Latest news with #Gourley
Sydney Morning Herald
25-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
The US denied entry to Madolline. It's causing her issues with other countries
Madolline Gourley had a special reason to be nervous when she applied for a working holiday visa for a trip to Canada. Back in 2022, the Brisbane resident had flown into Los Angeles on her way to a pet-sitting holiday when she was denied entry to the US. Even though she wasn't being paid for looking after a homeowner's pets, she was in violation of her ESTA visa waiver because the free use of the owner's residence was considered a form of payment. Therefore, she was working, and anyone with an ESTA visa waiver is not allowed to work. After sitting through two interrogations, and after just a few hours in the USA, she was shunted out of the country on a flight back to Australia. A denial of entry has repercussions. 'The US, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand share the information collected by their immigration departments,' says Gourley. So when she applied for a working holiday visa for Canada under the International Experience Canada program, she was alarmed when one of the questions on the application asked: 'Have you ever been refused a visa or permit, denied entry to, or ordered to leave Canada or any other country/territory?' 'That had been weighing on my mind a lot,' Gourley says, 'how being refused entry to the United States would affect future visa applications. I wasn't sure if telling the truth would result in an instant rejection, but thankfully there was an option to attach a letter outlining the particulars. 'I wrote a two-page letter and two weeks later I got an email saying my application status had been updated. I logged in and scrolled down to see my work permit had been approved. This was pretty exciting because it meant I was able to house and cat sit in Canada, and I could get a paid job if I wanted to.' Any country that requires you to apply for a visa or a visa waiver will ask the question, 'Have you ever been denied entry to another country?' Answer 'yes' and you can expect to be subject to a higher level of scrutiny. Fail to admit to such an offence and you'll probably be found out, and the consequences could be serious.
The Age
25-05-2025
- The Age
The US denied entry to Madolline. It's causing her issues with other countries
Madolline Gourley had a special reason to be nervous when she applied for a working holiday visa for a trip to Canada. Back in 2022, the Brisbane resident had flown into Los Angeles on her way to a pet-sitting holiday when she was denied entry to the US. Even though she wasn't being paid for looking after a homeowner's pets, she was in violation of her ESTA visa waiver because the free use of the owner's residence was considered a form of payment. Therefore, she was working, and anyone with an ESTA visa waiver is not allowed to work. After sitting through two interrogations, and after just a few hours in the USA, she was shunted out of the country on a flight back to Australia. A denial of entry has repercussions. 'The US, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand share the information collected by their immigration departments,' says Gourley. So when she applied for a working holiday visa for Canada under the International Experience Canada program, she was alarmed when one of the questions on the application asked: 'Have you ever been refused a visa or permit, denied entry to, or ordered to leave Canada or any other country/territory?' 'That had been weighing on my mind a lot,' Gourley says, 'how being refused entry to the United States would affect future visa applications. I wasn't sure if telling the truth would result in an instant rejection, but thankfully there was an option to attach a letter outlining the particulars. 'I wrote a two-page letter and two weeks later I got an email saying my application status had been updated. I logged in and scrolled down to see my work permit had been approved. This was pretty exciting because it meant I was able to house and cat sit in Canada, and I could get a paid job if I wanted to.' Any country that requires you to apply for a visa or a visa waiver will ask the question, 'Have you ever been denied entry to another country?' Answer 'yes' and you can expect to be subject to a higher level of scrutiny. Fail to admit to such an offence and you'll probably be found out, and the consequences could be serious.
New York Post
24-05-2025
- New York Post
Australian woman reveals how being ‘refused' at the US border has changed her life
An Australian woman who was rejected at the US border and put on the first flight back to Brisbane says the ordeal has been life-changing in the worst possible way ever since. In 2022, Queenslander Madolline Gourley arrived to the always-chaotic Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on a flight in from Brisbane. Advertisement Gourley revealed to at the time — almost three years ago — she was detained while passing through the international terminal on June 30, 2022 — claiming officials were suspicious about her intention to house-sit while holidaying in Canada. After an interrogation barely five hours after arriving to the US, Gourley was told she was being denied entry and would be sent back to Brisbane on the next available flight. 4 Madolline Gourley was deported from the US in June 2022. Stefano Giovannini The reason? According to officials, she had breached the conditions of the visa waiver program. Advertisement Gourley had made the mistake of attempting to enter the US (and onwards to Canada) on a tourist visa. But given she had intended to house-and pet-sit through websites like TrustedHousesitters to cut accommodation costs, this was deemed as a breach. The US Customs and Border Protection said the visa waiver program prohibited applicants from engaging 'in any type of employment' or receiving 'compensation for services rendered.' This includes house-sitting services in exchange for free accommodation. Advertisement The CBP spokesperson said it took 'allegations of unprofessional behaviour seriously'. Following her detention, Gourley made headlines around the world after speaking out about the interrogation experience — including the moment she was patted down by US immigration officials and even asked whether she was pregnant or had recently had an abortion. Gourley at the time explained to the ordeal went from 'one disaster to the next' but three years later, the now 35-year-old said the refusal has plagued her travels and attempts at entering foreign countries around the world ever since. Advertisement Speaking to from Brisbane, Gourley said her most recent venture across the ditch to New Zealand was met with questioning from immigration and even having her passport blocked before she'd left Australian soil. While filling out her New Zealand Electronic Travel Declaration for a trip in April, she was met with the single question about previously being deported or refused entry to a country. 