Rete

And what kind of situation is this? He should first and foremost, if looking for a qualified attorney, inquire at the ALIA website and also search the forum here for the names of several US immigration attorneys based in London. Mr. Folinskyinla has been kind enough in the past to give us several names.

uksalesmanager

I think you're slightly missing the point i was trying to make; in the long-term i have every intention of making my home in the US and have no intention of abusing the system. It is in place for a very good reason and i fully accept and appreciate that; my only "crime" appears to have been to want to spen as much time as possible with my fiancee before getting permission to remain permanently, at which point i will then be an active US taxpayer. I have no intention of adding to the ranks of the unemployed or being a drain on the country's resources, as indeed i have never been here; in 33 years i have spent less than 12 months claiming benefits, which is a pretty good record! Also, to reiterate, why was i treated as i was, when i was only in a technical violation and not under arrest?

Ray

Be greatful it was not Iran ...

As far as they are concerned you tried to enter illegally ... the US does not charge you with that crime it just sends you back ...which is exactly what they did....Blame Hank Earl Carr for the handcuffs.....

You have no redress

uksalesmanager

Thanks for the practical advice - this is exactly what i am looking for!

Ray

http://www.usvisalawgroup.com/

RalphJolly

Once they had decided that you weren't going to enter, what happened to you was standard procedure. If there had been a convenient return flight sooner then you may have avoided jail, but for whatever reason they didn't turn you around so quickly.
You have no redress, and please don't waste money on a lawyer to find this out.

Going forward, you have almost certainly been flagged. Every time that you enter the US for the rest of your life you will be detained for a couple of hours while they ask you the same questions about this incident again and again. You will most likely gain entrance, but that's not 100% certainty.
In theory you can get a green card as a husband or gain an entry visa as a fiancee, but any application will not be straight forward and could be rejected, at which point the dream is over. You certainly have no right to enter the US -it is totally at their discretion as is the decision as to whether you can live in the US.

I presume you know some/all of this so I just want to be clear -not patronize.
I have had an 'experience' with the immigration authorities too so I am just passing on what I have learned -I am no expert.
If I had to go through it all again I probably wouldn't have bothered. What's so great about the US anyway -we're in an economic depression here -maybe you and your fiancee have better options?

Taking your story at face value -I empathize with what happened to you and hope you get things resolved to your own satisfaction. Good Luck!

Lissbovavd

uksalesmanager,

First of all, I do sympathize with your ghastly and no doubt harrowing experience at the hands of CBP, and I´m afraid that some people on this board may unintentionally come across as somewhat harsh and unfeeling in their responses.

First of all, what you encountered is, unfortunately, not that rare an occurrence and, for better or for worse, this is the way that the US immigration system works. Coming back so soon after a 3 months stay in the US was considered to be a violation of the terms of the VWP, although these are not clearly spelled out anywhere.
Also, bear in mind that each single CBP agent at the POE´s have very wide-ranging powers as whether to admit an "alien" visitor or not. As a VWP visitor, and thus not in a possession of a visa, you also have no legal redress if/when being denied entry.
The general rule is to stay out of the US for at least as long as the time last spent in the US, preferably considerably more than so, in order to be on the safe side.

If I were you I would certainly consider the option of living in the UK with your future, USC wife.
Also, when/if you next decide to venture another US visit, there is the possibility of travelling from Dublin Airport, Ireland, where there is a pre-clearance US customs and immigrations facility.
This means that you actually pass through the CBP procedure before you actually board your flight to the US.
Should you for whatever reason be denied entry, you are still in Europe, close to home, and wouldn´t have to risk the heartache and indignity of being denied entry at the US airport POE.
This is something that I would stronly recommend in your position.

Best of luck to you!

S Folinsky

I don't give any advice here.

However, given the detail of your description of what happened, I think there is one glaring omission by the CBP in the performance of your duties. You make no indication whatsoever that they explored about the only right you had: applying for asylum. I find that failure to be an outrage.

You seem to be hung up on the word "arrest." No need to go into the technicalities. You should remember that is you who submitted to the custody of CBP. It is within their discretion as to the terms and condition of custody.

A bit of history -- it used to be that the question was whether or not you were allowed off the ship landing in harbor. If admission was refused, one simply stayed on board and you left when the ship did. However, over 100 years ago, that got impactical, so on-shore detention/inspection facilities were established [e.g. Ellis Island]. If admission was refused, the refused person would be returned to the shipping line [or their agent] for detention and return to "whence they came."

It is true that until about 15 years or so ago, the airline would have put you up in a nearby roach invested motel under minimal security. If the refused person absconded from carrier custody, the carrier got fined $1,000 [later increased to $3,000] and still had to take the person back when they were found. [BTW, the abscondee was considered not to have "entered" the United States].

However, with the increase in the rate of absconding by those refused admission, the US Government took over direct responsibility for detention pending return. It seems the only reason you were held overnight was that was when the next flight back was occurring.

I make no comment on "redress" for the failure to inquire regarding your right to request asylum.

S Folinsky

He is free to consult with a lawyer. I'm not recommending anyone in particular.

fatbrit

Forget the redress, bounds of authority, CBP's opinion of immigration lawyers -- none of them will help you your goal, which is presumably to live with the woman you were coming to visit.

Job 1: Get divorced.
Job 2: Find out whether your little incident at Philly has precluded you from ever living in the US -- the clues are those notations in your passport and/or accompanying paperwork.
Job 3: Decide whether you both want to live in the US (if available to you), UK or third country.
Job 4: Plan from there.

Sally Redux

Asylum? For someone from the UK?

Surely not working for months on end looks bad.

ian-mstm

You signed away any rights you had when you entered the US on the VWP. There is no redress for you.


They did not.


They are allowed to do that.


Well... "easiest/quickest/cheapest" are almost always mutually exclusive choices.

I understand your frustration, but you caused most of this yourself when you were away only "3 weeks since the end of my previous 3 month stay."

Ian

fatbrit

You could produce the Daily Mail as evidence of the hardships you have to endure. And everyone knows the whole of Europe is godless and communist.

S Folinsky

They are required to ask before they return someone, regardless of nationality.

Quite often, when a UK national is refused entry, they will often note something to the effect of "would you believe those idiots asked me if I wanted asylum? What do they think? The Queen would be after me because I question the need for the monarchy?" That is one of the reasons that I was surprised that OP didn't mention that.

But, yes, it possible to get asylum from the UK -- take a look at page 9 of this report. On a percentage basis, more asylums are granted for people from the UK than Ukraine.

lisa67

[QUOTE=RalphJolly;8884394]
Every time that you enter the US for the rest of your life you will be detained for a couple of hours while they ask you the same questions about this incident again and again.


wow...what a sweepin statement..what grounds do you have for this?