Exclusive: Cloudi Saliba had her bags packed, passport ready and was about to sit on a plane for nine hours to Hawaii to visit her husband’s family.

“I purchased the ESTA and it was approved immediately in August 2024,” she said.

“They don’t have an expiry for two years so it still would have been valid all the way until August next year.”

After flying from Perth, Saliba checked into her Hawaiian Airlines flight in Sydney.

This is when the confusing saga began.

As she headed to the gate, an unwelcome email arrived in her inbox.

“And it says ‘there’s been a change to your ESTA visa,” Saliba said.

After checking the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) app, Saliba saw her travel to the US was no longer “authorised”.

It baffled even the airport staff in Sydney.

“No-one at the airport could explain why it was revoked, because they’d never dealt with anything like that before, they were as confused as I was,” Saliba said.

“I called the CBP and was told ‘we are constantly re-vetting visa applications’.

“They told me that sometimes that can be revoked for reasons that they cannot tell me.”

She tried to apply for a new ESTA but was instantly denied.

Saliba had one more option: apply for the B-2 visa, which is for travellers who want to enter the US temporarily for tourism. But this could take months.

“You have to wait over 100 days even for an appointment so there’s no way I could’ve gone and it can cost hundreds … so expensive,” she added.

Her holiday to Hawaii was ruined and the reunion with Sweeney’s family was derailed.

“I [was] beyond disappointed… I don’t know why this happened,” she added.

Saliba said she has no criminal history and has never breached her ESTA visa waiver conditions in the past.

She suspects there could be a few different reasons – one being that she is married to an American man and US immigration could be concerned she may “overstay”.

”But I’ve stayed three months at a time three times on two separate ESTAs in the past (which is completely allowed),” she added.

Saliba tried to resolve the issue with the Department of Homeland Security Traveller Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP).

In response, the Department of Homeland Security told Saliba that complaints can arise because the traveller’s “name and personal information is similar to the name and personal information of another person” who is of interest to federal or state authorities.

DHS TRIP could not confirm or deny any information about Saliba and why her ESTA was stripped.

But she was told “we have made any corrections to records that our inquiries determined were necessary”.

Saliba can use her DHS TRIP reference number for future travel to the US to prevent any misidenficiations.

However, smooth travel on an ESTA is not guaranteed under this redress.

“ESTA travel is a privilege but is also run by AI bots, so any deviation in their data can cause an ESTA to be refused,” Vincenty said.

“Doing a formal visa application gives the applicant a chance to present documents or data to correct their immigration record at the consulate level.”

The Smartraveller advice for Australians heading to the US warns that “entry requirements are strict”.

“US authorities have broad powers to decide if you’re eligible to enter and may determine that you are inadmissible for any reason under US law,” the advice reads.

Thankfully, Saliba and her husband were able to get flight credit from Hawaiian Airlines for their $3000 flights.

And they decided to make some lemonade out of lemons: a trip to Bali.

“I went to Bali instead because it we really wanted to go somewhere, I was so bummed out,” she added.

“I will try to travel to the US again. You can try to apply again, but each time it’s random and I did try to apply again at the airport and they denied it immediately.”

Immigration lawyer Sherwin Noorian said this issue sometimes impacts non-US citizens attempting to re-enter the US.

“Customs and Border Protection relies on various data sources such as flight manifests to record departures from the US,” he said.

“At times, they fail to record departures for foreign nationals and this may result in an ‘overstay’ being recorded for the traveller that is not accurate.”