Hungarian man detained, searched, and deported from U.S. despite valid visa – UPDATE: Clarification
A Hungarian man was recently detained, searched, and deported upon arrival in the United States, despite holding a valid tourist visa. The incident, reported by 444.hu, shows growing concerns about the treatment of international travellers by U.S. border officials.
According to 444.hu’s report, the Hungarian traveller, who wished to remain anonymous, arrived at a major U.S. airport with plans to visit his aunt living in America. However, upon arrival, border officers questioned his intentions, examined his phone, and ultimately denied him entry. He was taken into custody, fingerprinted, and spent the night in detention before being placed on a return flight to Budapest.
Helping his aunt: Potential undeclared work?
According to the man’s account, officers grew suspicious after inspecting his phone and finding conversations in which he mentioned that he planned to help his aunt with some tasks during his visit. The authorities interpreted this as an indication of potential undeclared work, even though the man said he had no intention of violating his tourist visa’s conditions.
During the process, his phone was taken away for hours, his luggage was thoroughly searched, and he was not allowed to communicate freely. He reported that he was kept in a cold detention area, given a sandwich and a drink, and had to sleep on a bench overnight. The next morning, he was escorted back to a plane heading for Hungary—without ever being allowed to call his aunt or access legal support.
The U.S. authorities cited immigration rules in their decision, which allow them to deny entry to anyone suspected of intending to work without proper authorisation. Even though the man had a valid visa issued by the U.S. embassy, that document only permits him to board a plane—not guarantees entry. Final decisions are made by border agents at the port of entry.
The case, unfortunately, is not unique
This case is not unique. Hungarian travellers have increasingly reported similar treatment, especially since Hungary was removed from the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in 2023 over security concerns tied to the controversial Hungarian “simplified naturalisation” process.
While no official response has been issued by the U.S. Embassy or Hungarian foreign ministry in this particular case, the incident adds to the growing tension and uncertainty surrounding U.S.–Hungary travel relations.
UPDATE: Clarification
The man in question, in fact, was the holder of an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation), which is not a tourist visa. With ESTA, one cannot work (even remotely) from, nor help a family member with their business in the U.S. We apologise for the confusion our article may have caused.
Read also:
- Reason why US limits visa waiver for Hungarians: passport fraud, security threat
- Travelling from Hungary? Good news: Flights are now cheaper than last year across Europe!
Featured image: illustration, depositphotos.com
Seems the USA has learned a valuable lesson from Orban on how to receive foreign visitors… cold bench and all!
Amen.
An ESTA is not a “tourist visa”. It’s the equivalent of the recently introduced ETA system in the UK or the ETIAS that the idiots in Brussels have been failing to implement for the better part of a decade. It’s specifically for people who are traveling to the US without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program.
Outside of some narrow cases (ex. attending a business meeting or conference, concluding a deal, responding to a work email or two, etc.), it’s not permitted to work while in the US under the Visa Waiver Program. This includes working remotely for your IT job (as mentioned in the source article) or helping out your aunt with her cleaning business in exchange for a place to stay.
Aside from looking out for people planning to work illegally in the US, the Customs and Border Protection agents are looking for people who are a risk for remaining in the US illegally. A young person who has family already in the US that are willing to provide him with a place to stay and work is a risk.
If there weren’t the risk of overstay, it’s possible they would have “looked the other way” about the illegal work, but, taken as a whole, there were too many red flags, so the guy got sent home. It seems like reasonable enforcement of US immigration laws to me. If he wants to visit the US again, he can get a visa.
Did you bother to reach out to the local US embassy or the US Customs and Border Protection about this? Do you bother to research your articles at all before printing them?
Dear Nunya, thank you for your comment, you are absolutely right. We have added an update to the article to clarify the situation. Thank you once again for your input.