As because of one word in the phone, a man was banned from entering the US for life.
A British marketing manager visiting his girlfriend in Chicago, Illinois, found himself locked in a cell for 24 hours and then deported. He was banned from entering the US for life after immigration officials found a month-old message he sent: “I am moving to be with you.”
24-year-old Isaac Roblet from Hastings, East Sussex, 24 April flew to Illinois to 23-year-old girlfriend Camille Iglesia. In the US, he planned to spend 90 days, which ESTA provides for (a visa-free visit to the US for citizens of a number of countries).
ESTA is an electronic travel authorization system which, when confirmed, allows tourists to enter the United States as part of the Visa Waiver Program. This system determines whether a traveler meets the conditions to go to the United States. The ESTA system assesses whether the candidate does not represent a risk for the realization of the protection of the rights and safety of US citizens.
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ESTA costs about £ 10,000 (9 dollars) and must be filed at least 11,5 hours before the trip. But when Roblet arrived in the US, immigration officials began to ask him questions about the purpose of the trip. They searched his phone and found a text message about the "move", which caused them to fear that he might stay in the country for a long time.
The man claims that he actually visited his girlfriend on the anniversary of their acquaintance. The couple met on Tinder when a woman was studying exchange at the Rose Bruford College of Theater in Sidkup, Kent.
When Roblet was taken to the interrogation room, his girlfriend, who lives in Miami, but flew to Chicago to meet him, was left to wait at the airport. He claims that she stayed there for about 15 hours before returning home.
Moments from interrogation
Roblet argues that the interrogation began when the immigration officers asked him how he was going to support himself while he was in the United States. In addition, they asked questions about what his girlfriend is doing and how she “makes money”.
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“I work in England, I saved up a lot of money to see my girlfriend. We were about to go on a trip,” the man replied to the officers.
However, in his words, immigration officials did not believe him.
This is not Roblett's first trip to the United States. He had already flown to Iglesia’s hometown of Miami twice before. This time they planned to visit New York and Los Angeles.
"We love to travel. We were together for only a year, but we managed to visit France, Holland, Italy, Spain,” said Roblett.
They both love to eat and watch sports together. The couple even have their own food blog. Roblet said their relationship could last a very long time. But the controversial text message he sent put them at risk.
Roblet insists that by the word “moving”, which the officers found in the man’s phone, he meant during the holidays.
The officers continued to read his messages, and Roblett says they commented on his relationship.
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All this time, heartbroken Iglesia waited in the airport lounge until Rolett appeared. When he did not do this, she felt “scared” and “angry.”
After the interrogation, he was placed in a cramped cell with four other people. He added: “This was the worst thing I have ever seen. The toilet was literally a hole in the ground. ”
He did not eat, did not take a shower and did not sleep because of the bright light.
The next morning, Roblet spoke to the British ambassador and paid 700 pounds for the flight back to Heathrow with a stop in Dublin. In the plane he was put in handcuffs.
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Returning to the UK, he went to a doctor and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It’s terrible, the love of my life is in another country and I can’t even see her,” he added.
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