Hugo Calderano denied entry into the USA! Will miss the USA Smash 2025

[Vector Operator]

 

[Tiz]

"As a Portuguese citizen". Not Brazilian?

 

[Vector Operator]

"As a Portuguese citizen". Not Brazilian?

Yes, Portugal.

 

[Bollwerk]

"As a Portuguese citizen". Not Brazilian?

He is a dual citizen, but for travelling EU passports usually makes things easier. In case of the US he can enter with a visa waiver that way, while other Brazilians will have to go through a longer visa process. Issue is that visiting Cuba made him ineligble for visa waiver and he needed to get a visa as well. Without realizing in time the extra passport had the opposite effect in this case. There are other players from the same Cuba event playing the US Smash, really unfortunate for Hugo.

 

[lodro]

hugo should just cruise up at the boarder and tell them he is a multi billionaire and a good friend of trump that will get him in alright

 

[JackJohnson]

I guess ITTF/WTT won’t host any tournaments in Cuba anytime soon if this has happened to Calderano and other players in the future if they want to host WTT/ITTF tournaments in the USA unless USA relax their rules which will not happen anytime soon.

This is ridiculous especially since Calderano is ranked No 3 player. No athlete should be denied entering the USA just cause they attended some ITTF events in Cuba. If this was any other athlete e.g football/basketball player they would have no issues getting a visa if for some reason they went to Cuba beforehand.

The US Smash is now less interesting without Calderano participating. At least the mens players from China can have a bit less stress now. Chances for them to get winner and finalist are higher now.

 

[zeio]

USA:
https://ctext.org/art-of-war/variation-in-tactics/zh?en=on

九變:
故用兵之法，無恃其不來，恃吾有以待之；無恃其不攻，恃吾有所不可攻也。
Variation in Tactics:...:
The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

 

[tzifos]

That is disgusting! All that f*kcing rules with visas and similar. All ITTF/WTT tournaments from now on should be hosted in N. Korea, Gaza, Cuba etc

 

[plunder]

so this has nothing to do wiv trump

 

[vossi39]

Well it has to some extend. Under the Trump administration in his first Term Cuba was put into bucket of
State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST).

Which in return resulted in:

The U.S. Department of State designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) on January 12, 2021.With limited exceptions, a traveler who is found to have visited Cuba on or after this date is not eligible for travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) using an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) and must apply for a visa to travel to the United States. Additionally, a traveler who at the time of application for an ESTA holds dual nationality with both a VWP country and Cuba is not eligible for travel under the VWP using an ESTA and must apply for a visa to travel to the United States.

If an ESTA has already been approved and it is later determined that the traveler has been present in Cuba or holds dual nationality with both a VWP country and Cuba, the ESTA will be revoked. Ineligibility for an ESTA is not a bar to travel to the United States. Individuals who are not eligible to travel under the VWP may apply for a visa at any U.S. embassy or consulate.

Unfortunately Hugo has missed this term in the ESTA regulations and was denied the ESTA VWP entry.
If you are used to travel under VWP you don't do this month before the travel, so I believe by the time he used ESTA was short before his trip. It usually only takes days to get approval, so normally no hurry.

Getting a consulate appointment (I can only guess, he need to do this in Brazil) usually takes month. Apparently the emergency with all the help from different authorities did not get him a slot. This is frustrating and certainly a big issue for him and his fans, but goes in line with all the other people that need to apply for regular US visa and require month of advanced planning. With a bit more ahead planning on his side, this maybe could have been avoided.

 

[Gtsnake]

The US immigration policy is in shambles. It's just ridiculous and a complete travesty what it has turned into.

Yes, more needs to be done to filter out the bad actors but to make 99% of the other innocent people have to suffer is just wrong.

 

[piligrim]

That is disgusting! All that f*kcing rules with visas and similar. All ITTF/WTT tournaments from now on should be hosted in N. Korea, Gaza, Cuba etc

Nobody will go there

 

[lodro]

WATCH OUT !!!! Now the mighty ITTF will retaliate and proclaim: Do to the unjust treatment of our players there will be no more tournaments in the USA and all connections with USA clubs ,association and players has become invalid.

 

[zeio]

Dainton: Calderano has himself to blame.

“Game On in the USA” — WTT CEO Steve Dainton On Why US Smash 2025 Matters
https://www.worldtabletennis.com/description?artId=5117

The lone disappointment? The absence of Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, whose late visa processing meant he was unable to enter the United States in time.

“It’s a very big disappointment Hugo couldn’t make it,” says Dainton. “He’s an incredible player with recent results that show he is currently one of the best in the world — and having him in his home continent was also important for us. But we’ve been encouraging players to prepare months in advance for their visas, and those who planned accordingly have had no major issues. USATT has been an incredible help with this. This is a reminder that being a professional demands more than just performance on the table; it also means taking responsibility for everything off it.”

 

[shaibu]

The US immigration policy is in shambles. It's just ridiculous and a complete travesty what it has turned into.

Yes, more needs to be done to filter out the bad actors but to make 99% of the other innocent people have to suffer is just wrong.

This is not an immigration issue, Calderano had no intention to move to USA to live. Someone like Calderano who has to travel internationally for a living, needs to be prepared to check the entry requirements for the countries he is planning to visit. The title of this thread is not correct, Calderano was never denied the entry into the US. He has been informed that he can not use the visa waiver program normally available to all EU citizens because he has visited Cuba and that he would need to apply for a visa at a US consulate. After that he has tried to schedule a consular appointment, but has not been able to obtain one in time and he had to withdraw. There is no way he would be denied a visa had he scheduled an appointment in time. I agree that is an unfortunate and frustrating situation for Calderano, but $#%t like this happens all the time, and not just in the US, there is no need to call it a travesty, just a bureaucracy in action.

 

[zeio]

US: Cuba maintained on list of state sponsors of terrorism; its visitors remain ineligible for ESTA
https://visasnews.com/en/us-cuba-ma...rism-its-visitors-remain-ineligible-for-esta/

Calderano is paying the price for what Jair Bolsonaro did.

USA vs the world: Blockade on Cuba opposed by 97% of countries at UN
https://youtu.be/a2A_avuu65I?t=255

 

[lodro]

Let's move the UN to a neutral country and let's also remove Veto rights. It won't help much but it might be a step in the right direction.

 

[JackJohnson]

Will Hugo get a fine for not attending US Smash?

 

[lodro]

Will Hugo get a fine for not attending US Smash?

you mean like Fan Zhendong ? 😂

 

[Gtsnake]

This is not an immigration issue, Calderano had no intention to move to USA to live. Someone like Calderano who has to travel internationally for a living, needs to be prepared to check the entry requirements for the countries he is planning to visit. The title of this thread is not correct, Calderano was never denied the entry into the US. He has been informed that he can not use the visa waiver program normally available to all EU citizens because he has visited Cuba and that he would need to apply for a visa at a US consulate. After that he has tried to schedule a consular appointment, but has not been able to obtain one in time and he had to withdraw. There is no way he would be denied a visa had he scheduled an appointment in time. I agree that is an unfortunate and frustrating situation for Calderano, but $#%t like this happens all the time, and not just in the US, there is no need to call it a travesty, just a bureaucracy in action.

I wasn't talking about Calderano. I was speaking in general.