Family face US holiday ban

A SCOTS family fear they may have to cancel their dream holiday to Disneyworld because tough new visa rules mean that father Kevin McKay’s speeding tickets classify him as a possible security risk.

The US security crackdown means that the family, from Dundee, now face losing 3,000 on a non-refundable holiday to Florida because of the eight-year-old speeding fines.

Mr McKay, 38, a company service manager, has been told by US immigration officials that he will have to provide proof of his speeding fines, and face a four-hour visa inquiry in London before his case can be considered.

US immigration has refused to back down despite the fact that the McKays - Kevin, wife Niki and five-year-old twins Corey and Susan - had a holiday in America last year.

Mr McKay said: "This is Mickey Mouse bureaucracy gone mad. I’ve been told I may be considered an undesirable alien because of two eight-year-old speeding fines. If I don’t stump up hundreds of pounds to get hold of my speeding records and fly down to London to argue my case, my family will be beside themselves."

He added: "We’ve been to Florida before without problems. But now I’m being treated as a threat to national security."

The family already has spent a small fortune calling the US embassy visa hotline, charged at 1.30 a minute, to get advice.

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in London said: "We do require cases like this to book a special appointment with our staff in London where we will hear each case.

"We will require court papers and passports, and after the hearing the applicant will be informed of our decision about a visa. If a visa has not been granted, the person concerned will not be allowed entry to the US."

At the present time, UK citizens with no convictions can travel to the US on a visa waiver scheme. But that will change from October 2004, when US officials will demand visas or new biometric passports that have not yet been introduced in the UK.

The travel industry already is experiencing problems. A spokeswoman for the Association of British Travel Agents said: "We have been getting concerned calls, and the matter will become steadily worse until the new biometric passports are introduced in the UK in October 2005."