vivid291

Hello reader,

I'm new to this forum so forgive me if this is a question that has already been addressed and has just evaded me but I'm currently in a bit of a conundrum regarding visiting the U.S. on an ESTA whilst being unemployed and am wondering if there might be other people that have found themselves in a similar situation to me and what they chose to do. Allow me to elaborate:

My husband and I have been together for just over three years, have been married since June of this year, and are currently waiting for the approval of our I-130 as part of the CR1 visa process. Judging by estimated wait times, the whole process is sure to take a good while and thus we are still doing long-distance.

A sudden change in circumstance has meant that I am currently and unexpectedly unemployed (the company I worked for unfortunately closed down without prior warning) and I am currently in a position whereby I have unrestricted free time, besides time spent job-searching, and my husband and I have been discussing my going over for a short, last-minute visit. At first I thought this was a brilliant idea, fuelled mostly by the fact that he's just gone home from visiting me here and I'm missing him terribly, and I was looking into booking tickets to go over for a week this side of Christmas. My next visit, which I booked months ago when I was still employed, is for late January/early February of next year and so I figured that if I booked something at the start of December, I was unlikely to get much push-back from immigration. The last time I entered the U.S. was late September/early October and I only stayed 10 days so it would therefore be two months since my last visit and would another month and a half more or less until my next entry.

My main concern is that last time I entered the U.S. I was questioned quite considerably by immigration, which I believe to be pretty normal depending on the officer you get, but it has nevertheless made me think twice before considering going back without employment secured here. Last time, as soon as they heard I was married and had the i-130 pending, I was asked to provide proof of return and was asked a number of questions about my ties to the UK. My situation is that I'm currently living at my family home in order to save money for when I move across the pond and therefore own no property here and do not have a formal rent agreement and I am insured on a family member's car insurance and drive their car (I sold mine a month or so ago and won't purchase a new one here before I move). Those things, coupled now with the current lack of employment, make me extremely nervous to attempt a last minute trip despite how much I want to. The only things I would be able to show as proof that I have no intention of moving over before visa approval is evidence that I have been applying for jobs here in the UK, that my previous job ended abruptly and was not something I resigned from, monthly direct debits for things like my mobile and gym membership, open and active UK bank accounts, and the fact that I have travelled to the U.S. extensively (20+ times) and have always returned and never stayed for longer than a month at a time on each visit.

So, long story short, my questions are: have you found yourself in this situation or something similar? What was the outcome? If I were to book a last minute trip and have issues at the border and they refuse me entry, how badly would this affect my CR1 application? Would only a month and a half between two visits be something that might look suspicious to border control?

Apologies, I realise there is quite a bit of info I'm looking for from you and I really appreciate it if you made it this far!

Thanks in advance!

Viv

Noorah101

There is really no definitive answer. You won't know the outcome until you reach the POE. If you want to lessen the risk, spend more time outside the USA than inside, and have some ties to the UK.

A refused VWP entry won't affect the immigrant visa process, but it may mean no more VWP visits.

Rene

scrubbedexpat099

Being questioned extensively is not normal.

Something must have flagged you.

Being allowed to withdraw your application to enter has no impact on the CR1.

Rete

Your posts begs the questions --- how did the officer/agent at the POE learn that you were married to a USC? Did they ask this question? Did you volunteer this question? Did you then expand on the answer about the filed I-130? Or did it appear on the particulars that came up onscreen when your passport was screened at entry? Were you taken to secondary and questioned? Did they verbally ask for proof of your return to the UK? Or did you volunteer that you had a job to return to?

There was a poster two weeks ago who had an approved ESTA and when she got to the airport in the UK, the airline told her that her ESTA had been cancelled and she could not get on the plane. She was married to a USC, had an I-130 in the works and was only coming for a month over the holidays. She applied for a formal tourist visa as her ESTA was denied and she was denied that as they felt she had immigration intent.

Now this is the first time in over 20 years of my participation in the marriage-based visa site that I've seen this occur. AFAIK, you still have a valid ESTA (she thought so as well) and will have no issue with boarding the plane but will the officer/agent allow you to pass through or hold you at the airport for the next return flight to the UK? No one knows until it happens.

You were just here in the US 2 months ago. Your husband has just left the UK after visiting with you a few weeks ago. You have tickets for a visit to the US for end January, 2019. I know it is difficult to be apart from the love of your life and it doesn't matter if you are married or just involved, it is difficult. But IMHO, I would bite the bullet and not travel this December and instead wait until end January for your next scheduled visit.

scrubbedexpat099

The other poster had T Country connections.

Rete

She was a former citizen of Pakistan. She had renounced this citizenship years ago. This was not the reason for the denial. It was told to her that she was denied because of immigration intent.

scrubbedexpat099

Immigrant intent is assessed at the PoE. She was not told why her ESTA was declined.

