HANDICAPPED APPLICANT'S ESTA REJECTION HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STOCKHOLM 000581

SIPDIS

STATE PLEASE PASS TO DHS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - CORRECTION OF PARA MARKINGS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CPAS CVIS CMGT PREL SW
SUBJECT: HANDICAPPED APPLICANT'S ESTA REJECTION HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR
BETTER INSTRUCTIONS

STOCKHOLM 00000581 001.4 OF 002



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A physically handicapped applicant was required
to apply for a tourist visa after having affirmatively answered to
the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) application
question regarding physical disorders. Her case, which was covered
by a national paper, highlights a weakness in the automatic nature
of the ESTA application process and the verbatim use of language
from the I94W landing card without readily available definitions or
assistance. END SUMMARY.

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FOR SWEDES, MUSCLE DISEASE IS A PHYSICAL DISORDER
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2. (SBU) On August 11, an applicant with a muscle disorder that
confines her to a wheel chair appeared at the Embassy to apply for a
tourist visa after having her ESTA application denied. A CLASS
check confirmed her suspicion that her ESTA application was denied
for having answered affirmatively to the question "Do you have a
communicable disease; physical or mental disorder; or are you a drug
abuser or addict?" Fluent in English and accustomed to informing
airlines and other service companies about her condition in order to
receive assistance or appropriate seating, the applicant read the
question as applicable to her condition and answered it accordingly.



3. It was only after being rejected that the applicant returned to
the ESTA website and, after scrolling through a laundry list of
instructions and definitions, discovered that the definition of
"physical disorder" - a condition "that may pose or has posed a
threat to [one's] property, safety or welfare or that of others" -
probably did not apply to her physical handicap. Nevertheless, she
was unable to simply try again. NOTE: Post is aware that applicants
may reapply for an ESTA after ten days have past. END NOTE.

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INCIDENT TAILOR MADE FOR PRESS COVERAGE
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4. Fortunately, the applicant was not scheduled to fly for another
week, though because she was rejected on a Friday afternoon, she
suffered a certain amount of anxiety until she contacted the Embassy
the following Monday. Post then accommodated her with a special
appointment, apologizing for her troubles and explaining the pilot
nature of the program, while simultaneously dismantling the
fingerprint scanner so that she could reach them from her wheel
chair. Post also couriered her visa back to her hometown the next
day to ensure she made her flight.


5. Unfortunately and completely inadvertently, the applicant's visa
appointment coincided with Post's ESTA briefing for some 40 members
of the Swedish travel industry. While clearing security at the
Embassy entrance, these guests met the applicant in her wheel chair,
and were primed to press our DHS guest speaker regarding the ESTA
ineligibility questions. By the weekend, the applicant's experience
had made its way to Sweden's national newspaper, Expressen. Post
had been contacted by the paper to provide a response in advance and
the paper did note that applicant felt she had received sympathetic
and professional service, along with a promise from the Embassy to
follow-up.


6. Nevertheless, the simple facts of the story along with a picture
of the applicant in her wheel chair provided a stark contrast to our
outreach efforts to characterize ESTA as a convenient and simple
security measure. As the applicant, who lived 200 kilometers away,
noted, what would have happened had she only 72 hours in advance and
lived in the far north of Sweden? Will other handicapped applicants
who answer similarly also be forced to spend money and time on
travel to the Embassy and the visa interview? Do physical or mental
disorders such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's (eventually terminal)
qualify as threats to one's safety and welfare?

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DEFINITIONS SHOUD BE CLEARER AND READILY AVAILABLE
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7. This incident is in many ways a worst case scenario and
underscores an unavoidable weakness in such an automated system.
Had the applicant answered the same question on her I94W on her
flight to the United States, she most likely could have received
guidance from the airline staff and in any case from the CBP officer
at passport control, and would have entered the United States visa
free. While Post recognizes that it would be impossible to
implement a "live review" of every ESTA rejection to avoid similar
situations, clearer instructions and/or definitions need to be made
available for each ineligibility question. Verbatim translations of
the I94 landing card questions can be much more daunting when there

STOCKHOLM 00000581 002.4 OF 002


is no one around to ask for assistance. One solution would be to
either provide expanded definitions of ineligibility terms on the
same web page, perhaps via hyperlinks on phrases such as
"communicable diseases, physical or mental disorders." Another
option would be to open a new window upon any affirmative answer to
an ineligibility question that would lead to a series of more
detailed questions as to the nature of the disorder or
ineligibility.


8. COMMENT: It is perhaps a truism to note that cultural contexts
will always influence how questions are understood and answered. In
Sweden, there is a tendency to speak directly, and to answer
literally and honestly, as did this qualified applicant. She also
accepted our explanation that ESTA was in its pilot stage and that
problems such as this would only become apparent through some real
life feedback, which is the purpose of this cable. We do not expect
a long line of handicapped applicants to form outside of the Embassy
once ESTA becomes mandatory. However, it takes very few instances
such as this to create a similarly ugly perception, and thus hope
these or similar recommendations will quickly be implemented. END
COMMENT.

SILVERMAN