Throwback: UK man accidentally clicks ‘terrorist’ option on Visa

Team Udayavani, Jul 23, 2021, 11:15 AM IST

Source: unsplash

John Stevenson, a 90-year-old from Scotland, answered yes to one of the questions asked while applying for Visa to visit the USA. He was applying for a US ESTA — visit permission for citizens of countries under visa wavier program – to go with his wife to New York on a holiday and had already spent around Rs. 2 lakh on the tickets and accommodation.

His application was rejected by the US department of homeland security and he lost all the money as he ticked yes to “Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide?”

He was afraid that he was banned from entering the US forever but to his surprise, after requesting a correction, Stevenson was asked to visit the US embassy in London, where he would be questioned by officials.

He said to The Independent that he failed to understand that why the question was there on the form. He also expressed fears of being surveilled as he thought he was being considered a criminal by the US authorities. US Visa and ESTA applications are known to come with expensive mistakes and are hard to get approved.