Wanting to visit USA with UK passport but stayed in Iraq/ Kurdistan in 2016- no Iraq visa in passport

[wandererforever]

Hello
Name change as may be outing. I visited in Iraq / Kurdistan in 2016, and was told I would be given entry visa whilst there- this never happened so my UK passport has no stamp. Now I wish to visit USA. Given there is no indication in my passport that I visited Kurdistan, do I still need to apply for entry visa to USA? Thank you

You should complete the ESTA and answer all questions truthfully. Even if something flags up, it doesn’t mean you will be denied entry. They may just follow up with further questions. But you can’t lie or you may get banned from entry. It’s a serious offence.

My dh was denied a previous work visa to the US (because they didn’t believe he wouldn’t overstay - I am American and was still living there at the time). He has to declare it and they ask extra questions at the border, but he’s never been denied entry.

Good advice on the ESTA. If you find it may be a problem, then perhaps you need to 'lose' your passport and have a new one issued (not sure if all travel is logged now on an international database? don't think its the case)

When I went to Israel they didn't stamps my passport (only the boarding pass) for this reason which leads me to believe there is no online footprint of where you have been.

Great, thanks. I was not sure if there would be a database of where each passenger has visited. However, I would rather be upfront. Thanks again