Could you be denied entry to a country because your heritage and name sound Turkish?
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Coming from a Turkish heritage and having a Turkish-sounding name (I don't speak the language), could I be refused entry into a country such as America?
I attached a very recent article about a man being refused into the USA even though having the correct paperwork.
Metro newspaper
Although they were never told why they were denied entry, Natasha suspects it was because of her husband’s Turkish name and origin. Ali is British, however, and holds a British passport.
‘I am in utter shock that this has happened,’ she said. ‘We had just got married, we were on our way to our honeymoon as excited as anything, and never expected that we would be deported.
Also reported in Time magazine
air-travel visa-refusals entry
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
Coming from a Turkish heritage and having a Turkish-sounding name (I don't speak the language), could I be refused entry into a country such as America?
I attached a very recent article about a man being refused into the USA even though having the correct paperwork.
Metro newspaper
Although they were never told why they were denied entry, Natasha suspects it was because of her husband’s Turkish name and origin. Ali is British, however, and holds a British passport.
‘I am in utter shock that this has happened,’ she said. ‘We had just got married, we were on our way to our honeymoon as excited as anything, and never expected that we would be deported.
Also reported in Time magazine
air-travel visa-refusals entry
2
I don't think that immigration officials have to justify their decisions, particularly as we have recently seen in many cases, American immigration officials. So, yes, you could be denied entry, even though the chances might be small. Though, with what could be perceived as a more 'muslim' sounding name, your chances might be a bit higher.
– MastaBaba
Nov 3 '17 at 23:57
1
Turkish Americans, Thousands immigrate every year. I expect many more visit.
– RedGrittyBrick
Nov 5 '17 at 11:05
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
up vote
5
down vote
favorite
Coming from a Turkish heritage and having a Turkish-sounding name (I don't speak the language), could I be refused entry into a country such as America?
I attached a very recent article about a man being refused into the USA even though having the correct paperwork.
Metro newspaper
Although they were never told why they were denied entry, Natasha suspects it was because of her husband’s Turkish name and origin. Ali is British, however, and holds a British passport.
‘I am in utter shock that this has happened,’ she said. ‘We had just got married, we were on our way to our honeymoon as excited as anything, and never expected that we would be deported.
Also reported in Time magazine
air-travel visa-refusals entry
Coming from a Turkish heritage and having a Turkish-sounding name (I don't speak the language), could I be refused entry into a country such as America?
I attached a very recent article about a man being refused into the USA even though having the correct paperwork.
Metro newspaper
Although they were never told why they were denied entry, Natasha suspects it was because of her husband’s Turkish name and origin. Ali is British, however, and holds a British passport.
‘I am in utter shock that this has happened,’ she said. ‘We had just got married, we were on our way to our honeymoon as excited as anything, and never expected that we would be deported.
Also reported in Time magazine
air-travel visa-refusals entry
air-travel visa-refusals entry
edited Nov 5 '17 at 17:54
asked Nov 3 '17 at 21:38
user67204
2
I don't think that immigration officials have to justify their decisions, particularly as we have recently seen in many cases, American immigration officials. So, yes, you could be denied entry, even though the chances might be small. Though, with what could be perceived as a more 'muslim' sounding name, your chances might be a bit higher.
– MastaBaba
Nov 3 '17 at 23:57
1
Turkish Americans, Thousands immigrate every year. I expect many more visit.
– RedGrittyBrick
Nov 5 '17 at 11:05
add a comment |Â
2
I don't think that immigration officials have to justify their decisions, particularly as we have recently seen in many cases, American immigration officials. So, yes, you could be denied entry, even though the chances might be small. Though, with what could be perceived as a more 'muslim' sounding name, your chances might be a bit higher.
– MastaBaba
Nov 3 '17 at 23:57
1
Turkish Americans, Thousands immigrate every year. I expect many more visit.
– RedGrittyBrick
Nov 5 '17 at 11:05
2
2
I don't think that immigration officials have to justify their decisions, particularly as we have recently seen in many cases, American immigration officials. So, yes, you could be denied entry, even though the chances might be small. Though, with what could be perceived as a more 'muslim' sounding name, your chances might be a bit higher.
– MastaBaba
Nov 3 '17 at 23:57
I don't think that immigration officials have to justify their decisions, particularly as we have recently seen in many cases, American immigration officials. So, yes, you could be denied entry, even though the chances might be small. Though, with what could be perceived as a more 'muslim' sounding name, your chances might be a bit higher.
– MastaBaba
Nov 3 '17 at 23:57
1
1
Turkish Americans, Thousands immigrate every year. I expect many more visit.
