Mum unable to travel despite adhering to rules

[The Bloomies 7]

Can anyone help me understand the situation below to me, please?

 

My mum (UK citizen) and her husband (also UK citizen) just tried to fly from Dubai to the US to visit my husband and me for 5 weeks. My mum visited us in June 2019 for 2 weeks on an ESTA. She has been in and out of the UK in the interim, travelling back and forth from Dubai where her husband works. They finally decided to come visit us this year because travel between the US and Dubai is open and she’s been there for well over the 14 days requirement from travel from Schengen countries.

 

She’s just been told that she will not be allowed to fly and will have to go to the consulate to ask for an exemption to do so—who knows when that will be approved. Apparently it’s something to do with her visiting the US directly from the UK back in June 2019 even though that was on an old ESTA (and quite irrelevant to this trip in my mind) and even though she is allowed to travel to the US from Dubai. Her husband was apparently allowed to fly (but he won’t without her). His recent travel history to the US was for our wedding in October 2018 but it was directly from Dubai to LAX.

 

Can anyone make sense of this or might it be a case of bad luck and the embassy (whom the airline called) being pedantic?

 

Would appreciate any thoughts you might have. 

[Boiler 43,425]

Did she overstay in 2019?

[The Bloomies 7]

14 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Did she overstay in 2019?

No, she didn’t. I believe she was allowed to come for up to 90 days on the ESTA and she stayed for only 2 weeks.

[Villanelle 4,121]

I assume when you say the airport you mean CBP pre clearance and not the airline employees. Seems CBP felt your mom needed to have a B visa for entry and if so there's a reason, they don't just randomly decide such things. Most common reason is as already asked if she had previous overstay. You say no and I am assuming mom doesn't have any criminal issues or anything like that that would prevent her from using the VWP. So we are left with immigrant intent or work rather than visiting.

 

Have you recently had a baby and mom's visiting is to 'help' you as unpaid child care? Does mom work remotely and was bringing her job with her? Do you have a pending petition for mom for the 130? Have you recently become a citizen?

 

Something mom said made an impact and you need to find out from mom what it was. At this point it is in her file. She can apply for the B but be aware if it is not approved she can no longer use the VWP. She can also opt to not file the B and attempt to use the VWP again in the future but whatever the reason for denying entry this time they will see on her next attempt so unless she can resolve what ever it was and show it doesn't apply to that attempt she will most likely be denied again. 

[Chancy 6,233]

20 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

I assume when you say the airport you mean CBP pre clearance and not the airline employees.

 

I'm guessing it's actually some misinformed airline employee, not CBP.  The CBP pre-clearance facility in UAE is in Abu Dhabi airport, not Dubai.

 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

7 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

I'm guessing it's actually some misinformed airline employee, not CBP.  The CBP pre-clearance facility in UAE is in Abu Dhabi airport, not Dubai.

 

But why would an airline employee have brought up the 2019 trip?  I agree that they were probably told this by an airline employee but it sounds like feedback the employee got from their CBP liaison after checking OP’s mom could travel. (Edit: actually this is stated in first post, that airline called embassy.) Maybe something got garbled in passing it along but there is clearly a piece of the story missing somewhere. On the face of it it doesn’t make sense.

 

Edited June 2, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[Chancy 6,233]

9 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Maybe something got garbled in passing it along but there is clearly a piece of the story missing somewhere. On the face of it it doesn’t make sense.

 

Definitely could be a case of miscommunication somewhere.  Otherwise, I can't figure out why the 2-week trip back in 2019 would even be relevant.

 

@The Bloomies, any chance your mum checked in online for her recent flight attempt?

 

[The Bloomies 7]

15 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Definitely could be a case of miscommunication somewhere.  Otherwise, I can't figure out why the 2-week trip back in 2019 would even be relevant.

 

@The Bloomies, any chance your mum checked in online for her recent flight attempt?

 

This is so concerning to hear. I didn't realise what a big deal being denied entry on VWP was. Even if it's a reason which isn't your fault?

 

@villanelle, no, I haven't had a baby, recently become a citizen, have a pending I130 or have any circumstances which would suggest my mum would be coming here to stay—this was a genuine summer trip after her not being able to visit last year due to COVID.  She doesn't work so no issues with that either. I did just get my green card approved in March but I don't think that that would cause an issue since there would be no way for me to sponsor my mum anyway.

 

@Chancy, I'm not sure if they did attempt to check in online. I think maybe not because, when they went to the desk, they were told that she was not allowed to fly, even though her ESTA had been approved. I think they called someone in the US. They don't know who though. I agree. I can't see why her 2019 trip would have been a problem either.

 

They just tried to go to the consulate but weren't allowed to go inside the building and were told they had to send an email. They will attempt to phone the US embassy in Abu Dhabi and I will try to call CBP tomorrow to see if any light can be shed. I can't tell if it's a COVID thing, a visa thing... It's all very confusing. She's been vaccinated, they had their PCR tests done, etc.

