maole

Hi there,
maybe someone can help or advise me with my case.
I was visiting my american boyfriend, now ex, during the whole 2013 until the officers at the customs brought me to a second interview and they saw on my cell, that under my ESTA, I was tutoring children there. I know that I broke the laws travelling as a tourist.They didn't permit me the entry and put me a couple of hours later in a flight back to Europe.
They wrote on my passport: 217.4 (a) and they didn't want to give me my Record of Incident I-877 which I signed.
I got in touch with an american lawyer and she told me that I have a ban for 5 years. It's been 2 and half and I didn't try to apply for a visa, but now I got a job there as a teacher, I mean that I passed the interview, but I don't know if the Embassy is going to grant me the visa J-1, for work.
Should I wait until the ban expires?
The lawyer wants me to give her 805 dollars to start the process for the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and she says it will cost more.
Thanks for reading me and I hope someone who knows better can help me somehow

ian-mstm

If you overstayed between 90 and 180 days, you have a 5-year ban from the US. If you overstayed 181 or more days, you have a 10-year ban. You need to be absolutely sure how long you overstayed... because if it was more than 6 months, you can't return to the US until 2023.


They will not. You are not allowed to enter the US until the ban has expired.


You may have a 10-year ban depending on how long you stayed in the US.


Not only should you, you must. Further, you can never use ESTA again and must apply for a visa when you wish to travel to the US. But you must wait until the ban has expires.


Don't give the lawyer any money... you already have the information that you need to know.

Ian

maole

Thanks Ian!

I didn't overstay, sorry, I expressed myself wrong, I visited 4 times but no longer than 90 days every time, and totally not more than 5 months.
The reason they didn't permit me the entry was that I was working illegally, even if it was 4 hours a week, but i wasn't allowed...I was stupid and I am paying now for that.
But I understood more now that if I want to come back I should wait until the ban expires. After this period will I have a possibility to get back? Does anyone know or lived something similar?
Thx

Pulaski

After the ban expires you (or a prospective employer) can apply for a visa (for you), same as anyone else who is not visa eligible. ..... A visa might, or might not be granted, same as for anyone else who applies.

As Ian likes to say, the only certainty is that you won't get a visa if you don't apply.

maole

Thanks Pulaski.
I got it, after the ban expires I will apply for a visa, I have no doubt. Initially I wanted to know if, even now I have a prospective employer, they would have granted one. I don't want to waste my money.
Last question: does it make sense to try to get my record of incident back? I tried it alone and I wrote and sent them all that they wanted but the answer was No.

Pulaski

Ooops, meant "ESTA/VWP" eligible.

maole

my ESTA got cancelled forever

ian-mstm

Okay... you didn't overstay - good! That answers the 5-year/10-year ban issue.


Yes - a violation of ESTA usually results in a denied entry... however, I'm not aware of a 5-year ban being imposed as the penalty simply for working illegally while on ESTA.

Section 217.4(a) of the INA lays out the grounds for inadmissibility, but I don't see that there's a 5-year ban as penalty... although it could be noted someplace else.

You said earlier that a lawyer said you have a 5-year ban. Was she an immigration attorney? Did you simply accept what she said as fact? Was she able to give you a reference to the law that said a ban was in place? What I'm getting at is are you sure there actually is a ban?

I strongly suggest you get a second opinion from an experienced immigration attorney... and not the person you have already spoken to.

Ian

maole

Ian, she is an immigration lawyer, I'm sure because my ex was working for her under the table preparing her kid for an exam and they met at her office. Anyway... I'm in Germany and I called her twice. The first time I had to pay 105 dollars for getting answers like the 5 year ban but without sources and the second time I asked her to get back my record of incident I -877 ( because I didn't get it at the airport in the US and I wrote USCIS a request and basically, they wrote me: you case have been closed without taking any other actions) and she told me it would cost more than 800 dollars. They have to ask for a FOIA

scrubbedexpat099

Just for the record that's wrong but also not material.

The Lawyer you need to be speaking to is the one appointed by your lawyer, sounds like you were deported rather than refused admission/ allowed to withdraw your application.

Assuming you need a waiver and one is recommended will add 6 months plus to the process.

maole

They wrote on my passport: refused 217.4(a)

ian-mstm

Yup - you're right... don't know what I was thinking. If you overstay between 6-12 months it's a 3-year ban; if you overstay more than 12 months it's a 10-year ban. Thanks for catching that.

Ian

ian-mstm

Now it's my turn! What?


I disagree.

Ian

scrubbedexpat099

Could have been more sanctimonious, but do not wish to be tarred with Pulaski feathers.

scrubbedexpat099

What the Consulate says is what will matter, I have seen some odd decisions.