tom169

OP knows and successfully gained a visa. Read up.

carcajou

I did read up. OP did not state he knew why he was declined, and said it never crossed his mind that he would be declined. Hopefully the link clears up the reasons why.

gottheTshirt

True having visited the US on vacation many times before I expected to same process of visa exemption as in the past, it was a surprise to be denied. The application site, which is the site that travellers are guided to by airlines https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/ makes no mention of blacklisted countries. Further research of ESTA advice implies that there could be exception if the visit to one of the blacklisted countries was for humanitarian reasons. This is not the case - as soon as you answer yes to any question the ESTA is denied and there is no appeal. It is then necessary to apply for a nonimmigration B2. It appears that the ESTA must first be denied to give a good reason for applying for a B2 visa ?.

Searching the web I could not find any advice from anyone who has been in the same position. Once I get my passport back I will update.

Rete

Curious here, do you mind telling us if your B2 is for a single visit or is it for a year, two years, etc.

Thanks.

materialcontroller

I'd be surprised if the OP is granted anything less than a full 10 years B1/B2.

Rete

That would be nice for him as he is retired and as many retirees do, they travel in their leisure.

Not all B2's are for 10 years these days and because of the countries he has lived / worked in previously and today's political climate, I was curious on the duration of the validity of the B2.

gottheTshirt

It will be for 10 years. There is a bit of irony in this situation. when I worked in Sudan I was paid in US dollars. One reason for choosing Florida for some winter sun is to use up some of these dollars.

Rete

Stay south of the Florida/Georgia state line. We have been having torrential rains here most of the last two months while my sister in Florida reports they have virtually none. Thanks for putting those US dollars back in circulation and enjoy your time in Florida.

materialcontroller

AFAIK, the only ones which aren't granted for 10 years are those where the applicant requires a waiver for some inadmissibility issue; however, even the vast majority of those seem to be granted for 5 years, which is the maximum allowed with a waiver.

I agree in the current political climate, with the present US administration, that anything is possible and things could get tougher at any time.

carcajou

Me too. I have worked in a number of the countries that the OP has worked in as well (though I am a US Citizen, I know many colleagues of mine who weren't and had no problems getting into the US) - it's not an issue if he was there legitimately, which he was, and I would be surprised if there was any further hassle. The only reason there was any hassle to begin with was just because Sudan was on that list, and as his interview showed, he was waved on in without any difficulty. People like him are not what the regulations are in place to catch.

Pulaski

Also me, ..... mostly because he posted yesterday that he's getting a ten year visa.

LouisB

Congratulations.
Sounds like a hassle but I suppose it’s reasonable they verify you are a safe bet given your extensive travel history (which sounds interesting).
Also we learnt the esta decline and embassy application was in the end formality not to be too afraid of (you must have got visas to visit some of those other places?)
Enjoy the holiday. 😀👍

Twinkle0927

Good that it all worked out.

I'm curious about the sons who grew up in Sudan but travel on the VWP (as mentioned by OP earlier in the thread). Does travel to such countries as a minor not remove the eligibility to use the VWP then?

gottheTshirt

The ESTA application only requires visits to the blacklisted countries after 2011 to be declared. In the 1980s Sudan was not considered a risk. In fact it was an open and safe country.

gottheTshirt

I got my passport back with 10 year visa on Friday, just 2 weeks after starting the application process. I was fortunate in that I was able to get an early interview appointment due to a cancellation. The advertised wait time for interviews on the embassy web site was 10 days, whereas the actual wait time is currently at least 20 days. The lesson learned is that to be safe allow 2 months from application to receiving visa. Since starting this thread I have come across 2 colleagues who have also had the same experience. One cut it so fine that he collected his passport on the way to the airport. All 3 of us only learned that we could not apply for an ESTA when we tried to make an application. All 3 of us then desperately tried to get a reliable time scale for a visa application. The US State web site is so non-committal as to be useless. According to the web Site time periods can be anything from days to months and that there is nothing you can do but wait. All 3 of us have the same opinion that we were made to jump through hoops for the sake of jumping through hoops. Interview times were between 2 and 5 minutes: none of us were given the opportunity to explain why we visited the blacklisted countries. I was fortunate that I had an early interview and was only in the Embassy for 30 minutes. The other 2 had later appointments and had to wait for 3 hours. They both complained at the lack of any facilities in the embassy; there is not even drinking water. The general conclusion is that if you have visited Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria or Sudan then do not choose the US for a holiday destination. If you really do want to visit the US then allow 2 months to obtain a nonimmigration visit visa.