Reply With QuoteCan't read the article but does this apply even with a fresh passport?
Hi,
A friend sent me a link to this and tbh I was not aware of it at all.
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-b2204237.html
Cheers
matt
Can't read the article but does this apply even with a fresh passport?
It still isn't 100% clear what’s going on here thanks to some very mixed messages from the US authorities.
I visited Cuba in 2015 and 2017, but have had no issues entering the US (multiple times) since Jan 2021 on an ESTA (edited to add this is on a new passport so no stamps etc). I suspect you will only experience issues if you have have travelled to Cuba since the country’s “downgrade”. You will then need a trip to the US consulate and a visa
It’s a daft situation which the US should really be clarifying so there are no grey areas
Last edited by Peck; 18th October 2022 at 09:02.
I read about it a few weeks ago. A fresh passport will sort it as there is then no proof you have been to Cuba. I posted this elsewhere
Was thinking of Cuba next year but have been reading about the US declaring it a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” and anyone visiting Cuba since 2011 can’t use the Etsa scheme to enter the US and needs to pay £137 and queue for a Visa And current earliest appointment for a Visa is Feb 2023.
So go through the long .process or get a new passport
I don’t think there are any grey areas. It is quite clear…..but they just aren’t/can’t enforce it.Originally Posted by Peck
On the ESTA application do they ask if you've visited Cuba? You could lie but if they found out somehow could be repercussions.
Well do you believe the all-seeing eye of the US border authorities don’t / can’t link different passports and movements to individuals?
- - - Updated - - -
No, they don’t ask
Edited to add I’ve just remembered I DO have a new passport so no stamps, but I still believe the US authorities will know I have entered Cuba
Last edited by Peck; 18th October 2022 at 08:49.
In the Netherlands it’s possible to get a second passport especially to overcome this sort of situations: e.g. visiting some Arabic countries vs Israel.
In English: https://www.government.nl/topics/ide...econd-passport
Last edited by thieuster; 18th October 2022 at 11:52.
To me the grey area is the fact that Cuba isn’t listed on the ESTA alongside the other “state supporters of terrorism” is the true grey area. This doesn’t really make sense if Calders article is completely accurate
Well they certainly know now you've admitted it on an open internet forum.
[/tinfoilhat]
Haha… fair point!
Had that ESTA question included Cuba in the list I certainly wouldn’t have lied and said “no”. Life’s too short to be turned away at the US border!
I believe this was a parting ‘gift’ from Trump
I visited Cuba in 2020 and I’m going back in a couple of weeks
I’ve no plans to visit the US at the moment but I don’t like this restriction- it’s just typical of the yank stranglehold on Cuba
I’d say new passport or not they will know you’ve visited Cuba
This is why it is handy to have a couple of passports.
I suspect a new passport would mean you get through on an ESTA, the problem is would you take the risk of being turned back once you get to border control. I've visited the US Embassy for a C1/D1 visa before and it is a total pain in the ass.
Would a couple of passports help?
Your still the same person - I’m sure as soon a border forces in the US scan your passport they’ll know your inside leg measurements as well as the fact you’ve another passport
I’ve encountered a few pleasant officers on my trips to the US but also quite a few who weren’t so pleasant
When I visited Cuba a few years ago, immigration in Havana didn't put any country or airport stamp in my passport on arrival or departure - just a date stamp.
I've had colleagues have problems when they have entered on one passport and exited on another by accident. Makes me think they rely more on the passport number than rather having a detailed file that lists an individual against all the passports they hold. That, with the anecdotal evidence above that people have managed to get through on an ESTA and a new passport makes me think it would work. But you'd have to be crazy to risk your trip just to avoid a hundred odd-pound proper visa.
I have two British passports. Need both so when one goes for a visa I can still travel on the other one.
Getting another passport wasn’t as simple as applying for one. I needed a letter from my employer, then had to go for an interview at the Glasgow passport office, which took around half an hour.
As I go to the US quite a bit, I only use the passport that has been used to get into the US and that passport was the one that replaced the old one that I used to get into the US, and I don’t use that one when I go to anywhere the Americans aren’t to keen on.
Wouldn't have taken both passports (unless needing second for further travel before returning home I suppose).
Agree. I've also seen issues in the military where it people have immigrated into the US through normal border control, then flown back out on a military aircraft without officially emmigrating. This causes real problems later on when it comes to getting visas! Took one colleague 6-months to sort out their US visa after this.
There is also quite a big issue in places like UAE where to leave the military base and go into Dubai you have to immigrate and emmigrate each time...with stamps in your passport every time. You've got to ensure you do this right and not forget or you get in all sorts of problems.
