Denied ESTA

[Lstanick15 9]

I moved to the US legally from the U.K. in October 2016 with a K1 visa and currently waiting for the AOS to complete. My parents and sister wanted to come to the wedding in December 2016 so obviously needed ESTAs. My mother and sister were approved, along with my sisters fiancé and my fathers wife. However my dad was denied his ESTA.

 

He is 53 and was a police officer for 14 years but fell at work 4 years ago and double fractured his ankle so was off work for almost a year, in which time he was diagnosed with depression, PTSD and OCD. He has since retired as he can no longer work with these conditions. He has a full pension. 

 

He said there was a question relating to drug/alcohol abuse or mental/physical conditions, he selected yes because of his PTSD and his ankle injury thinking he'd rather be honest than lie and be caught out. So this must have been the reason for denial since his wife answered all questions exactly the same except this one and my father was denied. 

 

I don't know exactly what wording the question is, but I find it odd that substance abuse is paired with a physical condition with no option to explain what exactly is wrong. 

 

Anyway, he called the London embassy who said he would have to call the Texas office which he did. They recommended he try again in 24 hours when it reset. He tried a further 5 times and every time he was denied. He sent of numerous emails which auto replied he would get a response in 30 days and he is still yet to get a response 4 months on. 

 

Is there any way he will ever be granted an ESTA or even be able to explain to the embassy what went wrong or will he have to apply for a different type of visa? If so, which would he apply for and will they look at an ESTA denial as denial for all tourist visas? 

 

Apologies for the super long post but thank you in advance for any information provided! 

[milimelo 4,541]

He'll apply for B1/2 visa at the embassy. 

[yuna628 9,700]

I don't really think that the embassy has any ability to help in this situation. An ESTA is a pre-clearance background check, and is technically in the domain of the CBP and not the DoS. Refer to the post in the section from the CBP about what to do if you feel a question has been 'mistakenly' answered. It will involve contacting them. https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1088/~/i-made-a-mistake-on-my-esta-application Even with that, I don't know if it can be corrected. His final option would be applying for a B2 visa. This may be difficult considering he's from a VWP eligible country to begin with, but it's certainly doable. Start with the first thing and work your way to the next option if no result is met.

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

The USA is very strict on drug abuse.  However, that is not the same as using prescribed painkillers according to your doctor's advice. If your dad uses drugs he obtains on the street, then ESTA was denied correctly, no matter why he first became an addict. On the other hand, if he uses/ used painkillers according to the prescription he was given, that should not be an issue.

 

So he may want to re-read the question and be sure he understood it right; that being said, if he has documentation from a doctor, a B2 tourist visa should have a good chance of getting approved.

[Lstanick15 9]

2 hours ago, Penguin_ie said:

The USA is very strict on drug abuse.  However, that is not the same as using prescribed painkillers according to your doctor's advice. If your dad uses drugs he obtains on the street, then ESTA was denied correctly, no matter why he first became an addict. On the other hand, if he uses/ used painkillers according to the prescription he was given, that should not be an issue.

 

So he may want to re-read the question and be sure he understood it right; that being said, if he has documentation from a doctor, a B2 tourist visa should have a good chance of getting approved.

He was a police officer for 14 years, he would never take drugs! He understood the question perfectly, hence the confusion as to why drug abuse is grouped with a physical condition. It doesn't make sense. He doesn't even take painkillers from the doctor. He had a few operations to fix his ankle but now he is left using a cane because of the injury, which is why he said yes because of the physical condition. 

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

8 minutes ago, Lstanick15 said:

He was a police officer for 14 years, he would never take drugs! He understood the question perfectly, hence the confusion as to why drug abuse is grouped with a physical condition. It doesn't make sense. He doesn't even take painkillers from the doctor. He had a few operations to fix his ankle but now he is left using a cane because of the injury, which is why he said yes because of the physical condition. 

 

I am sorry if my post offended you; your original post was unclear as to whether he took drugs due to pain from his ankle, and unfortunately, even upstanding members of society such as police officers can become drug addicts.  That being said, this explanation of what is meant with that question may help; I still think that unless your dad is a threat to himself or otehrs, he should have answered no:
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/WebHelp/ESTA_Screen-Level_Online_Help_1.htm#ata2

[Boiler 45,945]

I am also inclined to think he misread the question but now he needs a B.