# Travelling to USA from Uk after being deported for overstay of student visa 15 years ago



## hideyspidey (May 10, 2017)

Hi
As title says really.
My name has changed and i obviously have a  new passport since then with new surname( 2001) but when i was deported they told me a code would go in my passport. Deported at airport as left visa at home in Milwaukee and it was out of date. Never returned but want to go on a cruise to cuba and going from Miami is by far the cheapest. Im not sure what info comes up on the screen when passport is scanned. 
Any advice. Thanks


----------



## editor (May 10, 2017)

hideyspidey said:


> Hi
> As title says really.
> My name has changed and i obviously have a  new passport since then with new surname( 2001) but when i was deported they told me a code would go in my passport. Deported at airport as left visa at home in Milwaukee and it was out of date. Never returned but want to go on a cruise to cuba and going from Miami is by far the cheapest. Im not sure what info comes up on the screen when passport is scanned.
> Any advice. Thanks


It's a gamble but never underestimate the incompetence of the US authorities. Not sure how they 'put a code in your passport.'


----------



## 1%er (May 11, 2017)

Three questions before I can give you a full answer.

When you were deported did they take your fingerprints? 
When you were deported did they tell you how long you would be Inadmissible for reentry? 
How many days in total will you be in the USA?


----------



## Teaboy (May 11, 2017)

The finger prints would appear to be the key thing here.  I cannot see how the US authorities could track you through a new surname and passport.


----------



## pseudonarcissus (May 11, 2017)

15 years ago is 2002, so after 9/11 so fingerprints would have been taken, I assume.

Do previous names go on the encrypted data on the passport? I think it does:

*Content of the electronic passport*
The electronic passport consists of 32 or 48 pages. The first page is the data page. The passport contains the following personal data:


Surname* and if applicable name at birth*,
Given name(s)*,
Doctoral degree*,
Day* and place* of birth,
Sex*,
Height,
Eye color,
Place of residence,
Nationality*


----------



## 1%er (May 11, 2017)

pseudonarcissus said:


> 15 years ago is 2002, so after 9/11 so fingerprints would have been taken, I assume.



I would expect that fingerprints would be taken for everyone deported from the USA, but they were "deported" at the airport and told "a code would go in my passport", they didn't say their passport had been stamped or given a notice to show they were deported. 15 years ago I suspect that they would have been offered the chance to leave the country and not have had their passport stamped. As they appear not to have been detained or given a deportation notice, I think that they may not have been deported officially.

When deported from the USA officially, your passport would be stamped, you'd be given a deportation notice on which would say how long before you can apply for reentry, that would normally be 10 years, but can be for 5, 10, 20 years or permanently depending on mitigating factors.

hideyspidey
It seems to me from the information you have provided you were not officially deported (if your fingerprints were not taken and you were not served with a deportation notice and didn't have your passport stamped). My advice would be to apply for a C-1 visa. You can get the form online but you will need a face to face interview, that is your safest bet.


----------



## hideyspidey (May 15, 2017)

editor said:


> It's a gamble but never underestimate the incompetence of the US authorities. Not sure how they 'put a code in your passport.'


They wrote it in in pen in my passport!! They  took fingerprints at the airport. No notice served on me though. Held i a jail cell overnight


----------



## hideyspidey (May 15, 2017)

1%er said:


> I would expect that fingerprints would be taken for everyone deported from the USA, but they were "deported" at the airport and told "a code would go in my passport", they didn't say their passport had been stamped or given a notice to show they were deported. 15 years ago I suspect that they would have been offered the chance to leave the country and not have had their passport stamped. As they appear not to have been detained or given a deportation notice, I think that they may not have been deported officially.
> 
> When deported from the USA officially, your passport would be stamped, you'd be given a deportation notice on which would say how long before you can apply for reentry, that would normally be 10 years, but can be for 5, 10, 20 years or permanently depending on mitigating factors.
> 
> ...


Thanks, it was very incompetent. Basically they held me overnight, barely questioned me, just refused me entry, wrote a 9 0r 10 digit code in my passport, told me if i wanted to come back to the USA do it quick as it would take 28 days to update the passport, then i sat at the airport for hours on end, took fingerprints, went to jail overnight, came back and was on a flight home. I had to be accompanied onto the plane and also when we stopped in iceland!
No notice served at all. I went back to the USA via canada a few days later to collect my stuff, snuck over border and left as normal stating lost my immigration card - no issues


----------



## 1%er (May 15, 2017)

hideyspidey said:


> Thanks, it was very incompetent. Basically they held me overnight, barely questioned me, just refused me entry, wrote a 9 0r 10 digit code in my passport, told me if i wanted to come back to the USA do it quick as it would take 28 days to update the passport, then i sat at the airport for hours on end, took fingerprints, went to jail overnight, came back and was on a flight home. I had to be accompanied onto the plane and also when we stopped in iceland!
> No notice served at all. I went back to the USA via canada a few days later to collect my stuff, snuck over border and left as normal stating lost my immigration card - no issues


As they tool your fingerprints you will be in the system as having been deported, so I wouldn't try and get into the country without a valid visa as you may end up being refused entry. To be safe apply for a C-1 visa and get the permissions you need at a face to face interview, as this all happened over 15 years ago I believe you will be granted a transit visa without a problem.

