AJH90

Hi guys,

I really hope you may be able to give me some advice.

I'm a 22 year old British Student studying Acting in London, I will have finished my course on May the 31st and am hoping to go out to Philadelphia on June the 5th to spend as much time with my girlfriend as possible. I have travelled previously on the VWP to see her, last summer for 2 months and most recently on the 27th of March for 17 days. I was given a 90 day stamp on my passport through the VWP, which expires on June the 24th (19 days after i plan on arriving in Philly). This worried me as i was unsure whether i would be given another full 90 days allowance upon my arrival on June 5th (which is what i wanted as we have made plans for the summer and autumn) and prompted me into submitting an application for a B-2 visa online yesterday with high hopes that i would be granted a 6 month allowance. Having read a lot about other people's experiences i am now very worried that a) i will be denied, and b) denial will void my ESTA for 6 months making me unable to see my girlfriend.

I have not yet booked the interview due to this worry. I will explain my plans and hope to get some advice or thoughts on my situation!

I am a student, and my third year has been extremely intensive so i have been unable to work due to regular 13 hour days and weekend rehearsals etc. But i am lucky enough to have been recruited by an official theatre company. I am hoping this will prove ties to the UK as well as all my family and friends living here, and a student loan to pay back! I intend to get a statement from the company to take to my interview (if i decide to book one soon) stating that i am a listed member of this company and my position there will be dependent upon my return in November.

I'm sorry if i'm waffling on but this situation has made me sick with nerves, this is my case in short that i hope i will get to explain to the interviewer at the embassy in London.

My reason for travelling to the States is that i have just finished my University course and would like to make the most of my free time before starting work as an actor in residence for a theatre company in London in November. I plan to visit friends and relatives and spend time with my girlfriend, I can provide a full travel itinerary as well as receipts for tickets to a music festival in Delaware taking place June 22nd, addresses of places i will be staying (Maryland, Philadelphia, NY, Texas) and will have a statement from the theatre company clarifying my position in November, addresses of my family in the UK and proof of my student loan that i must return to pay. My girlfriend will not be sponsoring me as I have some savings and my parents are giving me some money as a gift for completing University. I have a good record of travel in the States and have never overstayed my allowance or had any problems at any POE.

Do you think my case will be accepted? Is there anything i can do to further clarify my ties to the UK or the nature of my trip? I'm really nervous about getting denied, and if that happens can i still travel on the VWP in June? I am aware that i will have to update my ESTA declaring i have been denied a visa.

Thanks again everyone.

Adam

rpjs

Your chances of being granted a B-2 visa are extremely slim. If you do apply and are denied, then you will have to declare the denial on a fresh ESTA application and the chances are again high that this too will be denied. If you end up in that position, the anecdotal evidence on these forums has been that you'll probably have to wait 6 months to a year or more before an ESTA application is likely to be approved.

You say you've not booked an interview? If you have submitted any application at all for the B-2 then if you withdraw your application or fail to arrange an interview, this too will be treated by the US authorities as a denial and will need to be declared on an ESTA application.

AJH90

Thank you for your swift reply RPJS.

For what reason are my chances slim and is there anything i can do to improve them? So the only way for me to have a chance of seeing my girlfriend is attending this interview and hoping for the best?

Thank you

Ichigo-chan

No
Visit her on the VWP and make sure not to overstay :-)

AJH90

This was my plan B but as RPJS states if i withdraw my application or fail to make an appointment for an interview this will count as a denial too. Does anyone know if this is definitely the case? As i am so worried about being denied i wish i never submitted an application and had risked it on the VWP. This is extremely stressful.

Ichigo-chan

You will probably be denied - but you can only try
Concentrate on getting a job in the UK, try for the VWP in 6 months or else start the K-1visa process now

rpjs

The experiences posted here suggest that the Consular Officers in London (and I dare say elsewhere) will routinely deny a B-2 application for those of working age who are eligible to use the VWP. It appears to be the very fact of applying for a visit of more than 90 days that makes them feel that the applicant's ties to the UK are not strong enough. (Don't forget that vacations of more than two weeks at a time are almost unheard of in the US - my company offers a very generous vacation allowance but still does not allow us to take more than two weeks at a time absent very exceptional circumstamces.)

Added to that, you are currently neither in education nor work, and you have a girlfriend in the US. You may have a job offer for November, but that probably won't count for very much with the Consular Officer: job offers can be withdrawn or turned down, especially that far out.

From what people have posted here, I'd suggest submit as much documentary evidence as you can to show strong ties to the UK AHEAD of the interview. It would seem from others' experiences that the Consular Officer usually makes their decision on reviewing the paperwork ahead of the interview and won't look at anything you bring with you to the interview.

AJH90

Thank you RPJS,

How would i go about submitting evidence before the interview? I was under the impression you had to take everything with you there and then in case the CO wants to review it.

Ichigo-chan

This will be a test of your actor skills- think Mickey Rourke

rpjs

Pass, never applied for one. I thought I had seen people mention here that they've done so, so I'd suggest have a search of the forum.

Ichigo-chan

You can't present before in your case
Wait until you can visit on the VWP

AJH90

Ichigo-chan i have already submitted my B2 application online and the next step is booking an interview at the embassy, i am worried that if i just refuse to book an appointment at the embassy it will be counted as a denial anyway and my ESTA will be void too.

Noorah101

You would have had to submit any evidence when you applied online. All you can do now is bring evidence to the interview, hope the ConOff allows you to present it, allows you to explain why you need more than 90 days, and see what happens.

Rene

Ichigo-chan

You might as well make the appointment - when you attend you need proof of your attachment to the UK
Don't mention an US girlfriend - emphasise the tourist attractions
GET a job in the UK

S Folinsky

General comment and a short history lesson:

On both the VWT and B-2 admission process at the port of entry, the Dark Forces have the power to summarily refuse admission. That said, a VWT has no future legal effect other than inability to use the VW process. In contrast, refusal of a B-2 admission at the POE counts as a formal removal which is a bar to future visa applications and/or admissions.

As an aside, if a B-2 visa holder is granted the opportunity to "withdraw" the application, TAKE IT. The applicant will be tired, upset and jet lagged -- but still take it. This avoids a formal removal.

History lesson -- before April 1, 1997, a visa holder refused admission had the right to see an immigration judge, then to the Board of Immigration Appeals, then to District Court, then to the Court of Appeals, and then possibly the Supremes.

When the visa waiver was first created, it was required that its users affirmatively give up their right to hearings and review. This was put in place in 1986. Accordingly, absent this formal "exclusion" process, it would not be a legal bar.

In 1997, the former "exclusion" process was rolled into the new "removal" process and was "streamlined." Instead of POE inspector, IJ, BIA, District Court, Court of Appeals, Supremes, the process was now POE Inspector.

Upshot, the VW requires a waiver of rights which no longer exist.

The "law of unintended consequences" can be strange at times.