dreamercon

FYI, the relevant statutes are listed at INA 215(b) and 22 CFR 53.2.

Jerseygirl

What would happen to the 5 yr old...stuck here without his parents if his mother cannot enter the US?

GeoffM

Answered here:

Jerseygirl

Thanks. In the opening post it said dad would be returning to asia for work.

Eric S

Boy, it sure seems to me that applying for a US Passport is a lot less complicated than this.

- Eric S.

Eric S

By the way, people who are elligible for the VWP are unlikely to get a B-2 visa. (Just wanting to stay longer than 60 days is not a sufficient reason). So, this option probably wouldn't have worked anyway.

- Eric S.

zerlesen

We don't know that for sure. Based on "none of us has lived in the USA during the last 20 years" it is certainly possible, depending on the age of the father, that the kid is not a USC. Which is not to say that they wouldn't be able to immigrate based on being the child of a USC, of course, but it makes a rather significant difference to the story.

Tommaso

Yes, I could think of it that way, but it wouldn't make much of a practical difference if I couldn't prove it... That's the issue here--even if I were absolutely convinced of my USC, without proof thereof, what use is my belief? Will the US Consulate give me a passport based on my unwavering, absolute belief? Are they going to do the research/find documents to prove it for me? That would be nice, but, I think, highly unlikely.

Fair point fatbrit--the visa interview is nothing to be sneezed at. The visa application also goes into some detail about parentage and previous overstays/removals, etc.

Thanks, Eric S, for pointing out the B-2/VWP conflict. Bit of a catch-22, that. Is there any documentation regarding this, or is it just policy? It seems odd that visitors from VWP-eligible countries would be discriminated against, compared to other visitors, who could request four, five or six-month B-2 visas (maybe they were never granted?)

Thank you all for your comments. I think I will strongly suggest to my parents that they take me with them when they leave North America at the end of my current VWP admission period--doing otherwise just seems like a thoroughly bad idea to me. At least that way I will be with my mum if the border officials decide to refuse our re-entry to the USA...we can tearfully wave goodby to daddy TOGETHER, as a family, the way it should be.

ian-mstm

Respectfully, it is not discrimination. You are, in fact, privileged to be eligible to travel to the US without a visa. