Well, It is not every day that a person claims himself/herself to be terrorist. A 29-year-old cancer patient named Mandie Stevenson had to postpone her dream trip to New York after she accidentally ticked herself as a ‘terrorist’ on her visa waiver form. It is reported that Mandie was dying to visit the New York City when her plans were subdued as she claimed herself to be engaged in criminal activities. According to a BBC report, Mandie Stevenson made the mistake while filling an online application that asked her whether she was ‘seeking’ or ever engaged in ‘terrorist activities or genocide’.
The lady didn’t even realize that she had marked herself as a terrorist but when her application was rejected, Stevenson realized that she has made a blunder. The lady, who was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in 2015, thought that it would be easy to mend the mistake however, the rejection of the application meant that Stevenson had to postpone her plan to New York, which according to the same report was her ‘dream break’. On the contrary, she had to fly to the US embassy in London to prove that she was not a security threat.
After multiple intense interviews, Stevenson was granted a full Visa. But she was also informed by the US authorities that there was no guarantee that the Visa would arrive before her flight. Stevenson, who hails from Scotland, was also advised to rebook her trip to a later date.
“At first I thought it was a bad dream and then I realized what I had done,” she told BBC on the show Mornings with Stephen Jardine. The mistake cost her over £800 (Rs. 75,589) to rearrange the trip for the next month. Stevenson, who was filling the form on The Esta (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), was asked a question that read, “Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide?”
She explained how the mistake probably happened. “I believe I ticked ‘no’ and then when I have scrolled down to click confirm, I think it has nudged and moved. That’s the story I’m sticking to,” she told during the show.
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