mikey100

Hi

I overstayed on the visa waiver program (2 days cause of Hurricane Rita) and have now been told that I need to apply for the B2 tourist visa every time i want to visit the US. I'm planning to make a trip out soon in March (to visit family) and am wondering if anyone has done the same as me and how long it took for them to get it issued.

I've been told its alot quicker (the US embassy website says 5 days - but i find that hard to believe). But the main thing that gets me is the question on the application form is "Have you ever violated the terms of a U.S. visa, or been unlawfully present in, or deported from, the United States? " which means that for me I have to tick that as yes because of my overstay. According to the application process that will mean a minimum wait of 14-16 weeks!!! Even though I only overstayed for 2 days because of a real emergency!

So the question is - what are the chances of getting my tourist visa in the 5 days or will it be 16 weeks? What do you think? Anyone overstayed and applied for a tourist visa before and how did it go?

Any help you can provide will be much appreciated. I'm calling the us embassy (in London) to schedule the appointment with a consular tommorow but I can assume even getting an appointment will take ages...

Oh some last questions:

Does the US consular at the interview tell you the result of your application at the interview or do they process it and tell you in a couple of days?

Do they do multi entry visas anymore? I have to go back to the states in August as well since my Sister-in law's having her baby and I don't really want to pay the processing fees again. I can't believe the phone number you have to call to schedule the interview costs 1.20 per minute!!!

Does anyone know a way to strike that overstay off my record? I really dont think its fair - it was a real emergency! Especially after Hurricane Katrina.

Rete

Which Hurricane was it? Rita or Katrina. You mentioned both in your post. Regardless of the reason for the overstay, you have to have left before your 90 days expire which is why I caution people not to made plane reservations for the 90th day but for at least a week prior in case of an emergency. I would think and it is only my opinion, that the cause of your overstay will help you in obtaining a tourist visa. I know they will issue them for more than one month or 90 days. What might cause a problem is your very many trips to the US. Hope you got good news yesterday.

Rete

mikey100

Rita - which obviously wasnt as devastating as Katrina, but how was I to know that at the time? I had already evacuated from Houston with the thousands of other people.

Kevin Keane

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mikey100 wrote:

    >
    > Hi
    >
    > I overstayed on the visa waiver program (2 days cause of Hurricane Rita)
    > and have now been told that I need to apply for the B2 tourist visa
    > every time i want to visit the US. I'm planning to make a trip out soon
    > in March (to visit family) and am wondering if anyone has done the same
    > as me and how long it took for them to get it issued.
    >
    > I've been told its alot quicker (the US embassy website says 5 days -
    > but i find that hard to believe). But the main thing that gets me is the
    > question on the application form is "Have you ever violated the terms of
    > a U.S. visa, or been unlawfully present in, or deported from, the United
    > States? " which means that for me I have to tick that as yes because of
    > my overstay. According to the application process that will mean a
    > minimum wait of 14-16 weeks!!! Even though I only overstayed for 2 days
    > because of a real emergency!
    >
    > So the question is - what are the chances of getting my tourist visa in
    > the 5 days or will it be 16 weeks? What do you think? Anyone overstayed
    > and applied for a tourist visa before and how did it go?
    >
    > Any help you can provide will be much appreciated. I'm calling the us
    > embassy (in London) to schedule the appointment with a consular tommorow
    > but I can assume even getting an appointment will take ages...
    >
    > Oh some last questions:
    >
    > Does the US consular at the interview tell you the result of your
    > application at the interview or do they process it and tell you in a
    > couple of days?
    >
    > Do they do multi entry visas anymore? I have to go back to the states
    > in August as well since my Sister-in law's having her baby and I
    > don't really want to pay the processing fees again. I can't believe
    > the phone number you have to call to schedule the interview costs
    > 1.20 per minute!!!
    >
    > Does anyone know a way to strike that overstay off my record? I really
    > dont think its fair - it was a real emergency! Especially after
    > Hurricane Katrina.
    >

The proper procedure in case of such an emergency is to apply for
satisfactory departure - essentially, this is an extension of the 90 days
of visa waiver available in emergencies. You would be expected to apply for
it either before the 90 days are up, or if that is not possible, as soon as
possible thereafter. Technically, your departure does not qualify here,
although realistically I think that any immigration officer would accept
you as having departed on time.

By the way, I seem to remember that there was some discussion about relief
for non-immigrant hurricane victims, something like an automatic extension
of status or so. But I do not know details, nor if this even got off the
ground. There definitely were automatic extensions of various filing
deadlines.

My guess is the same as Rete's: it likely won't be a big problem in itself.
Between it only being a few days, and the reason for the overstay, my guess
is that you would probably even be able to use the visa waiver, or at least
get a multiple-entry visa.

However, a stay of 90 days in the USA last year, and another stay of similar
length coming up in March could potentially look suspicious. I think in the
end, you would fall on the "it's OK" side of the line, though.

The five days for a tourist visa count from the date of the appointment, if
there are no other obstacles. Getting an appointment can take several
weeks. Obviously, there are no guarantees, but my guess is that you will
get your visa quickly and multiple-entry for ten years, with an annotation
that essentially says "we checked the overstay, and it is OK".

- --
Please visit my FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com before asking a question here.
It may answer your question. Remember, I am strictly a layperson without
any legal training. I encourage the reader to seek competent legal counsel
rather than relying on usenet newsgroups.
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