'I mulled on the question before answering, but always say yes to whether I have been deported or refused entry,' she said. 4 Gourley offered pet sitting services in exchange for free accommodation. Stefano Giovannini 'The frustration is that the question doesn't break it down [whether a person was deported or refused] … it's just a very broad question, so when I do answer 'yes' to it, immigration doesn't know if it's a 'yes' to being deported, or a yes to being refused.' Upon arrival for her trip to Auckland, Gourley said she was unable to check-in for her flights from Brisbane airport because she had answered 'yes' to the entry declaration's question: 'Have you been deported, removed, barred or refused entry to another country?'' 'A Qantas staff member had to call New Zealand Immigration and I was asked several questions before the officer went to discuss my situation with his colleague,' she explained. 'The passport block was lifted and I was able to check-in and travel, but all of this happened before I'd even left Australia at Brisbane Airport. Advertisement 'Being deported, removed or barred makes a traveller ineligible to enter New Zealand. But as I was only refused entry, I was permitted to enter, but not without having to explain what happened at length. 4 US Customs and Border Protection officers accused her of breaching the visa waiver program. Stefano Giovannini 'I left [doing the declaration] until the last minute, because I knew I had to answer that particular question and it made me very nervous. I knew I should be OK to enter, but with this — I never really know if I will be OK.' Gourley said because anyone deported, removed or rejected from another country has stronger barricades in place for entry into Australia, the UK, the USA and Canada — she expects this will be an issue for life. Advertisement And for those who think she should simply tell a lie on the form, there's a stamp on her passport that says she was refused entry. 'My understanding is this will always happen … So while I was prepared for this, I was prepared for it to happen in New Zealand … not before I'd even checked in to Brisbane airport and left Australia,' she said. 4 Gourley said the refusal has plagued her travels and attempts at entering foreign countries around the world ever since. Stefano Giovannini 'Travel comes with anxiety for me now. I didn't expect all this drama at Brisbane airport … I expected it once I got to Auckland. So it was even more anxiety causing because I hadn't even left the country and I was potentially being told no.' Advertisement Gourley said despite this refusal from the US for having the wrong visa, and the subsequent havoc that has caused for other international trips — it has not deterred her from seeing the world. 'It's not turned me off traveling, because not every country asks that question on the incoming passenger declaration,' she said, 'I do know you need a work visa … I have learnt my lesson so with that … but for it to follow me for the rest of my life without having broken laws in those countries [I am intending to visit] is a bit excessive. 'My record will never leave the US immigrations records and it will always be there. As long as you get that question on the declaration, I will always answer it truthfully'.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fairhope residents voice concerns over library's book review process, ‘explicit' content
FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WKRG) — On Tuesday night, people for and against the Fairhope Public Library's book review process showed up to the Fairhope City Council meeting to voice their concerns. United States Sports University hosts inaugural awards banquet 14 books are under review by the Fairhope Public Library after the Alabama Public Library Service decided to for the library due to findings of 'explicit content' in the teen section. 'We are not demanding censorship. We are simply demanding that sexually explicit books, material describing sexual acts, rapes, trafficking and graphic language be moved out of the children's and teen sections and placed into the adult sections where they belong,' said one Fairhope resident who is against funding for the library. Another resident, who is in support of the library, also spoke up at the meeting, saying, 'They are important, literary books. And I ask you not to re-shelve them so the students that need them can't find them.' Director of the Fairhope Public Library, Robert Gourley, said that the board of trustees has started the review process. 'I think that public libraries should be known for serving our entire community,' said Gourley. 'We look at what we read, the whole work, and try to judge it on the whole work of literature. And then we look at reviews and professional publications, what the recommended target audience is, as well as what the original publisher of the book is saying that the target audience is, and what other libraries may be doing with it.' Last week, the board voted to keep a book titled 'Sold' in the teen section of the library. The book is about a girl who has been trafficked throughout India — a book that many parents and local coalitions wanted relocated. 'We have volunteered our time to try to keep the family-oriented values and conservative values in Fairhope,' said Brian Dasinger with the Faith, Family, Freedom Coalition in Baldwin County. We reached out to the Director of APLS, John Wahl, who provided us with the following statement on the Fairhope library: 'We have been clear that there are no exceptions or loopholes in the new code changes. Libraries must remove all sexually explicit books from children's sections in order to receive state funding.' 'Grease' is the word along Mobile Bay as Fairhope brings a classic to The Bluff Once all the books are reviewed, APLS members will determine whether the library's choices comply with the state's code. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Reuters
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Mentally stronger Gourley ready to challenge Ingebrigtsen in Tokyo
March 27 (Reuters) - Britain's Neil Gourley said it was his turn to win 1500 metres gold at the 2025 Tokyo World Championships after taking silver at this month's World Indoors in Nanjing, though he knows dethroning Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be no easy task. The 24-year-old Ingebrigtsen clinched gold in three minutes 38.79 seconds in China, with Scot Gourley pushing him closest, taking silver in 3:39.07 after battling to stay in contention when Ingebrigtsen surged ahead midway through the race. Gourley, 30, said he was ready to take on the challenge of dethroning the Norwegian when they compete again. "It sounds like my turn, doesn't it? I'm certainly going with that ambition," he told the BBC on Wednesday. "It's going to be incredibly challenging with the level globally right now but I'm looking to go to Tokyo and take my turn on the top of the podium. It's a challenging one but I'm definitely up for the challenge." The Tokyo worlds will take place from September 13-21. Gourley added that he was mentally stronger now after overcoming a tough period with mental and physical health issues during last year's World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. "Twelve months ago I wasn't in a great place mentally or physically. I was quite upset watching the World Indoors happen here in Glasgow because it really would have been special to do it in my home city," he said. "Sometimes these things, although they're tough to take at the time, can create a bit of mental fortitude that I was able to call on this weekend."
