ESTA Status has come back Travel Not Authorized
I am wondering if someone is able to provide some clarification to my situation/questions below. I have read numerous articles online but if anyone has any insight or answers, I would be grateful. I am planning on ringing ESTA today about my situation.
First for some context - My dad and I are both Australian passport holders. He is currently residing in Vietnam and I am in Egypt. We are planning to travel to the USA September 2021 to San Francisco (SFO). We will be on different flights but will meet at SFO. At SFO, we are planning to get vaccinated with J&J and then fly to Las Vegas to spend two weeks before flying out of the US. Currently, at SFO they offer J&J vaccine. My understanding is that this is available for any tourist arriving in the USA? Can someone confirm this please?
I have applied for our ESTA visa (twice for my dad) and once for me and the status has come back all three times TRAVEL NOT AUTHORIZED. Can someone explain why they think this is happening? There is nothing bad on our application. Has ESTA stop issuing visas due to COVID? Are tourists not allowed into the USA because they are not considered National Interest Exception? The ESTA application does not ask for reason for travel. Are Australian passport holders not allowed to enter the USA due to COVID? I have contacted the embassy here and they said " Routine visa services are currently suspended at the United States Embassy in Cairo per instructions from the State Department regarding operations during the COVID-19 crisis."
Any insight that you have will be greatly appreciated. Thank You!
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/comments/p5ezyk/esta_status_has_come_back_travel_not_authorized/