mclaffy

Hello Forum

I am a British citizen living in the UK with my American Wife. Last year we planned to marry at her home in the US, but I was denied ESTA and thus we had to cancel the wedding. I quickly applied for a B2 Visa as my only option in hope of salvaging the wedding but no luck. It has been 11 months and I have not yet heard back from the US Embassy on the status of my B2 application.

I then filled in a TRIP form to enquire about my situation. This week I received a letter from DHS which said the following (snippet of full letter):

We are unable to predict whether a traveler will encounter problems when departing or returning to the United States. When DHS receives inquiries such as yours, we conduct a thorough review of the matter. Security procedures and legal concerns mandate that we can neither confirm nor deny any information about you which may be within Federal Watch Lists or reveal any law enforcement sensitive information. However, we have made any corrections to records that our inquiries determined were necessary, including, as appropriate, notations that may assist in avoiding incidents of misidentification.

What does the above mean? I am now about to re apply for me ESTA as my wife is planning on visiting her family in a few weeks and I would like to see her family (For the first time). My fears are the following:

- I have a B2 pending. If my ESTA is approved and I travel to the US under the VWP will I be denied entry?
- Will this then affect my B2 application?

If my ESTA is rejected then there is no issue and I will forget making any travel plans until my B2 application reaches a conclusion.

Also, does the TRIP process help change things? If they have amended my record then there is a possibility my ESTA will be approved.

I have reached out to DHS, CBP and Immigration to get some clarification on the above points and no one seems to be able to provide me with any answers. I'm told to 'just try and see what happens'. Not sure if the CBP officers have any idea what it's like to be treated like criminals/terrorists because missing your own wedding and then being unable to travel freely is not a small matter - and trying my luck isnt how I want to do this.

Thank you for any advice you can give me. As I said earlier I will try my ESTA application tomorrow and put the result on this thread.

Noorah101

Why was your initial ESTA denied?

What did the ConOff say at your B2 visa interview? They usually give you an approval or denial the day of the interview, they don't let it pend for 11 months.

To my knowledge, the blurb from the TRIP letter says that if you had any errors on your record, they have made the corrections, but you won't know until you arrive at the POE, and there are no guarantees.

Rene

mclaffy

Thank you for your quick response,

There is usually (correct me If i'm wrong) no reason given for an ESTA denial.

Some background:
- Visited the US in 04 for a summer camp. Did not over stay.
- Studied/Worked in the US in 06/07 on a J1 VISA. Did not over stay.
- Visited the US 3 times between 08/09. Did not overstay.
- One last time in 09 for my engagement to my fiancée.

At the interview for my B2 Visa, I was not given an approval/rejection right away because "my ESTA had been denied therefore further 'Administrative Processing' had to be done. My application has been in that state since.

Oddly enough when I visit the US Embassy in London website to view the status of my application (they have a PDF updated every other day showing status of those applications who have been told 'Admin Processing') I am unable to find my application number anywhere.

However my application is pending and this has been confirmed over the phone.

sir_eccles

Probably not really relevant but I am confused on one point.

- Are you married to your wife/fiance?

mclaffy

apologies for the confusion. yes i am married to her now. we moved the wedding to the UK last minute.

Noorah101

I just thought perhaps YOU knew why.

Hmmm. Are you of Middle Eastern origin, or have a Muslim name? That kind of thing sometimes will cause someone to go into Admin Processing.

Rene

crg

You don't have a visa application pending. All visa applications are either approved or recorded as denied within one day. They don't want them hanging out in limbo. They can revisit and approve a denied visa later without an additional application or fee, but the visa is considered denied unless that happens.

Be sure to answer the question correctlyon the ESTA application.

mclaffy

This link is for the US Embassy in London for Non-Immigrant Visa's. It gives more information about Admin processing.

http://london.usembassy.gov/administ...rocessing.html

" In some cases, processing can take six months or longer, so if your case is not yet listed, please check back periodically for the latest information."

mclaffy

Yes. You got it.

Noorah101

Ah, mystery solved. All you can do now is just wait it out. In the meantime, yes you can apply for ESTA again.

Rene

crg

I'm familiar with admin processing. While a visa application is undergoing admin processing, it's classified as a denied application unless it is cleared through admin processing.

Here's a link to their manual:

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87917.pdf

9 FAM 42.81 N1 VISA ISSUED OR REFUSED IF APPLICATION PROPERLY COMPLETED AND EXECUTED
(CT:VISA-964; 06-06-2008)

There are no exceptions to the rule that once a visa application has been properly completed and executed before a consular officer a visa must be
either issued or refused. For statistical and comparison purposes, all posts should follow the identical refusal procedures and report refusals the same
way in their required reports of visas issued and refused. (See 9 FAM Appendix I, Required Reports.) Accordingly, any alien to whom a visa is not
issued by the end of the working day on which the application is made, or by the end of the next working day if it is normal post procedure to issue visas
to some or all applicants the following day, must be found ineligible under one or more provisions of INA 212(a), 212(e), or 221(g). (INA 221(g) is not
to be used when a provision of INA 212(a) is applicable.) This requirement to find an applicant ineligible when a visa is not issued applies even when:
(1) A case is medically deferred;
(2) The post requests an advisory opinion from the Department;
(3) The post decides to make additional local inquiries or conduct a full
investigation; or
(4) The only deficiency is a clearance from another post. There is no
such thing as an informal refusal or a pending case once a formal
application has been made.

lifehouse51

I have applied for TRIP before and received a letter with similar, if not the same wording. I was pretty sure my red flag was removed as I no longer encountered problems afterwards. However, the letters DHS sent out are generic letters, and just as the one you have says, you can't tell whether things have been changed in your record or not.

It shouldn't be a problem that you apply for ESTA while a B visa application is in administrative processing, but unless your records were changed, in your case, the ESTA will probably not likely to be approved.

Instead of a B visa, have you considered also lodging an application for immigrant visa based on your marriage? It may be a better way in a long term.

mclaffy

Thank you for your thorough reply. Was not aware of the technical status that an application is in whilst it is in 'Admin Processing'.

mclaffy

I have applied for a green card too. Did not intend to but given that the B2 is taking so long we could not wait any longer. Our Lawyer is being realistic and has given us a time line of longer than 6 months. In the mean time the VWP or B2 approval is the only way.

Regarding your first point, yes it is difficult to understand what has changed. Will do my ESTA application now. Wish me luck.

crg

I'm sure you're aware that a B-2 is to visit and requires you to reside outside the US, and a green card requires you to reside in the US. What is your intention if you get one or the other?