American Embassy officials in London summoned a three-month-old baby for an interview after a visa form blunder by his grandfather identified him as a terrorist.
Harvey Kenyon-Cairns was scheduled to fly to Orlando, Florida for his first overseas family holiday when he was asked to appear before the embassy.
His grandfather Paul Kenyon mistakenly ticked yes on the Esta form section asking “Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide?” reports The Guardian.
“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,” said the 62-year-old, who realised the mistake when his grandson’s travel was refused.
Baby Harvey was taken from his home in Cheshire to London. The round trip took about 10 hours.
It takes about nine-and-a-half-hours to fly from Manchester to Orlando.
“They (US officials) did not appear to have a sense of humour over it at all and could not see the funny side,” Harvey's grandfather said.
“He (Harvey) has 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.”
Kenyon wondered why anyone would admit on visa form that they were terrorists.
The embassy officials were satisfied with the interview and did no longer consider the three-month-old as a threat to the US but the blunder had cost Kenyon an extra £3,000 and forced some of his family members to miss flights.
“It was a very expensive mistake, but I was hoping the US Embassy would realise that it was just a simple error without us having to jump through all the hoops,” said Kenyon.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
