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Danish Supermodel Refused U.S. Entry

By Associated Press

April 25, 2006, 9:23 AM EDT

MIAMI -- Supermodel May Andersen, arrested after allegedly hitting a flight attendant on a plane from Amsterdam to Miami, was refused entry into the United States on Monday and will be returned to the Netherlands, officials said.

Andersen, 23, will return to Amsterdam on the next available flight from Miami, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Zachary Mann.

The model, who has appeared in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition and posed for Victoria's Secret, was charged with assault after allegedly becoming unruly and violent on the flight last Thursday. She was held in the Miami-Dade County jail and then moved to federal immigration custody.

Mann said Andersen was seeking to enter the United States under the visa waiver program, which permits some visitors to enter without visas. CBP on Monday determined that Andersen was "inadmissible" under that program.

The specific reasons for the denial were not provided because of federal privacy protections, Mann said.

Andersen was charged with simple battery, resisting arrest without violence and disorderly intoxication. It was not immediately clear Monday how the immigration decision would affect that case and her attorney in Miami did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.