Good luck and let us know how you get on. Cuba is a great place to visit I'm sure you'll really enjoy it. Take US$ with you and change them at independent exchange places on the street you'll get a much better exchange rate, (if you can find one, if you ask about you'll find them but they don't advertise for obvious reasons) many shops will also take Dollars and you can get a much better price.

Also make sure you know which Peso you are getting, there are two types of Peso with very different values (they were talking about making it only one again but I'm not sure if they have or not). The Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) and the Cuban Peso (CUP), read up on this as it is easy to make costly mistakes. Also don't think you can find ATM's on every corner they are few and far between, if you are traveling outside Havana don't rely on your cards at all, make sure you have cash.


----------



## 1927 (May 15, 2017)

Hold On!!! Isn't the advice on this entire thread to be keep schtuum and say feck all? now we got someone advising to apply for a Visa, ffs. The OP has already stated that they have been back to US since deportation without problems. 

Apply for an ESTA and see what happens, applying for a visa could open up a box of frogs that doesnt need to be opened.


----------



## ddraig (May 15, 2017)

new thread! more srs


----------



## 1%er (May 16, 2017)

1927 said:


> Hold On!!! Isn't the advice on this entire thread to be keep schtuum and say feck all? now we got someone advising to apply for a Visa, ffs. The OP has already stated that they have been back to US since deportation without problems.
> 
> Apply for an ESTA and see what happens, applying for a visa could open up a box of frogs that doesnt need to be opened.


 The advice to keep "schtum"on the other thread is for people going to "visit" the USA and as far as I remember no-one said they were deported, this person is just "transiting through". They also made it clear that when they returned to the US they "snuck over border" and didn't entry legally, so they haven't "stated that they have been back to US since deportation without problems", they have said the have reentered the USA illegally since being deported.

They need a transit visa, they have a new name surname and may well get an ESTA (if they keep schum), but and its a big but, they had their fingerprints taken when deported, so an ESTA (that doesn't have full disclosure) isn't the way to go if they want to make sure they are allowed to catch their boat to Cuba.

It all well and good for you to gamble if it is you traveling (Apply for an ESTA and see what happens), but it isn't you. This person asked for advice and the correct thing to do in their circumstances to ensure they can transit through to catch a boat, that is to apply for a C-1 visa, then they don't have to gamble, they will know for sure.

Different circumstances different advice

NB The other thread is about people traveling from the UK to the USA with a criminal record in the UK, the reason they are told to say nothing is because the UK does not share information on the criminal records computer with the USA. The big difference on this thread is that the person asking for advice has their fingerprints on the US system, so they are already known to US authorities.


----------



## 1%er (May 17, 2017)

Just to add some further info for anyone reading this and wondering why an ESTA isn't suitable for the opening posters situation.

The first reason is that the USA Consulate says clearly on its website that anyone having been deported should not use the ESTA system. Anyone having been deported will have had their fingerprints taken and therefore US immigration will become aware of the deportation as soon as they take your prints upon entry to the USA.

It is also worth pointing out that if you successfully apply for an ESTA and are granted one, you still need a visa to enter the USA, an ESTA is solely used to determine the eligibility of visitors to "*travel"* to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program and does not guarantee that you will be granted a visa on arrival. 

People traveling to the USA from a country where the visa waiver program system is in use are only granted a visa on arrival in the USA once they have been interviewed by an immigration officer and go through the full process (there are some exceptions to this, for example: people traveling from Ireland may go through US immigration at the airport prior to travel as Ireland has an arrangement whereby American immigration officers are based in the country).


----------



## pseudonarcissus (May 17, 2017)

1%er said:


> they have a new name surname and may well get an ESTA (if they keep schum)..



BUT, thier passport contains their name at birth encoded on the chip, so the immigation officer may well notice a red flag between the name at birth, date of birth, and previous deporation, even if the fingerprint machine doesn't raise a flag.


