DUBAI: A three-month-old baby was called to the US embassy in London after his grandfather accidentally identified him as a terrorist on his visa form.
British national Harvey Kenyon-Cairns and his family had been preparing to travel to Florida for his first holiday abroad until his grandfather Paul Kenyon ruined the fun and ticked the wrong box on the child’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form.
On the part of the ESTA form which asks “Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide?” Kenyon ticked yes.
“I couldn’t believe that they couldn’t see it was a genuine mistake and that a three-month-old baby would be no harm to anyone,” the 62-year-old said, according to The Guardian.
The child was summoned to attend an interview at the US embassy in London.
“Baby Harvey was good as gold for the interview and never cried once. I thought about taking him along in an orange jumpsuit, but thought better of it,” said Kenyon. “They didn’t appear to have a sense of humor over it at all and couldn’t see the funny side.
“He’s obviously never engaged in genocide, or espionage, but he has sabotaged quite a few nappies in his time, though I didn’t tell them that at the US embassy.”
In the end, the baby and his parents, Faye Kenyon-Cairns and John Cairns, were able to travel to the US on holiday, if only a few days late.
“I was hoping the US embassy would realize that it was just a simple error without us having to jump through all the hoops,” said the grandfather.
He added: “If you were a terrorist, I suspect you’d not be ticking yes on the ESTA form anyway.”
‘Terrorist’ baby summoned by US embassy after grandfather’s visa error
‘Terrorist’ baby summoned by US embassy after grandfather’s visa error
