I know of a bunch of cases where Iranian Swedes got ESTAs revoked, and the stream of them coming into the US Embassy in Stockholm has made the waiting room's visa applicants have quite a different look than during the weeks/months/years prior to this wave of "VWP enhancements".

Most Swedes who get revoked ESTAs do get notification of revocation; but some of the notifications of ESTA revocation don't take place until within days, hours or even minutes of scheduled flight departure that has been booked. And sometimes the revocations even take place after check-in but before flight has departed. I've not yet been told of an Iranian Swede having an ESTA revoked in-flight, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened/happens. Meanwhile, the irony is that personal secretary to POTUS is an Iranian-American with EU citizen relatives who are also now hit by this "enhancement". Oh the irony, given she landed the position as a result of her work for the National Security Council at the White House.

Well I'm only a citizen of one country which is not on that list and I've not been to any of the countries listed either so I'm guess I'm just being paranoid?

In another thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...artoum-15.html), I posted the following early this month
Well yesterday (Feb 25) I got an email from cbp advising me that "There has been an update to your ESTA Travel Authorization Status"
Checking on-line, it seems my ESTA, which had nearly a year still to run, has now been cancelled - on "Check ESTA Status" I get taken to the "Retrieve Individual Application" and the response "Application Expired".

I don't intend visiting the US until later in the year, so I will have plenty of time to apply for a visa; but I do hope it is approved as I have a daughter and son-in-law there whom I like to visit regularly.

Did you use that ex-KRT ticket to fly to or over the US?

Yes, the itinerary started KRT-AMM-JFK-YVR...

Well, that explains the ESTA revcation -- the US got the whole itinerary and they went back through their records of the last few years to figure out who had been to/through the newly-designated countries.

Yes, but in my case it went further than that:

• Person visited "bad country" in 2013 using Passport A (this fact gleaned from the PNR, which included travel to the USA)
• Passport A has since expired, and been replaced with Passport B
• Person has an ESTA on Passport C (a different nationality)
• On the ESTA Application, Person indicated he had Passport B, in addition to Passport C
• Therefore cancel ESTA on Passport C

Thanks pandaperth for letting us know, unwelcome as the news is.

I find it rather interesting (but not at all surprising) that the relevant data outlined two posts up was collated and used t invalidate the ESTA. At least pandaperth was notified and has time to apply for a visa.

Note the wait in Australia for those wanting to travel to the US without being able to get an ESTA (normally due to prior arrests etc) is over six months (even if the incident was 10+ years ago) and it requires a consular visit.

I looked up the interview/processing times for the US Consulate in Perth. They are stated to be two calendar days for an interview and two business days for processing the application.
From where are you getting your figures moa999?

will flying through IKA but not leaving the airport or going through customs effect me using the VWP?

Just having Iran on the same ticket as USA could cause problems visiting USA on ESTA in future. They can't differentiate between airside transit and visit.

In retaliation for the US VWP "enhancements", the EU may raise the issue of a one-year suspension of visa waivers for US citizens visiting the EU; in other words, EU/Schengen countries may require US citizens using a US passport for travel to the EU/Schengen area to have a visa prior to travel to the EU/Schengen area. What a bad development that would be for those who care about the freedom of movement (of otherwise free and currently admissible persons) not being further restricted.

I wouldn't be surprised if the EC pushes for an EU/Schengen version of ESTA. That wouldn't be a good development either AFAIC.

Indeed, from ticketed PNR surveillance, the USG can't so easily tell the difference between an airside transit and a non-airside transit connection. But the USG can tell the difference between (i) a connection and (ii) a stopover/origin/destination.