----------



## 1%er (May 17, 2017)

pseudonarcissus said:


> BUT, thier passport contains their name at birth encoded on the chip, so the immigation officer may well notice a red flag between the name at birth, date of birth, and previous deporation, even if the fingerprint machine doesn't raise a flag.


My point is they shouldn't apply for an ESTA at all. My advice to them is to apply for a C-1 visa not an ESTA 

I was answering a post that seemed to say they should just apply for an ESTA.



1%er said:


> so an ESTA (that doesn't have full disclosure) isn't the way to go if they want to make sure they are allowed to catch their boat to Cuba.


----------



## Magnus McGinty (May 17, 2017)

The US doesn't appeal at all. Sounds like a nightmare in exchange for uber capitalism and Disney. Fuck that.


----------



## not-bono-ever (Jun 20, 2017)

Avoid the USA and pay to to join a cruise in Jamaica or somewhere?

 you can gamble everything you have spent on getting through into the USA in order to save a few quid   - or you can ensure you get on the cruise by adjusting your plans & budget a bit.

do you feel lucky punk etc.


----------



## Bahnhof Strasse (Jun 20, 2017)

1%er said:


> The advice to keep "schtum"on the other thread is for people going to "visit" the USA and as far as I remember no-one said they were deported, this person is just "transiting through".



There is no difference between visiting the US and transiting, when you transit you must enter the country, so full entry requirements apply.

Air Canada flies to Havana via Toronto.


----------



## 1%er (Jun 20, 2017)

Bahnhof Strasse said:


> There is no difference between visiting the US and transiting, when you transit you must enter the country, so full entry requirements apply.
> 
> Air Canada flies to Havana via Toronto.


The OP is someone who has been deported from the USA and they are therefore not eligible to apply for an ESTA, this means they have to apply for a visa in person and as the USA offers transit visas (C-class visa) and this person is transiting that appears to be the correct visa to apply for. I'm sure if the transit visa is not the correct visa they will be told when they apply.

US government advise on transit visa's
Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. Transit (C) visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons traveling in immediate and continuous transit through the United States en route to another country, with few exceptions. Immediate and continuous transit is defined as a reasonably expeditious departure of the traveler in the normal course of travel as the elements permit and assumes a prearranged itinerary without any unreasonable layover privileges. If the traveler seeks layover privileges for purposes other than for transit through the United States, such as to visit friends or engage in sightseeing, the traveler will have to qualify for the type of visa required for that purpose.


----------



## bi0boy (Jun 20, 2017)

1%er said:


> The OP is someone who has been deported from the USA and they are therefore not eligible to apply for an ESTA, this means they have to apply for a visa in person and as the USA offers transit visas (C-class visa) and this person is transiting that appears to be the correct visa to apply for. I'm sure if the transit visa is not the correct visa they will be told when they apply.
> 
> US government advise on transit visa's
> Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. Transit (C) visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons traveling in immediate and continuous transit through the United States en route to another country, with few exceptions. Immediate and continuous transit is defined as a reasonably expeditious departure of the traveler in the normal course of travel as the elements permit and assumes a prearranged itinerary without any unreasonable layover privileges. If the traveler seeks layover privileges for purposes other than for transit through the United States, such as to visit friends or engage in sightseeing, the traveler will have to qualify for the type of visa required for that purpose.



Yes, they need to enter on a transit visa, unlike at say Heathrow, where you can connect by staying airside.


----------



## 1%er (Jun 20, 2017)

bi0boy said:


> Yes, they need to enter on a transit visa, unlike at say Heathrow, where you can connect by staying airside.


I think even at Heathrow they would find it hard to transit onto a cruise ship


----------



## Bahnhof Strasse (Jun 20, 2017)

1%er said:


> The OP is someone who has been deported from the USA and they are therefore not eligible to apply for an ESTA, this means they have to apply for a visa in person and as the USA offers transit visas (C-class visa) and this person is transiting that appears to be the correct visa to apply for. I'm sure if the transit visa is not the correct visa they will be told when they apply.
> 
> US government advise on transit visa's
> Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the United States must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. Transit (C) visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons traveling in immediate and continuous transit through the United States en route to another country, with few exceptions. Immediate and continuous transit is defined as a reasonably expeditious departure of the traveler in the normal course of travel as the elements permit and assumes a prearranged itinerary without any unreasonable layover privileges. If the traveler seeks layover privileges for purposes other than for transit through the United States, such as to visit friends or engage in sightseeing, the traveler will have to qualify for the type of visa required for that purpose.




The OP has no intention of applying for a visa, otherwise he/she'd not be here...


----------



## snadge (Jun 20, 2017)

Just LOL.


----------

