A Melbourne woman claims her romantic holiday turned into “something out of a movie” when she was detained by immigration authorities upon entry into the US.
Molly Hill, 26, was travelling to Hawaii to kick off a three-month holiday with her US-based boyfriend, Ross Maidl, when customs officers confronted her inside Honolulu airport.
Hill, who had organised a tourist visa for 88 days and had already booked and paid for a flight home, described the encounter as “a shock.”
“(I) expected to pass through customs without too much hassle as I was going on a tourist visa for 88 days, the max is 90, with my return ticket paid for,” she wrote on Facebook.
“I was taken into an interview room and had every inch of my luggage searched.”
“They understood that I have an American boyfriend and I spent about six hours in and out of the interrogation rooms.”
She claims the officers were “convinced” she was planning to overstay her visa due to a series of notes in her diary.
“In the end they were convinced I wanted to immigrate illegally because my diary had notes like ‘going away drinks’ and ‘last day at work’, things I got in order before expecting to be away for three months,” she said.
Molly is pictured with her US-based boyfriend, Ross Maidl.
The Melbourne woman has described the ordeal as “something out of a movie.”
Hill said she was then forced to spend the night in a Federal Detention Centre in Honolulu where she was required to “squat and cough” in front of an officer.
“I was told there were no more flights to Australia that day and I would have to spend the night at the detention centre, which the officer described as “like jail but you can’t make any phone calls,” she wrote.
“A few more hours later, myself and a Japanese woman were handcuffed and transported to the detention centre, which was a federal prison.”
She added: “I was frisked, made to undress in front of an officer and show that there was nothing in my hair or mouth, and asked to ‘squat and cough’ which was absolutely mortifying.”
WATCH: The Melbourne woman describes her nightmare ordeal. Post continues…
The next morning — which happened to be her birthday — Hill was notified that she would be released and would need to pay $620 for the flight back to Sydney.
“The next morning it was my birthday. I was woken up by a flashlight and an officer who yelled ‘Hill! You’re getting released today’,” she wrote.
“I got changed (strip, squat routine) and was handcuffed again. I remained in handcuffs and was escorted throughout the airport. Then I was finally allowed to call home, and had to pay $620 for a flight to Sydney.”
She added: “It’s been a surreal few days that’s taken a big chunk of money, heartache and tears.”
In a statement made to 9 News, US Customs and Border Protection said their initial investigation showed “US offices acted according to current laws and regulations”.
They added: “(There’s been no) wrongdoing of any kind.”
Hill is now planning to speak with an immigration lawyer about the ordeal.
