3-month-old Harvey Kenyon-Cairns was barred from a flight from Manchester, UK to Orlando, Florida, US over suspicions of terrorism after his granddad checked a wrong box at his visa waiver.
The family of the little boy was preparing for an overseas trip and his grandfather filled an ESTA form (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) in order to sort out the visa for Harvey. Then he accidentally checked a box he shouldn’t have. On the question: “Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide?”, the grandfather checked yes, which caused the whole trouble. Instead of receiving a visa, little Harvey was summoned for an interview at the US embassy in London.
The family had to postpone their trip and travel 10 hours to London, instead, to clarify the mistake. Eventually, everything was sorted out at the family was able to join their relatives in Florida a couple of days later.
“I couldn’t believe that they couldn’t see it was a genuine mistake and that a three-month-old baby would be no harm to anyone,” said the grandfather.
