The US embassy in London summoned a three-month old for an interview after his grandfather mistakenly identified him as a […]
The US embassy in London summoned a three-month old for an interview after his grandfather mistakenly identified him as a terrorist.
Harvey Kenyon-Cairns had been due to fly to Orlando in Florida, the US, for his first overseas holiday, until his grandfather, Paul Kenyon, made the error on a visa waiver form.
On the part of the Esta form which reads ‘Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide?’ Kenyon ticked yes instead of no.
He only learned of his error when his grandson’s travel to the US was refused.
The baby was taken from his home in Poynton, Cheshire, to the embassy in Grosvenor Square, London, to be questioned by officials. The round trip took about 10 hours longer than the nine-and-a-half-hour flight time from Manchester to Orlando.
‘It was a very expensive mistake, but I was hoping the US embassy would realise that it was just a simple error without us having to jump through all the hoops,’ said Mr Kenyon.
He flew out to his holiday villa in Florida with his wife Cathy on the scheduled date, but Harvey and his parents, Faye Kenyon-Cairns and John Cairns, had to fly out separately a few days later.