Last edited by Christian; 18th October 2022 at 10:56.
Think this happened to Ewan McGregor on the long way up
How bizarre - I visited Cuba in 2018 via jumping on a cruise ship in Ft Lauderdale for a 4 day / cruise trip!
Been to Cuba for a two week holiday 8 years ago, been to America 5 times since never had a problem.
I wouldn't try to get one over Homeland Security personally, they can make things very uncomfortable for you.
Cheers,
Neil.
Its been some time since I saw last in Cuba, December 2005 in fact.
Back then they stapled a square of paper into my passport and stamped that. On departure the square of paper was removed.
Was in NYC in May, and the officer was the nastiest excuse of a man. Slow as hell processing it, guessing he’s not paid per passport.
Took forever & then got given a special ticket to go sit in another room for 30mins before I was asked a few questions and told to carry on my journey.
The way homeland security think they’re so important really puts me off travelling to the US anymore. Oh and the way the US believe they can make such sanctions on people having visited other countries.
Cuba 3 times since 2011, so will wait and see. Luckily I have many places I’d rather visit than the US for the coming years.
It is possible in the UK too.
It helps to have an A1 visa, they’re very polite then!
Also possible to have more than two in the UK.
More than two is interestingly complex! :-)
I usually have three ordinary British passports on the go simultaneously.
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
I've been to Cuba and travelled into the US since.
No questions.
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
This only came into force earlier this year though
Don’t think 2x passports will help. I have 2x UK passports when I used to travel a lot and lived in Dubai. On the first fresh esta trip into the US on the new passport I was asked “’when were you last in the US?”’ I responded truthfully and said ‘ “February”’ to which he replied “’right answer’”. He was either bluffing or their system does connect the two passports.
I also am now excluded from estas having been to Iraq so had to get a 10 year visa which was ok in my case and pretty easy.
But I have lived in the US full time a year and a half now and what is more frightening is the facial recognition on the Global Entry kiosks where you just present your face, no passport, and it recognizes you from that alone and let’s you through. Spooky that one but does save a lot of time
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Last edited by chrisjones3; 19th October 2022 at 11:52.
Knowing you’ve been to the US on a different passport (and will be recorded) isn’t the same as knowing you’ve travelled to a third country.
This all sounds a bit odd, because personally I don't think each US border agent is going to look at each page of each British passport looking for a Cuban stamp... They have better things to do.
What is even more weird is that I'm American and have a Cuban stamp in my passport from my visit (and have been in and out recently), and it doesn't make sense that they'd add this restriction for what seems to be an arbitrary reason. And will it only apply to Britons?
I’ve been to both places…. No issues for me yet
Basically since Jan 2021 Cuba has been added to the “State supporters of terrorism” list by the USA. Now this should mean that anyone who has visited Cuba isn’t eligible to enter the USA via the ESTA visa waiver programme. However when you apply for an ESTA, Cuba isn’t listed on the application form so someone like me can apply as normal for a new ESTA. I did this last month, and was granted the ESTA and then admitted to the US without any issues.This all sounds a bit odd, because personally I don't think each US border agent is going to look at each page of each British passport looking for a Cuban stamp... They have better things to do.
What is even more weird is that I'm American and have a Cuban stamp in my passport from my visit (and have been in and out recently), and it doesn't make sense that they'd add this restriction for what seems to be an arbitrary reason. And will it only apply to Britons?
So the situation is unclear. If / when Cuba is added to the ESTA application then it may become problematic for a lot of people and will involve needing a “proper” visa and all that entails.
Problem is applying for and issuance of an ESTA does not mean it is valid. Entry to the US happens at border control. Would you now risk getting an ESTA then being turned away at the border because you don’t meet the entry requirements? I wouldn’t.
Last edited by Christian; 20th October 2022 at 20:08.
They don't have better things to do - it's what they are there to do!This all sounds a bit odd, because personally I don't think each US border agent is going to look at each page of each British passport looking for a Cuban stamp... They have better things to do.
What is even more weird is that I'm American and have a Cuban stamp in my passport from my visit (and have been in and out recently), and it doesn't make sense that they'd add this restriction for what seems to be an arbitrary reason. And will it only apply to Britons?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Well, I did two weeks ago without issue. However I certainly wouldn’t have done had Cuba been specified on the ESTA application. It’s a very odd situation.
I have read various newish articles over the last few months that this has now recently changed
Eg. One example of several
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-b2273349.html
However I cannot really find such specifics on the Esta pages so not sure if it really is official
Anybody had further info or updates
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