Post
by keddle » Thu Jun 29, 2017 8:08 pm
Hi, I have a couple questions about traveling abroad. I am from the United States of America. My son traveled to England about 4 years ago. He landed in Newcastle and the immigration officers detained him. He has never traveled anywhere before, not even out of New York State. He is very shy and doesn't really confront problems easily, so I'm sure he was pretty intimidated by these border agents. He was told that he did not have enough money, which he had his round trip flight paid for as well as his hotel for the week. All he planned on doing was meeting a girl he had been chatting with online for nearly 2 years at the time. He had 350 usd in his pocket and about 500 in the bank. He was told that he could not enter due to not enough cash... they said he needs at least 1,000 for the week, which is ridiculous if you ask me, because that's more than half of average income in rural towns in England. He was also told that since he hadn't met his friend yet in person that she might not like him. They said that if they had met before, they might have let him in. Well, I called Newcastle airport and spoke with the border agent who detained him. She was very nice and told me that she would allow him to stay one night at the hotel he had paid for, but he must return to the airport the next morning for his flight back to the US. He returned the next morning, as instructed and was flown back home. The border agent told me that since he had met her now, that he should be able to get in again with no problem. He flew again a couple years later and I had him land at Heathrow because it avoided long layover times. The people at Heathrow were horrible. They treated my son as though he were a terrorist! The border agent wasn't even English! He was African. When my son called and told me he was still in London, I asked to speak to the border agent and he refused. I called metropolitan police to get the number for his gate, and they gave it to me. I called and the agent said that his socioeconomic status hadn't changed. I told him he had a sponsor for the week, his return ticket for his flight home and plenty of money for his stay. I asked if I deposited additional funds into his account if he would change his mind. He said no. I questioned us being allies at that point, because my American son who had never been in trouble in his life was being treated as though he was some common criminal. He was flown as far as Philadelphia Pennsylvania. They didn't even make sure he was flown to his state. I lost air miles from Heathrow to Newcastle and Newcastle to Heathrow. I got no compensation for either trip. I want to fly him to Ireland, but I am scared. Their site says that even if he is issued a visa, it doesn't guarantee entry into the country. Also, like the UK website, it says he does NOT need a visa. I am afraid to send him with or without a visa. it will be over 5,000 I've lost if I send him and he is refused. I plan to fly with him, also without a visa, but we will have upwards of 3,000usd and our hotel, return tickets and tourist destinations with us. do you think we will be denied entry? should I chance it or not? Have you heard of similar stories? I am just looking for some advice. Thank you in advance. I'm sorry if I posed in the wrong forum
