Young Harvey Kenyon-Cairns had been due to fly to Orlando, Florida with his parents and grandparents. His grandfather Paul Kenyon filled out his ESTA visa waiver application form, but made a mistake.
When he got the question of the form which asks, "Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide?" Kenyon ticked yes instead of no.
As a result, Harvey, his mother Kaye and his grandfather Paul traveled with him on a ten-hour round trip from their home in Poynton, Cheshire, to the embassy in London's Grosvenor Square.
Hearing about Harvey's story, users of social networks were astonished that the embassy required him to visit in person for the interview, despite being aware that he is just three months old and obviously incapable of terrorism.
His grandfather joked that Harvey "has sabotaged quite a few nappies in his time."
Baby:Goo goo gaa gaa bla bla..
— iftikhar naveed (@Tolstoy2ndY) 17 апреля 2017 г.
Emb:Well the dialect does suggest international terrorist overtones..🤔😃 https://t.co/i7RgZrMQVu
Grandfather accidentally ticks "yes" on baby's visa application asking about terrorist intentions. The rest is a dystopian Seinfeld episode. https://t.co/GRpJBy5zyy
— Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) 17 апреля 2017 г.
#ESTA seems to have worked and managed to find a terrorist: https://t.co/ptv0M2wFc6
— Braden Walters (@meoblast001) 17 апреля 2017 г.
"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," Kenyon told the Guardian.
Others agreed with a point made by the child's grandfather Paul Kenyon and criticized the inclusion of a question asking whether the visitor had ever engaged in terrorism.
"If you were a terrorist, I suspect you’d not be ticking yes on the ESTA form anyway," the baby's grandfather added.
Why does the US even ask if you’re going to be a terrorist? No good can come of that question, ever. https://t.co/OVIEZgjaKv
— Mark Newton (@NewtonMark) 17 апреля 2017 г.
Its just ridiculous that the US embassy forms have questions asking visa applicants whether they seek to engage in terrorism, genocide… https://t.co/AAot8SmUzK
— Topkat (@wclemo) 16 апреля 2017 г.