Travel to US having been to Iran - ESTA

[Aridane]

Has anyone who has visited Iran been to the US since 2016 - ie when the US disbarred from ESTA anyone who since 2011 had been to any of the countries on the naughty list (including Iran)? And did you declare your visit on the ESTA form or get a visa?

I went to Iran in 2015 but since then have a shiny new passport and was wondering whether just to tick 'no' on the ESTA form – but don't know the extent to which authorities / airlines etc exchange information. (I know, I know- and expect to get slated for even expressing that as a possibility).

Or if you got a visa, how difficult was it to get and how long did it take?

Many thanks!

Last lot came through straight away - the time before took a day or so. It that was all of them so maybe they had a backlog or were checking everyone.

I have a close friend who applied very last minute for his ESTA in 2016. He accidentally ticked yes to the diseases box and it was referred for review, which he panicked about as he was travelling the next day.

He then applied on his other passport (both first world allies of the US) for another ESTA which was granted, not disclosing his other passport & assuming they wouldn’t link the two together.

On arrival at JFK he enjoyed a four hour sojourn in a little room being randomly & aggressively questioned by border guards & missed his onward travel once they finally let him in. He is cagey & quite secretive by nature and would not have disclosed his error by choice. He does not recommend lying on an ESTA and reminds us of that on a regular basis!

Yes customs and passport control staff in the US can be a ‘delight’ (they are lovely and chatty in Boston but a fright in NY).

I could say this a thousand times and more.. DO NOT LIE ON YOUR ESTA.

Yes, things can be found out and yes there is joined up records that the USA can access. There are always stories of people being turned around on the first flight back because of lying.

Visa will probably take around 6 months whilst waiting for appointments etc.

6 MONTHS??!!

Phoned embassy - automated message indicates 3 - 5 business days for processing after interview.

Things must have improved since the awful online reports of applying for US visas

I have travelled to Iran and used to be married to an Iranian and did an ESTA application in 2018, it got accepted however it wasn't instant. My partner did his at the time time and he was approved instantly. I think it was my Iranian connection that meant mine wasn't instant however it was fine.

Sadie - I thought you were ineligible for ESTA if you had been to Iran since 2011. Presumably ypur travel to Iran was before the

fikel - was he travelling on a uk passport though
Yes he was travelling on a British passport, he hasn’t had an Iranian passport for years

You won’t get approved for the esta as you have to put passport details in. The visa was not difficult to get, just an extra cost and you have to go to the embassy for a quick interview. I was given a ten year visa and I visit Iran every year

I was given the visa same day I went to embassy and they sent my passport back within a week

Thank you, monsa

Visa will probably take around 6 months whilst waiting for appointments etc.

Even my immigration visa didn't take that long, and it involved a background check, medical and multiple interviews.

Thanks all for the sanity check yesterday.

I knew I would be criticised on Mumsnet even for thinking of travelling on ESTA in these circumstances but wanted to know if anyone had (and also how long the visa process tends to take).

I suppose I was thinking of the good all (pre-tech ) days where travel restrictions were more based on stamps in passports).

Whilst I would probably be OK going through ESTA, the consequences of not being OK aren't really worth it - ie not just being turned away at immigration/ having an indefinite ban on travel to or via the US but possiby losing my job / the ability to practise in my profession if I’m a work context it came out I had lied on the ESTA form (assuming of course no other unpleasantness in a post Trump world....).

sherlock is right in the sense that the US embassy has 6 months to say yay or nay- but hopefully it will be as smooth as a few posters have suggested (in the absence of complicating factors like dual nationality).

baby - I am very sorry about your father’s experience

I traveled on passport stamps in "the good old days". I'm old and well travelled. As was my late Dad . They were still a bit more joined up at US customs than you perhaps imagine. Not as slick or as quick but lie to them or otherwise piss them off and you get banned.

Just an update to let you know that I got my US visa without hitch.

Interview waiting time just a few days and visa approved and couriered within a couple of days.

However, interview was quite probing and not a formality. Thank goodness I had the foresight to bring my trip notes and a calendar for 2015 so I could identify each place I had been to in Iran and when.

However, fellow travellers to,Iran have had their US visa applications ms declared Ned!!

Declined! not ms Declared Ned. WTF autocorrect

That’s great news.

Maybe the fellow travellers were short and snappy in their interview-the us immigration people aren’t fond of that

Glad it all worked out! I had an awful time at JFK in December to make sure “everything on my ESTA was true”. I’ve travelled to many ME countries and they probed everything - dates and who I went with. My phone was searched. Security are pretty brutal. I was sure I was going to be denied entry. Thankfully, I was not.