KK85

OP, while the advice you've already been given is very good advice, and I agree that (unfortunately) you simply can't know the outcome unless or until you decide to travel, it is worth considering that there is nothing technically 'wrong' with what you want to do. I went back and forth to the US using an ESTA while my husband and I were going through the CR-1 visa process, and at one point even stayed in the US for two entire months to be with my husband when his mother died. On that occasion, I flew out last-minute, having only been back in the UK for 3 months since my previous trip to the US (which was for 2.5 weeks). I wasn't working at the time - I was at the final hurdle of my degree, so I had a graduation ceremony (not to mention immigration-related appointments) to return to the UK for - but the officers at POE never once batted an eyelid. The worst I ever experienced was the same question ("what date are you returning to the UK?") asked a couple of times in different ways, and that was long before I started the CR-1 process. I would be interested to hear your answers to some of the questions asked above because, like Boiler said, being questioned extensively is not normal.

If you do decide to travel, make sure you bring proof of your return flight, and maybe bring along some of the documents you've filed relating to the I-130 so that you can show them that you're trying to do everything by the book. There are people who don't do everything by the book, which is why so many questions must be asked sometimes. Bring proof of your January flights, too, so that you can show your intentions to keep returning to the UK until the immigration is finalised. Maybe bring some documentation of your job termination, at least for your own peace of mind, though unfortunately I doubt it would do much for you in the worst-case scenario.

As with many elements of immigration in general, hope for the best but prepare for the worst. There is every chance you could be turned away at the border, but I don't imagine it would only be because you're hoping to spend a bit of time with your husband last-minute - that is quite normal.

Rete

See here: Approved ESTA denied at airport - Applying for B2 now

Post #40 ... Hello all! Update: You all were right, B2 denied. Official reason given: They didn't think I'd come back.
It had nothing to do with her former citizenship and that citizenship being in a country that she never lived but only visited. She had used the ESTA/VWP for years quite successfully. So your misremembering doesn't hold water.

scrubbedexpat099

That was a thread I participated in and quoted from.

Dorothy

Could you look at flying from Dublin where you go through US immigration before boarding? That way if you're going to be declined you're still relatively close to home?

Rete

That is a very good suggestion, Dorothy. Unlike the poster I highlighted who was clearly denied because they felt she had intent to remain, as the US Embassy told her, and not based on the color of her skin as suggested by another forum member or because she was once a citizen of Pakistan by virtual of birth only, and thus the system closed down her esta, (highlighted on that poster's post #40), she has not had her esta denied and if she does, obtaining the denial in Dublin instead of the US would be kinder and easier to deal with.

civilservant

I'm still interested to know how the Officer at POE obtained so much information - it sounds like you violated the cardinal rule of border entry, answer only what is asked.

vivid291

Thank you all so much for your input and advice, it is really appreciated!

When I say I was questioned quite considerably, what I mean to say is that I was questioned more so than I had ever been before and the agent was quite accusatory. When asked if my trip was for business or pleasure, the officer noticed that the address I provided on the landing card was a residential address rather than a hotel which lead him to ask who I was staying with and why. Of course, wanting to be honest, I told him I was staying with my husband and that we had gotten married in June. When he heard I was staying with my husband, he then immediately asked for proof of return and began a series of questions which involved me having to explain that we were currently going through the CR1 process, that I had a job to go home to (at the time), that I owned no property in the UK and also what my husband did as a profession and whether he owned property etc. He ended the questioning by stating that my answers, I think particularly in relation to my not owning property here in the UK, "didn't sound great" and he outright asked me if I was just intending on staying in the U.S. to wait out the visa application. My answer was obviously no but this last round of questioning is what has made me very wary. Everyone I know that I've spoken to said that it sounds like I just got a particularly stern agent that wanted to scare me a little even though it was clear that I had never done anything to make anyone truly suspect I'd be trying to move over, but nevertheless it's much easier to brush those experiences aside when one hasn't been on the receiving end of it.

Now, obviously he did allow me entry so he must have trusted me enough to know I'd return home but I worry if I got the same person or someone similar at the border, they might reach a different conclusion. Had I not encountered this, I'd feel confident enough to book a ticket last minute without having to come to a forum and seek other opinions. The longest visit I've had in the U.S. since meeting my husband has been 3 weeks (when we got married) and generally my visits are only 7-10 days in length. When I total it up, I've only visited the U.S. 3 times this year and the sum total of days spent there does not amount to more than a month and a half. To me, biased as I am, it's very clear that I'm spending infinitely more time at home than I am over there and have never once attempted to live there before but I equally understand CBP's stance in having to crack down on things like this and they don't know me in any capacity beyond what they see on their system.

It's a tough one, but I really do appreciate your guys' insight and answers.

civilservant

Well you clearly got questioned more than you would on a routine basis, but I also think he was trying to scare you. I wouldn't have any concerns abou travelling again beyond making sure that I carried proof of my return ticket and anything else that you might use to prove intent. I don't see you getting sent home, since you have a good track record, and you are following the rules my applying for the correct visa.