Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

Any advice would help thanks all, here's my story.

I was Born in Hong Kong, and I obtained UK citizenship through my parents although i Never went to UK.
I went to USA to study with F1 Visa. After I graduated I obtained E2 Visa in 2007 (i started a business and is still running today). I renewed in 2009 and Now I want to travel out of USA to see my grand parents. Here is the problem. Since I need to obtain a Visa re-entry to USA, I have to goto a USA embassy to get one.

1. If I goto US Embassy in UK, I might get denied because I cannot prove that I live in UK nor i have no job in UK (heard interview is very hard in london).

2. If I goto US Embassy in Hong Kong, they might question me the same thing since I use my UK citizenship to obtain the E2.

What can I do in order to travel ? I really need to go visit my grand parents since they are super old already. Any advice could help please thanks !

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

ok, I'm sure someone else with far superior knowlege to mine (which is 0 when it comes to your particular visa type) will be along shortly, but permit me to ask a few questions just from reading your post as I'm a little confused by it.

You state that; "If I go to US Embassy in UK, I might get denied because I cannot prove that I live in UK nor i have no job in UK (heard interview is very hard in london)."

You've been here on E2 visa since 2007 - is that right? How then would they expect you to prove that you were also living in the UK at the same time as you were resident in the USA, or am I missing something?:confused:

Was the visa granted on condition of your UK citizenship, or on the basis of you being a UK resident or both?
If you only need to be a UKC to qualify (plus the other visa requirements of course) then I'm not sure what the problem is or why you think you would ru ninto problems.
If however you need to have been a UK resident a the time of application (and you say you weren't) then are you saying you led them to believe you were resident in the UK when you were not?

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

He has E2 status, no visa.

If the business is solid it does not really matter, if it is marginal, another issue.

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

I'm not sure, your best bet would be to contact the US Embassy in the UK and HK and find out if either of them will renew or reissue your E2 visa and how long the wait time is. When you got your first E2 visa which embassy did you do it through.

My husband has an E2 issued in Italy, I was living in UK at the time so collected mine in the UK. But travelled to South Africa and got another visa there to re-enter the US - no problems, they did ask for my address in SA and I gave them the address where I was staying, they did ask when the visa was over where I was going to live and I said either SA or Italy and they were happy with that, i think so long as you don't say you want to live in the US forever they are happy. However if my husband travels it's best for him to go back to Italy for his and all is papers are there and they said it's much easier that way. His visa in Italy took two days, mine in SA took 10 days, I've heard the UK can be much longer.

Good luck.

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

UK is a lot quicker now, couple of weeks I believe, but check.

Is HK a treaty country?

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

Thanks for answering,

My E-2 Status was obtained in US while i was on F-1 status and visa.
The point is if you change your status in US, is much easier. They will not question or verify your residence. As long as I have a legit business & UK citizenship then they will approve. Thats how I got my E2 status in USA.

* The point is I have never lived in UK , but I used my UK citizenship to obtain the E-2 Visa. Would the consulate deny my Visa base on this fact ?

or the consulate dont care abouth that, all they look is your business is running, employeed US citizens and I have no intend to stay in US forever.

btw my business is solid, employed with a few people.

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

Hong Kong is not an independent country, and the PRC is not an E2 treaty country.

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

I don't know, you must know on what basis they granted the visa?

You seem to be confusing being a UK citizen and being UK resident, they're not one and the same. If the visa was granted on the basis of you having been a UK resident and that was never the case then I'd say that's a problem.

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

He does not have a Visa!

Non immigrant intent is not usually an issue with an E2.

As it is your first Visa I would consult with a lawyer familiar with London E2 cases.

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

First, for purposes of international law, Hong Kong is NOT -- repeat NOT -- a separate country. It is "Hong Kong, SAR," which is a "special administrative region" of the Peoples Republic of China. So it's China's.

Next, if the Original Poster obtained E-2 status by applying for Change of Status in the US while an F-1 student, then it is entirely possible that USCIS did the COS from F-1 --> E-2 here and entirely missed the finer points of the UK-US treaty.

Now as most here know, E-2s are typically applied for at the US Embassy in the alien's home country. Well, in this case, China is not a factor; it's not a treaty country. The UK is.

However, under the terms of the Convention, which entered into force on 3 July 1815, E-2s can be given to UK nationals who live in British territories in Europe and who "inhabit" such territory. (This rather twisted language means that for Treaty purposes the UK = The British Isles - except the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Gibraltar.) The treaty notes that eligible beneficiaries are those who "reside actually and permanently in a given place and have domicile there." There's the problem.

The OP has largely resided in HK, except for his sojourn as an F-1 in the USA. By his own admission, he has never resided in the UK. If this application were submitted at AmEmb-London, they would almost certainly have caught it and denied the vx. USCIS officers are not usually sufficiently agile to catch the problem.

End result: if the OP wants a vx, he must go thru AmEmb-London, or USConGen-Hong Kong. London would almost certainly catch the discrepancy. HK might or might not. In either case, if the OP wants his vx, he's going to need to bite a bullet and process at a US post.

One thing might be to set up some kind of residence in the UK. Other than that, I can see no way around this, unless the OP has dual nationality with another treaty country. HK has no separate arrangement with the USA, and China is not -- repeat NOT -- a treaty country. (Taiwan is.)

This one needs the tender, loving attentions of an experienced attorney to see if there's a way around the problem.

--J Craig Fong
Los Angeles, CA

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

When you say 'UK nationals', do you mean those with any kind of British nationality, or strictly British citizens? The OP says he acquired "UK citizenship", but it's not clear to me if he is really a British citizen or a British national (overseas), as many others with a connection to Hong Kong.

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

He does say that he is a British Citizen in his first post, and I'd guess that he has a UK passport or he wouldn't have been given the E2 thingy in the first instance. But you're right, it's not that clear.

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

He said he had "UK citizenship", which strictly speaking does not exist.

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

How would you refer to it then?

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

Re: Big E2 Problem Need Help Please !!
 

To be fair most of my dealings with US Gov at Federal and State level seem to confuse the issue, but you would think that somebody who has it would know.