 

Thank you all for your input so far.

 

[Chancy 6,233]

5 minutes ago, The Bloomies said:

@Chancy, I'm not sure if they did attempt to check in online. I think maybe not because, when they went to the desk, they were told that she was not allowed to fly, even though her ESTA had been approved.

 

If your mum was not allowed to board the plane by airline staff at check-in, then it's different from being denied entry.  This distinction is important.  Being denied boarding by the airline will have no impact on any future US entry/visa/ESTA applications.  Being denied entry by CBP at a US point of entry or pre-clearance facility is more serious and can impact future applications.

 

I only asked about online check-in because there were reports of ESTA being automatically cancelled when the passenger checks in online.  Has your mum verified through the official site that her ESTA is valid?  If it is valid and she has documentary evidence that she has not been to any banned country within 14 days prior to her US flight, I suspect that your mum was denied boarding due to some misunderstanding, not because of her travel history.

 

If your mum wants to try flying in again and the airline staff refuses to let her board, ask for a supervisor or a CBP liaison.  The US consulate/embassy would not be the right contact.  It is CBP that approves ESTA, not the consulate/embassy.

 

For extra peace of mind, it might also be worth flying direct from Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai, so your mum can go through CBP pre-clearance after airline check-in.  That way, even before boarding, she can find out for sure whether she'll be let in to the US or not.

 

[Boiler 43,425]

OP said that Mum had not been to Schengen area in the last 14 days but has regularly gone to the UK which is also on the ban list.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

16 minutes ago, Boiler said:

OP said that Mum had not been to Schengen area in the last 14 days but has regularly gone to the UK which is also on the ban list.

UK is only on the ban list for 14 days before entering the US. Something is not adding up. I am wondering though if the lack of ties to home (husband in Dubai, daughter in the US, no job) is an issue though not sure why that would have come up at the airport vs at actual entry to the US.

[Boiler 43,425]

Just now, SusieQQQ said:

I am wondering though if the lack of ties to home (husband in Dubai, daughter in the US, no job) is an issue though not sure why that would have come up at the airport vs at actual entry to the US.

I doubt any of those factors would be an issue.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Just now, Boiler said:

I doubt any of those factors would be an issue.

Something is an issue... and the most common issue for denial of entry is lack of ties to home. I just don’t see how that would have been picked up where it was.

 

I agree with a suggestion above that they should rebook the flight out of Abu Dhabi. She can talk directly to a CBP official at Abu Dhabi airport and once she is through CBP she is officially admitted to the US, and doesn’t have to spend the flight stressing about what will happen when she lands. (And yes I know it’s probably using a different airline out of Abu Dubai but seeing as they travel as frequently between the UK and Dubai anyway they should be able to easily use any Emirates credit)

[Boiler 43,425]

3 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Something is an issue... and the most common issue for denial of entry is lack of ties to home. I just don’t see how that would have been picked up where it was.

 

I agree with a suggestion above that they should rebook the flight out of Abu Dhabi. She can talk directly to a CBP official at Abu Dhabi airport and once she is through CBP she is officially admitted to the US, and doesn’t have to spend the flight stressing about what will happen when she lands. (And yes I know it’s probably using a different airline out of Abu Dubai but seeing as they travel as frequently between the UK and Dubai anyway they should be able to easily use any Emirates credit)

We do not know if she has a valid ESTA.

[The Bloomies 7]

Hello all,

 

Thank you for your comments. I’m as confused as you all. As a note, my mum has residency in the UAE and a history of travelling back and forth (as many wives whose husband’s work our there do), she has property in the UK, hasn’t had a history of abusing visas, etc. To me, her history and circumstances are quite normal, from a visa point of view, so I’m really hoping that this has just been a mix up. Last night I did have a conversation with her husband who suggested that it may have been something to do with the CBP official in the US not knowing how long she’d been in Dubai, and therefore unable to assess accurately that she was eligible for entry. That might explain it although I’ve heard of people flying to Mexico from the Schengen area and ensconcing themselves there for 2 weeks and successfully crossing the border so I’m not sure why this would be different. I don’t suppose anyone knows if countries share passenger travel history with each other?

 

I’ve called my mum for an update and she told me that they’ve managed to speak to a very nice lady at CBP (using the telephone number on this page: https://www.dhs.gov/dhs-trip) who has escalated the situation and will be emailing them back in around a half hour. She asked them when their PCE test runs out which is tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be great if she’d be able to get them on a plane before that happens!

 

@Boiler, yes, my mum’s ESTA had been renewed for this trip and is still showing as approved and valid as confirmed by the CBP lady.

 

RE: flying out from Abu Dhabi, they could potentially do that. Definitely nice to have pre-clearance and to be able to talk to someone. I do know that Abu Dhabi is requiring a test to visit from Dubai, but if they have tests for travel anyway, I’m sure those would suffice.