ESTA application refused - was in Iran - where to next?

Irlanski

Hi all,
My wife and our youngest daughter and I planned to go to Miami on 21st of August next. We booked flights months ago and we have three of our older children, two in the US and one in South America flying in to Miami so we would all spend a week together - happy days!

However, my wife and our youngest daughter and I filled in our ESTA a couple of days ago not anticipating any difficultys but my application failed. I'm guessing its because I took a motorcycle trip last may to central Asia and I passed through Iran on route. The application asked if one had travelled to specific countrys recently and Iran was one of the listed countrys and so of course I indicated that I had been in Iran and for touristic reasons. They said...

You are not authorized to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. You may be able to obtain a visa from the Department of State for your travel. Please visit the United States Department of State website for additional information about applying for a visa.

I don't see a whole lot on that website that is going to get me some answers quickly - I hope to fly in 2 weeks or so.

Has anyone experienced this before and if so whats the best advice...

Much appreciated.

DivingDuck

Haven't experienced this before, but I think your next port of call needs to be the US embassy here. They have a phone number listed, and are probably reasonable about answering it. (Not a dig; I recently discovered the passport office here has a recorded PFO message when you try to reach them by phone! I doubt that's the case with the US embassy, but could be wrong.)

You may be in trouble within your timeframe, but they should be able to clarify the situation for you, at least.

BuffyBot

Basically, you're going to have to obtain a B1/B2 visitor visa by the looks of it from what you've said. Doing it within the timeframe night be tricky however.

rockonollie

Contact the embassy ASAP, failed ESTA means you cannot travel on the Visa Waiver Program, and will need a tourist visa to visit the US. May be difficult with less than 3 weeks.

silja

Yeah. From what you say, and with documentation of the trip, getting the tourist visa shouldn't be a big problem, but getting an appointment for interview can often take 4+ weeks. You may be able to please your case and ask for any cancelation appointments.

Irlanski

Really appreciate the replies. Okay, have filled in and submitted the online non-immigrant form for a B2 tourist visa.

I guess it was pointless phoning the Dublin embassy until at least that was done. I wonder how long to wait for interview - I'll phone to grease the wheels and try to plamause a little.

Any more advice regarding expiditing tips will be really appreciated...

billy few mates

I've just been through this process, there is a number you can ring if you search on the embassy website that you can ring if you need to cancel or postpone an appointment once you have one booked, I'd suggest you ring them and ask them for a more urgent appointment. The interview itself takes less than ten minutes, they'll basically just ask you what you were doing there, although you might have to queue up for two hours to get that far.
Bring your old passports and anything prove you have roots here plus maybe bring the details of your travel plans to show them it's urgent. After the interview it will take another three or four days to get your passport back with the visa.
Don't forget to bring the photo, it's not the normal passport size it's slightly larger and can be difficult to get hold of, some places I went to wanted anything between €25 and €60 but in the end I got it for €6.