

Now maybe the OP decided to go to the airport 6 hours early in which case it may be doable. Most people barely follow the recommendation of arriving 3 hours before departure in which case having already checked in, gone through security etc there would clearly be no time. 

We live 1.25 from LHR and when someone forgot their passport it was very clear that there was no hope in hell of getting home and back in time to check in again and go through security etc even having arrived 3hrs before take off. 

jimi_man

DullGreyGuy said:

jimi_man said:

3. We can only take the OPs word that they travelled (unsuccessfully) to the US Embassy that same day but I’ve no reason to doubt them. 

Not really... US embassy if you are extremely lucky is 45 minutes from LHR, add to that the time to get from departures back to a vehicle/taxi so realistically lets say an hour.  If you are highly optimistic you can think an hour each way plus 30 minutes there so 2.5 hours. Once back at Heathrow you'd undoubtably have to recheck in, go back through security etc. 

Now maybe the OP decided to go to the airport 6 hours early in which case it may be doable. Most people barely follow the recommendation of arriving 3 hours before departure in which case having already checked in, gone through security etc there would clearly be no time. 

We live 1.25 from LHR and when someone forgot their passport it was very clear that there was no hope in hell of getting home and back in time to check in again and go through security etc even having arrived 3hrs before take off. 

We don’t know which flight they were booked on. I think there are two a day - 0920 and 1515. Maybe they were on the early one and were hoping to get rebooked either for the later flight or the next day? In any case none of the OPs posts suggested they came back to the airport after going to the US embassy or indeed that they intended to do so and as they haven’t posted then we can only guess. 

If the holiday did indeed cost over £10k then I imagine they wouldn’t want to write it off that easily. I’d be a little concerned if it was me. 

DullGreyGuy

jimi_man said:

DullGreyGuy said:

jimi_man said:

3. We can only take the OPs word that they travelled (unsuccessfully) to the US Embassy that same day but I’ve no reason to doubt them. 

Not really... US embassy if you are extremely lucky is 45 minutes from LHR, add to that the time to get from departures back to a vehicle/taxi so realistically lets say an hour.  If you are highly optimistic you can think an hour each way plus 30 minutes there so 2.5 hours. Once back at Heathrow you'd undoubtably have to recheck in, go back through security etc. 

Now maybe the OP decided to go to the airport 6 hours early in which case it may be doable. Most people barely follow the recommendation of arriving 3 hours before departure in which case having already checked in, gone through security etc there would clearly be no time. 

We live 1.25 from LHR and when someone forgot their passport it was very clear that there was no hope in hell of getting home and back in time to check in again and go through security etc even having arrived 3hrs before take off. 

We don’t know which flight they were booked on. I think there are two a day - 0920 and 1515. Maybe they were on the early one and were hoping to get rebooked either for the later flight or the next day? In any case none of the OPs posts suggested they came back to the airport after going to the US embassy or indeed that they intended to do so and as they haven’t posted then we can only guess. 

If the holiday did indeed cost over £10k then I imagine they wouldn’t want to write it off that easily. I’d be a little concerned if it was me. 

As always we have to infer a lot, certainly my reading of going straight to the embassy to "sort it" would be in the hope of getting it reinstated and returning to the airport to take the holiday. Whilst maybe they did hope of catching a different flight they make no mention of discussing or thinking this, they said VS just left them at the gate. The fact the gate was mentioned presumably means they were even closer to departure time given gates are not normally stated hours before they open. 

I'm not sure it is a school holiday's story but it has a number of odd elements but then in high stress situations people can do odd things.