Needing some advise
 

Hi All

I am in Houston just now and I have a L1 visa I was on holiday to the US on the 3rd of OCT and had no problems with immigration.
I have been here a week now but immigration had a issue with me they sent me through to sit in a room and told me nothing.
At the end they said i need a waiver as well as my L1 visa because i have serious assault on my criminal record which i declared and had to justify myself and low and behold the US embassy accepted my charge didn,t include Moral Turpitude thus processing my visa.
My understanding is that you only need a waiver if you cant get a visa can anyone enlighten me.

Cheers

Re: Needing some advise
 

Are you currently in Houston as a visitor, or on your L1 status?

So you exited the USA after October 3rd, and then re-entered the USA last week? Did you enter the USA a week ago using your L1 visa, or as a tourist?

OK, so the POE officer told you he can't let you in on your L1, and that you need a waiver? But when you explained that you've convinced the US Embassy that you didn't need a waiver, they went ahead and issued your L1, and then the POE officer let you in on your L1 status?

I really don't know what you're asking here, sorry.

Rene

Re: Needing some advise
 

Hi:

You don't ask a question. However, contrary to what you seem to think, the grounds of inadmissibility apply to both the application for a visa and application for admission.

I hope that will enlighten you.

Re: Needing some advise
 

Thanks for the replies.

I am sorry I didn,t make myself clear I am just wondering what to do next do I need to contact the US embassy in London or my Attorney through my company.
I have looked into various threads which say you only get get a waiver if you get refused your Visa.
Does anyone know how long it takes to get a waiver as I am getting married over here in October and I dont want to get turned away.

Many thanks for your replies.

P.S sorry for delay in getting back to you I have limited internet

Re: Needing some advise
 

I'm sorry, your situation is still not clear to me.

Where are you right now? From your post, it sounds like you are in the USA on an L1 visa. But at the same time, it sounds like they turned you away at the POE and sent you back to the UK. Where are you right at this very moment? USA or UK?

As Mr F, one of our resident immigration attorneys just pointed out to you, it can be determined to need a waiver either at the visa stage or the POE stage.

A waiver so you can enter the USA on your L1?

You need to be more precise when you say "here". Since I don't know where you are right now (US or UK), where is "here"? Are you getting married in the USA or the UK? Are you getting married in October 2010? October 2009 is already gone.

Rene

Re: Needing some advise
 

Speak to your lawyer, sounds like you do need a waiver.

Re: Needing some advise
 

Thanks again for the replies.

I am currently in Houston but when I eventually got through immigration I was told i should have had a Waiver.
I am getting married in USA October 2010.

Thanks again its much appreciated

Re: Needing some advise
 

You need to remember that *WE* do not know your current situation, and your poor explanation of what happened doesn't help.

You wrote: "I have a L1 visa I was on holiday to the US on the 3rd of OCT".

So, the question is: If you have an L-1 visa, then *HOW* were you "on holiday to the US"? You can't be on holiday in the US if you're already here with an L-1 visa.

You wrote: "At the end they said i need a waiver as well as my L1 visa because i have serious assault on my criminal record..."

A waiver for what? Did they give you any papers? If so, what were they? Did they write anything in your passport? If so, what did they write.

If you want good help, you have to give good information. So far, you haven't given any good information. You must be very specific.

Ian

Re: Needing some advise
 

Hi Steve,

It might be a good idea for you to have at least a 1-time consultation with an immigration attorney, so you can get a clear answer to your question. I think your question basically is, "Is it OK for me to be in the USA on my L1 visa now, since the POE agent said I should have needed a waiver?" Is that your basic question?

Oh, and please don't tag your same question at the end of a thread that's almost a year old. You already asked your question in this thread, please keep topic in one thread, much easier to get all the answers in one place that way.

Thanks,
Rene
Moderator

Re: Needing some advise
 

Sorry I am new to this.

I will start again.

When i applied for a L1 visa i ticked the box which said do you have a criminal record.
I then sent in my record which had serious assault on it but I explained everything to the Embassy and they approved my L1 visa.
I went on holiday on the 3rd of October on holiday but because I had my L1 visa I used this instead of an ESTA (which i still have an approved 1).
There were no problems at that time.
I then headed back to the US for work purposes but when i tried to get through immigration they pulled me aside to another room.
The outcome was that the gentleman says even though i have a L1 visa i will need to get a waiver aswel.
The problem is that for what i can see on forums etc the only reason you will get a waiver is if your vise is refused.
I am in US just now and he hasn,t written anything on my visa etc Thanks

Re: Needing some advise
 

Yes - I believe this is true. If you didn't sign anything, and if you didn't get any papers, and if he didn't write anything in your passport... then it's entirely possible that he was either trying to scare you... or he was simply wrong. Either way, I don't think you need to worry about it.

Ian

Re: Needing some advise
 

Ian

Thanks again , I hope you are right he did say he would put a note on the system but that doesn,t seem to make sense.

Re: Needing some advise
 

I don't think it is true. I remember one K-1 case where the fellow applied & received his visa but was bounced at the POE and sent back to the UK to apply for the waiver that CBP determined he needed.


If I were the OP, I would be on the horn with the company lawyer who handled the original case and finding out more.

Re: Needing some advise
 

Hi:

What STATUS are you currently in the US? You don't say.

And you keep saying "The problem is that for what i can see on forums etc the only reason you get a waiver is if your vise is refused."

As a normal matter, you get that L-1 visa, in you come. However, that is not the law. The port of entry has the power to revisit everything. You don't see this in the forums simply because it does not happen all that often. It is within the realm of CBP to admit you even if you needed a waiver.

You still have not said exactly what happened. All we know is that you went to secondary inspection the last time, you were told you need a waiver and you are now physically in the US. Were you paroled? Were you granted a waiver at the POE? Were you allowed in even though you don't have a proper visa inasmuch as it was "improvidently" issued?

BTW, you mentioned you were getting married. To a United States citizen? If so, please note that the non-immigrant visas and admission have a general catchall waiver that covers everything except terrorism and national security grounds. A person with a drug conviction can get that waiver but will never be allowed to immigrate.

Bottom line -- you simply have not given the information necessary to form any informed opinion on the matter.

Re: Needing some advise
 

I agree. He needs to give more info. What was the charge/conviction for? Were you admitted as an L-1. Were you paroled? Did they make any notations on the back of the I-94 such as 212(d)(3) waiver? Did you pay an extra fee?

If you're sitting in the US with an I-94 endorsed as an L-1 then in my opinion it is more likely than not that they gave you bad information.

Despite the fact that they have the discretion to let someone in who needs a waiver, the process is usually much different than simply granting an L-1 I-94. They're not supposed to knowingly allow someone to proceed if they need a waiver without doing additional paperwork such as a deferred inspection, parole, waiver (with $545 fee) or notice to appear.