Very interested to hear if anyone has successfully applied for an ESTA and travelled to the US trouble free after coming off the register. I came off it 12 months ago and may have to travel for a conference with my boss (so obviously very nervous and trying to get out of going...).

PPU when I came off the register said that my Visor record would be archived but not deleted, so if a copper did a search it wouldn't likely flag as me previously having a visor record but it would state achieved rather than live.

The HOWI (UK watch list) is linked to Visor. When I was on the register and travelled (before the article 38 notices started on us all after the UK joined SIS2, UKBF on return would see a flag but the EU countries didn't. So it prompts some questions -

1) am I still on the HOWI even though my Visor record is archived?
2) Has the U.K. ever shared my details with the US, meaning that my name and DoB etc may now be on a US watchlist?
3) If I change my passport and get a new passport number, if number 2 has happened would I still have problems with a new passport number?

Quite worried about travelling to the US with the boss, if I get an ESTA at all! Since coming off the register I have travelled on holiday to Abu Dhabi and a few times to the EU without any problem either landing or on return, but it depends what the US does and doesn't know.

This itself is telling, because 95% of the time, a positive ESTA decision is made automatically within seconds.

Taking weeks would suggest that it may have been diverted for manual processing and that it was then decided by a human being to approve your application.

Also interested in this, but from the point of view of someone who no longer has to register as of 3 months ago.

Have family in USA and want to see them. I travelled to Malaysia last year with no problem whilst still on the register so don't think a green notice was put on me, but I did have a problem with a family holiday to Italy (few extra questions at Italian passport control), so suggests that I had an article 36/EU SIS notice put on me.

Thinking of applying for an ESTA in the hope that all is ok, just worried about getting turfed off the plane in the UK or sent back when at border control in Florida...

In theory when you provide advanced passenger information (API) to the airline, it will be scanned by the US authorities.  If you flag up for any reason, the airline should prevent you boarding as they would be liable for the costs of flying you home if you are denied entry.

I'd apply for an ESTA anyway and see whether it gets approved - it doesn't guarantee entry but if it's rejected you can be fairly sure you're on a US database somewhere 

I was granted an ESTA.......but the more I thought of it the less appealing it became,I didn't want to travel all the way to US and be refused entry.