– RedGrittyBrick
Nov 5 '17 at 11:05
Turkish Americans, Thousands immigrate every year. I expect many more visit.
– RedGrittyBrick
Nov 5 '17 at 11:05
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
8
down vote
accepted
In a nutshell, no, the USA will not deny entry because of your name. The article (which, incidentally, is from a free newspaper with low journalistic standards) even admits that the couple was not told why they were refused entry, and that the "Turkish name" thing is just the wife's theory:
Although they were never told why they were denied entry, Natasha suspects it was because of her husband’s Turkish name and origin.
The refusal stamp references INA 217, which in turns means that they may have been denied entry for any of the reasons in Section 212.
So what was the actual reason? Given that we have near-zero data to go on, it's difficult to speculate, but presumably the story they told at Immigration didn't match up with what they said when applying for the visa, or they raised suspicion that they were planning to work and/or overstay in the US. (You will also note that Section 212, which is the complete list of reasons why you may be denied entry to the US, says nothing about having a "Muslim name" or anything remotely similar.)
answered Nov 3 '17 at 22:00
jpatokal
110k17332487
1
google.co.uk/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4874047/… i read this article his first request for a visa was denied but the second one was not and he had all the correct documents upon arrival. Perhaps its because he was denied the visa first and something along them lines.
– user67204
Nov 3 '17 at 22:07
3
But overall, I wasn’t convinced does it. And you are not authorized to request a more specific reason from the officer. His manager might be, but he wouldn’t care. There is no formal way to force them to give a clear cut rand provable eason (as there can often be no clear cut and provable reason)
– Aganju
Nov 4 '17 at 3:25
3
@jpatokal For immigration purposes, the justification often boils down to not much more than 'my gut feeling tells me not to trust you' and the gut feeling can of course be influenced by the assumed origin of an applicant's name.
– Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
Nov 4 '17 at 9:33
2
I know someone who's name is exactly one letter different from one you would see in an ISIS related headline and he never has any problems.
– Johns-305
Nov 4 '17 at 18:41
2
I’d say that obviously there won’t be any official rules about names, but it would be foolish to deny that a scary-sounding name couldn’t possibly have an effect on the admittance or refusal.
– Sebastiaan van den Broek
Nov 5 '17 at 11:38
 |Â
show 5 more comments
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
8
down vote
accepted
In a nutshell, no, the USA will not deny entry because of your name. The article (which, incidentally, is from a free newspaper with low journalistic standards) even admits that the couple was not told why they were refused entry, and that the "Turkish name" thing is just the wife's theory:
Although they were never told why they were denied entry, Natasha suspects it was because of her husband’s Turkish name and origin.
The refusal stamp references INA 217, which in turns means that they may have been denied entry for any of the reasons in Section 212.
So what was the actual reason? Given that we have near-zero data to go on, it's difficult to speculate, but presumably the story they told at Immigration didn't match up with what they said when applying for the visa, or they raised suspicion that they were planning to work and/or overstay in the US. (You will also note that Section 212, which is the complete list of reasons why you may be denied entry to the US, says nothing about having a "Muslim name" or anything remotely similar.)
answered Nov 3 '17 at 22:00
jpatokal
110k17332487
1
google.co.uk/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4874047/… i read this article his first request for a visa was denied but the second one was not and he had all the correct documents upon arrival. Perhaps its because he was denied the visa first and something along them lines.
– user67204
Nov 3 '17 at 22:07
3
But overall, I wasn’t convinced does it. And you are not authorized to request a more specific reason from the officer. His manager might be, but he wouldn’t care. There is no formal way to force them to give a clear cut rand provable eason (as there can often be no clear cut and provable reason)
– Aganju
Nov 4 '17 at 3:25
3
@jpatokal For immigration purposes, the justification often boils down to not much more than 'my gut feeling tells me not to trust you' and the gut feeling can of course be influenced by the assumed origin of an applicant's name.
– Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
Nov 4 '17 at 9:33
2
I know someone who's name is exactly one letter different from one you would see in an ISIS related headline and he never has any problems.
– Johns-305
Nov 4 '17 at 18:41
2
I’d say that obviously there won’t be any official rules about names, but it would be foolish to deny that a scary-sounding name couldn’t possibly have an effect on the admittance or refusal.
– Sebastiaan van den Broek
Nov 5 '17 at 11:38
 |Â
show 5 more comments
up vote
8
down vote
accepted
In a nutshell, no, the USA will not deny entry because of your name. The article (which, incidentally, is from a free newspaper with low journalistic standards) even admits that the couple was not told why they were refused entry, and that the "Turkish name" thing is just the wife's theory:
Although they were never told why they were denied entry, Natasha suspects it was because of her husband’s Turkish name and origin.
