The-Vecchio

A family member of mine is traveling to America in forty days, planning to travel on the free waiver program. She applied for the ESTA today. The travel agent filled out the form but mistakenly ticked yes to questions B and C, ones involving espionage and crime. The ESTA was obviously denied and now my family member is now flagged as a war criminal, spy, etc. How do we rectify this mistake?

agentred

Wow, damn. I know you can re-apply to ESTA after a few days, so doing that and ticking no to the relevant questions might be all you need to do. If that doesn't work I'm not sure how to proceed...

Pulaski

My guess would be to contact an experienced immigration attorney, and I doubt that it is possible to just change the answers to such serious questions without some supporting information/ explanation, especially after just a few days.

agentred

Theoretically I agree, but is there any harm in trying? I imagine if the answers are changed they'll be checked but come back clean?

Certainly start looking for an attorney, they don't charge that much for an initial consultation - but if there's nothing to lose, try the ESTA again too.

EDIT: and also write a very stern letter to the travel agency, they should compensate you for the lawyers fees at least.

Pulaski

Agreed, I see no harm in trying. In deed, until they have tried they won't know if they actually even have a problem.

lansbury

A very good indication of why you should not allow somebody else to fill out such forms for you. Or at the very least make sure they don't get submitted until you have checked them.

Pulaski

Yes, indeed!

S Folinsky

A visa application might be in order.

Marocco

Wasn't there a number which people posted some time ago, which you can call to straighten things out in situations like these?

Jscl

OP, have a look at the answer to Question 3 on this help page from the ESTA people, it says you can email them.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...ta-application

It seems like you should be able to sort it out quite quickly.

crg

OMG. I would be quite perturbed. I'd try the ESTA email address but agree that a visa application may in order. Check the current wait time for an appointment at the consulate.

retzie

This thread unearthed the ESTA-specific helpline, which was used when incorrect data resulted in a denial. The number and alternatives can be found here: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/visaservices/?p=503.