Once you have been found to have broken the conditions of a VWP visit once, you are forever excluded from the Visa Waiver Program, and will only be able to enter the US again by getting a visa in advance (or becoming a Canadian citizen). This holds even if you manage to get an ESTA approved, because "no prior violations" is a condition for entry in addition to having an ESTA. (8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(7)).

(In contrast, merely having a visa refused in the past, which is also generally a barrier for using the VWP, stops being relevant if one actually gets an ESTA).

Furthermore, since you were removed from the US at some time after 2011, this removal comes with an automatic 5-year entry ban under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(A)(i). You can apply to have the ban lifted using Form I-212 (which will set you back $930 just for the asking), and this is in addition to applying for a visa.

(It is possible that you were not actually formally removed when you were refused entry, but were instead allowed to withdraw your application for entry and leave voluntarily. This difference would probably not have seemed important to you at the time, but it controls whether you now have a ban or not. Have you held on to any paperwork you got at the time?)

Once you have been found to have broken the conditions of a VWP visit once, you are forever excluded from the Visa Waiver Program, and will only be able to enter the US again by getting a visa in advance (or becoming a Canadian citizen). This holds even if you manage to get an ESTA approved, because "no prior violations" is a condition for entry in addition to having an ESTA. (8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(7)).

(In contrast, merely having a visa refused in the past, which is also generally a barrier for using the VWP, stops being relevant if one actually gets an ESTA).

Furthermore, since you were removed from the US at some time after 2011, this removal comes with an automatic 5-year entry ban under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(A)(i). You can apply to have the ban lifted using Form I-212 (which will set you back $930 just for the asking), and this is in addition to applying for a visa. It appears that you can ask to have the ban lifted as part of a nonimmigrant visa application -- ask for details about this at the consulate you apply to.

(It is possible that you were not actually formally removed when you were refused entry, but were instead allowed to withdraw your application for entry and leave voluntarily. This difference would probably not have seemed important to you at the time, but it controls whether you now have a ban or not. Have you held on to any paperwork you got at the time?)

Once you have been found to have broken the conditions of a VWP visit once, you are forever excluded from the Visa Waiver Program, and will only be able to enter the US again by getting a visa in advance. This holds even if you manage to get an ESTA approved, because "no prior violations" is a condition for entry in addition to having an ESTA. (8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(7)).

(In contrast, merely having a visa refused in the past, which is also generally a barrier for using the VWP, stops being relevant if one actually gets an ESTA).

Furthermore, since you were removed from the US at some time after 2011, this removal comes with an automatic 5-year entry ban under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)9)(A). You can apply to have the ban lifted using Form I-212 (which will set you back $930 just for the asking), and this is in addition to applying for a visa.

(It is possible that you were not actually formally removed when you were refused entry, but were instead allowed to rescind your application for entry and leave voluntarily. This difference would probably not have seemed important to you at the time, but it controls whether you now have a ban or not. Have you held on to any paperwork you got at the time?)

Once you have been found to have broken the conditions of a VWP visit once, you are forever excluded from the Visa Waiver Program, and will only be able to enter the US again by getting a visa in advance (or becoming a Canadian citizen). This holds even if you manage to get an ESTA approved, because "no prior violations" is a condition for entry in addition to having an ESTA. (8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(7)).

(In contrast, merely having a visa refused in the past, which is also generally a barrier for using the VWP, stops being relevant if one actually gets an ESTA).

Furthermore, since you were removed from the US at some time after 2011, this removal comes with an automatic 5-year entry ban under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(A)(i). You can apply to have the ban lifted using Form I-212 (which will set you back $930 just for the asking), and this is in addition to applying for a visa.

(It is possible that you were not actually formally removed when you were refused entry, but were instead allowed to withdraw your application for entry and leave voluntarily. This difference would probably not have seemed important to you at the time, but it controls whether you now have a ban or not. Have you held on to any paperwork you got at the time?)