kid rock

Hi everybody,

Have been a long time reader and found the forum very helpful in the past! (now to my question)



Earlier this year me and my g/f got denied under the ESTA for a 2 week holiday to florida with her family (me and my g/f got denied a b/2 visa last year, but that is another story). So we applied, again, for a B2 holiday visa for 2 weeks for this september....... and we got it (it is a ten year B1/B2 Visa, which i assume is a multiple entry visa?)




Now my questions are:

Do we have to reapply for the ESTA or is the Visa now all we need? (i am assuming the visa is all we need from what i have read online)

Is it a multiple entry visa?

Why have they given both of us B1/B2 visas and not just a B2 visa?

Do you think we will have any trouble going in with the visas or will they want to pull us aside for extra questions? (we are traveling with my G/F's parents, her sister and her sisters friend, so 6 of us in total)

Is there anything else i should know?


thanks in advance guys

Simon

henryh

1. No, don't need ESTA if you have a visa
2. Yes, at each entry they'll authorise a particular period of stay, usually 6 months at a time.
3. B1 and B2 are very similar, so they're typically issued as a combined B1/B2 visa
4. Nobody can say for sure. You might be taken to secondary inspection which can take an hour or so if you're unlucky. But you should be let in in the end, you're in a much better position from an entry point of view than someone using the visa waiver program.

ian-mstm

Pay careful attention to the date on the I-94 that you'll receive. It tells you when you must leave the US... don't screw up!

Ian

kid rock

@henryh thanks for the answers!

@ian thanks, duly noted!



another couple of things i have thought of:

will i still need to fill out one of the green VWP cards on the plane?(as i assume they are still making you do the card and fill out the ESTA?)

and my passport only has 2 years left on it, what do I do about the visa in my passport? (it is stuck to a whole page at the mo) do i just cut that page out and stick it in a new passport when i get one?


Thanks


Simon

meauxna

Be clear that VWP + ESTA are nothing to do with you now. They go together, and they are off the table now that you have a visa.

There are two types of entry cards, the green I-94W that you already know, and a white I-94 thatis for non-immigrant visa holders (you). You will complete a white I-94 and present it with your visa/passport to the Immigration officer at arrival. The I-94 will be endorsed with the allowed stay.. leave by that date or else.

When a passport expires with a still-valid visa in it, the passport is canceled at renewal and returned to you with the visa still in it. You then travel with TWO passports, one current and one with the visa still in it. This is very common.
Do NOT cut the visa page out of your passport; that will invalidate your visa.

kid rock

thanks meauxna, i will put the scissors down and fill out a white I-94 on the plane!


thanks again everybody was very helpful!

simon

crg

Just don't put the scissors down on the plane....

kid rock

LOL the sharpest thing i will be taking with me is my tongue!