Woman warns travellers about little-known housesitting rule after being deported from US

‘One officer asked a series of questions and said what I was doing went against Esta rules,’ claims Madolline Gourley

Visitors to the US using the ESTA visa waiver are banned from working (Getty Images)

An Australian woman was denied entry to the United States after she revealed to border officials that she planned to housesit during her trip.

Madolline Gourley, 32, of Brisbane, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on 30 June at the start of what was meant to be a five-week pet-sitting holiday in the US and Canada, reported australian-denied-entry-at-us-border-deported-h253ih">traveller.com.au.

After being held in detention for five hours and subjected to two interrogation sessions, however, she was informed that her plans to housesit violated the terms of her visa waiver agreement and that she would therefore be put on the next plane back to Australia.

Ms Gourley, who says she’s saved around A$28,000 (£16,050) in accommodation costs to date by using site TrustedHouseSitters for her travel plans, says she was deported later that day.

“One officer asked a series of questions and said what I was doing went against Esta rules because homeowners would need to pay for someone to feed the cat if it wasn't for me,” she said.

On its website the US Department of State states that: “The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables most citizens or nationals of participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.”

Details of what qualifies as tourism or business is scant on this website or the official Esta application website, however. Various non-official websites specify that visitors in possession of an Esta may only work in the US if employed by an overseas company.

A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told traveller.com.au that visitors entering the US using a visa waiver are banned from “any type of employment or getting compensation for services rendered”.

Ms Gourley alleges that the messaging is unclear: “No money is provided to me and no contract is signed. Not exactly employment,” she said. “The [house-sitting] website operates on an exchange model.”

The Independent has approached the CBP for comment.