The refusal stamp references INA 217, which in turns means that they may have been denied entry for any of the reasons in Section 212.
So what was the actual reason? Given that we have near-zero data to go on, it's difficult to speculate, but presumably the story they told at Immigration didn't match up with what they said when applying for the visa, or they raised suspicion that they were planning to work and/or overstay in the US. (You will also note that Section 212, which is the complete list of reasons why you may be denied entry to the US, says nothing about having a "Muslim name" or anything remotely similar.)
answered Nov 3 '17 at 22:00
jpatokal
110k17332487
1
google.co.uk/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4874047/… i read this article his first request for a visa was denied but the second one was not and he had all the correct documents upon arrival. Perhaps its because he was denied the visa first and something along them lines.
– user67204
Nov 3 '17 at 22:07
3
But overall, I wasn’t convinced does it. And you are not authorized to request a more specific reason from the officer. His manager might be, but he wouldn’t care. There is no formal way to force them to give a clear cut rand provable eason (as there can often be no clear cut and provable reason)
– Aganju
Nov 4 '17 at 3:25
3
@jpatokal For immigration purposes, the justification often boils down to not much more than 'my gut feeling tells me not to trust you' and the gut feeling can of course be influenced by the assumed origin of an applicant's name.
– Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
Nov 4 '17 at 9:33
2
I know someone who's name is exactly one letter different from one you would see in an ISIS related headline and he never has any problems.
– Johns-305
Nov 4 '17 at 18:41
2
I’d say that obviously there won’t be any official rules about names, but it would be foolish to deny that a scary-sounding name couldn’t possibly have an effect on the admittance or refusal.
– Sebastiaan van den Broek
Nov 5 '17 at 11:38
 |Â
show 5 more comments
up vote
8
down vote
accepted
up vote
8
down vote
accepted
In a nutshell, no, the USA will not deny entry because of your name. The article (which, incidentally, is from a free newspaper with low journalistic standards) even admits that the couple was not told why they were refused entry, and that the "Turkish name" thing is just the wife's theory:
Although they were never told why they were denied entry, Natasha suspects it was because of her husband’s Turkish name and origin.
The refusal stamp references INA 217, which in turns means that they may have been denied entry for any of the reasons in Section 212.
So what was the actual reason? Given that we have near-zero data to go on, it's difficult to speculate, but presumably the story they told at Immigration didn't match up with what they said when applying for the visa, or they raised suspicion that they were planning to work and/or overstay in the US. (You will also note that Section 212, which is the complete list of reasons why you may be denied entry to the US, says nothing about having a "Muslim name" or anything remotely similar.)
answered Nov 3 '17 at 22:00
jpatokal
110k17332487
In a nutshell, no, the USA will not deny entry because of your name. The article (which, incidentally, is from a free newspaper with low journalistic standards) even admits that the couple was not told why they were refused entry, and that the "Turkish name" thing is just the wife's theory:
Although they were never told why they were denied entry, Natasha suspects it was because of her husband’s Turkish name and origin.
The refusal stamp references INA 217, which in turns means that they may have been denied entry for any of the reasons in Section 212.
So what was the actual reason? Given that we have near-zero data to go on, it's difficult to speculate, but presumably the story they told at Immigration didn't match up with what they said when applying for the visa, or they raised suspicion that they were planning to work and/or overstay in the US. (You will also note that Section 212, which is the complete list of reasons why you may be denied entry to the US, says nothing about having a "Muslim name" or anything remotely similar.)
answered Nov 3 '17 at 22:00
jpatokal
110k17332487
answered Nov 3 '17 at 22:00
jpatokal
110k17332487
answered Nov 3 '17 at 22:00
jpatokal
110k17332487
answered Nov 3 '17 at 22:00
jpatokal
110k17332487
110k17332487
1
google.co.uk/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4874047/… i read this article his first request for a visa was denied but the second one was not and he had all the correct documents upon arrival. Perhaps its because he was denied the visa first and something along them lines.
– user67204
Nov 3 '17 at 22:07
3
But overall, I wasn’t convinced does it. And you are not authorized to request a more specific reason from the officer. His manager might be, but he wouldn’t care. There is no formal way to force them to give a clear cut rand provable eason (as there can often be no clear cut and provable reason)
– Aganju
Nov 4 '17 at 3:25
3
@jpatokal For immigration purposes, the justification often boils down to not much more than 'my gut feeling tells me not to trust you' and the gut feeling can of course be influenced by the assumed origin of an applicant's name.
– Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
Nov 4 '17 at 9:33
2
I know someone who's name is exactly one letter different from one you would see in an ISIS related headline and he never has any problems.
– Johns-305
Nov 4 '17 at 18:41
2
I’d say that obviously there won’t be any official rules about names, but it would be foolish to deny that a scary-sounding name couldn’t possibly have an effect on the admittance or refusal.
– Sebastiaan van den Broek
Nov 5 '17 at 11:38
 |Â
show 5 more comments
1
google.co.uk/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4874047/… i read this article his first request for a visa was denied but the second one was not and he had all the correct documents upon arrival. Perhaps its because he was denied the visa first and something along them lines.
– user67204
Nov 3 '17 at 22:07
3
But overall, I wasn’t convinced does it. And you are not authorized to request a more specific reason from the officer. His manager might be, but he wouldn’t care. There is no formal way to force them to give a clear cut rand provable eason (as there can often be no clear cut and provable reason)
– Aganju
Nov 4 '17 at 3:25
3
@jpatokal For immigration purposes, the justification often boils down to not much more than 'my gut feeling tells me not to trust you' and the gut feeling can of course be influenced by the assumed origin of an applicant's name.
– Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
Nov 4 '17 at 9:33
2
I know someone who's name is exactly one letter different from one you would see in an ISIS related headline and he never has any problems.
– Johns-305
Nov 4 '17 at 18:41
2
I’d say that obviously there won’t be any official rules about names, but it would be foolish to deny that a scary-sounding name couldn’t possibly have an effect on the admittance or refusal.
– Sebastiaan van den Broek
Nov 5 '17 at 11:38
1
1
google.co.uk/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4874047/… i read this article his first request for a visa was denied but the second one was not and he had all the correct documents upon arrival. Perhaps its because he was denied the visa first and something along them lines.
– user67204
Nov 3 '17 at 22:07
google.co.uk/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/4874047/… i read this article his first request for a visa was denied but the second one was not and he had all the correct documents upon arrival. Perhaps its because he was denied the visa first and something along them lines.
– user67204
Nov 3 '17 at 22:07
3
3
But overall, I wasn’t convinced does it. And you are not authorized to request a more specific reason from the officer. His manager might be, but he wouldn’t care. There is no formal way to force them to give a clear cut rand provable eason (as there can often be no clear cut and provable reason)
– Aganju
Nov 4 '17 at 3:25
But overall, I wasn’t convinced does it. And you are not authorized to request a more specific reason from the officer. His manager might be, but he wouldn’t care. There is no formal way to force them to give a clear cut rand provable eason (as there can often be no clear cut and provable reason)
– Aganju
Nov 4 '17 at 3:25
3
3
@jpatokal For immigration purposes, the justification often boils down to not much more than 'my gut feeling tells me not to trust you' and the gut feeling can of course be influenced by the assumed origin of an applicant's name.
– Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
Nov 4 '17 at 9:33
@jpatokal For immigration purposes, the justification often boils down to not much more than 'my gut feeling tells me not to trust you' and the gut feeling can of course be influenced by the assumed origin of an applicant's name.
– Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
Nov 4 '17 at 9:33
2
2
I know someone who's name is exactly one letter different from one you would see in an ISIS related headline and he never has any problems.
– Johns-305
Nov 4 '17 at 18:41
I know someone who's name is exactly one letter different from one you would see in an ISIS related headline and he never has any problems.
– Johns-305
Nov 4 '17 at 18:41
2
2
I’d say that obviously there won’t be any official rules about names, but it would be foolish to deny that a scary-sounding name couldn’t possibly have an effect on the admittance or refusal.
– Sebastiaan van den Broek
Nov 5 '17 at 11:38
I’d say that obviously there won’t be any official rules about names, but it would be foolish to deny that a scary-sounding name couldn’t possibly have an effect on the admittance or refusal.
– Sebastiaan van den Broek
Nov 5 '17 at 11:38
 |Â
show 5 more comments
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2
I don't think that immigration officials have to justify their decisions, particularly as we have recently seen in many cases, American immigration officials. So, yes, you could be denied entry, even though the chances might be small. Though, with what could be perceived as a more 'muslim' sounding name, your chances might be a bit higher.
– MastaBaba
Nov 3 '17 at 23:57
1
Turkish Americans, Thousands immigrate every year. I expect many more visit.
– RedGrittyBrick
Nov 5 '17 at 11:05