Boy, 9, has Disney World trip ruined after US immigration rules him a threat

That was close . Good to see the feds are on their toes .

A nine-year-old boy's dream trip to Disney World was ruined when US immigration officials ruled he was a threat.

A nine-year-old boy's dream trip to Disney World was ruined when US immigration officials ruled he was a threat Photo: GETTY






9:56AM GMT 14 Jan 2011

Civil servants Kathy and Edward Francis planned to surprise their grandson Micah Strachan with the holiday of a lifetime to Florida in February.

They were only going to tell Micah about it when they took him to the airport on February 19 for the flight to the US.

They had already spent more than £1,500 on plane tickets and had been organising the trip for months.

But this week US Embassy officials denied the schoolboy a visa to enter the US.

They said there was a risk he would not leave the US at the end of his holiday and refused his application under Section 214 (b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Micah was born in Britain and has lived in Middlesex all his life with his mum Claudia Lewis.

He holds a South African passport because his grandparents Kathy and Edward, who have lived and worked in Britain since 1990, only got him a South African passport.
They are originally from South Africa.
A letter from Micah's primary school was included in his visa application confirming he attended the school.
But the US Embassy's rejection letter to Micah said: "Because you either did not demonstrate strong ties outside the United States or were not able to demonstrate that your intended activities in the US would be consistent with the visa status, you are ineligible."
His grandmother Kathy, from Brixton, South London, said: "It was going to be a total surprise. He would have loved it.
"We feel so deflated by the whole experience.
"I want to know why he would be deprived of the holiday of a lifetime.
"It's crazy to think that he wouldn't leave the country. This is causing severe stress on the family. I am going to fight this."
Tessa Jowell, Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, said: "I was very concerned to learn about the situation facing my constituents and of course understand the distress the decision has caused.
"I have asked the American authorities to look again at this and very much hope they will feel able to reconsider their decision."
Meanwhile, the family have written to US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to ask for an explanation of the decision.
A US Embassy spokesman said it was "not policy" to comment on individual immigration cases.

I smell a fish.

Why would they have obtained a South African passport for the child when he was born and lives in the U.K.? Do the grandparents have custody of the child?

I'm going to bet there is more to this story that what is in the newspaper.

DaveNay said:

I smell a fish.

Why would they have obtained a South African passport for the child when he was born and lives in the U.K.? Do the grandparents have custody of the child?

I'm going to bet there is more to this story that what is in the newspaper.

Click to expand...

I'm sure there is a lot more to the story , but this is all i can find . Its all over the net but it all leads back to this article . I have no other details to go by .

That being said if they really wanted to make the trip they should have just flew into mexico & walked across the friggen border.
But They at least attempted to do it the right way .

I just seen this comment below posted elsewhere that I kind of agree with .

"They are probably worried because, the last time this happened, the kid ended up staying, and eventually became elected President.

With no real ties to a single nation, he could easily get himself a Certificate of Live Birth from Hawaii."

Cowboy said:

I just seen this comment below posted elsewhere that I kind of agree with .

"They are probably worried because, the last time this happened, the kid ended up staying, and eventually became elected President.

With no real ties to a single nation, he could easily get himself a Certificate of Live Birth from Hawaii."

Click to expand...

Point well taken, Cowboy. I think the State Department acted correctly. We cannot have another illegal alien with his socialist and communist connections to occupy the white house.

They didn't rule that the 9 year old was a threat. My guess is that INS is concerned that he might not be returned to his parents in the UK.

In the USA, minors' passport applications must be signed by both parents for this very reason. I agree with Mr. Nay. There's more to this story than is being told by the cited article.

I have looked around and this story has very little info.....i agree something is not right on the families side of things and they are attention seeking for maybe a freebie trip....the fact their Labour MP Tessa Jowell is taking an interest tells me the story stinks as she was part of the corrupt Government we just ousted

It is the Job or the US embassy to reject applications and for me to respect that judgement....pissing and moaning to the press won't help if they feel hard done by them follow procedure and re-apply,and maybe get the lad his British passport as this is what he needs.

Something is not right here. There are a lot of questions that can be asked about this whole episode but there's a simple answer. Take him to Disney World in Paris, France. He doesn't need a passport. Adapt and overcome.

Just book him on a cruise to Tampa. Then it is a short drive to Disney and nobody will care.