John Stevenson, a man from Scotland, has been banned from entering the US after accidentally declaring himself a terrorist in an important visa form, dashing his plans to fly out on December 3 with his wife.
The 70-year-old Scotsman booked a £2,000 (around $2,5000 at the current GBP/USD exchange rate) holiday with his wife, and explained that he rushed his Esta visa application because “it kept timing out before we could tick all the boxes.”
READ MORE: US Border Patrol Clash With Migrants Results From Years of ‘Brutal Policies'
"I even called border control in the US and gave them my passport details. They looked up my Esta number and said ‘you’re a terrorist’. I told them that I was 70 years old and I don’t even recognise what that means,” he added.
Describing the situation as his “biggest nightmare”, Mr. Stevenson said his phone could even be getting “tapped” by American intelligence authorities, and described the question as “terrible, shocking and stupid.”
“I don’t know why that question is on the form in the first place.”
The couple remain hopeful that they can rectify the error via the US embassy in London.
I always wondered why they included this checkbox and what would happen if you ticked ‘yes’ https://t.co/fnNIppokUX
— Tim Hatch (@tim_hatch) November 30, 2018
Every person here. Online forms. Indifferent broadband. And grandad is a terrorist. [You suspect China govt would have dropped his credit score ]https://t.co/iGqwWVY8Rn
— Brynley Heaven (@BrynleyHeaven) November 30, 2018
.. there is an "I'm a terrorist" declaration 'check box'.. gee.. think it's a trap of some sort?.. pic.twitter.com/8h0boP6B3M
— Jor ♥ El (@JoR3LofKrypton) November 30, 2018
— The Last True Republican (@Last_Republican) November 30, 2018
READ MORE: Afghan President Calls Trump's Strategy 'Game Changer’ for Peace Process
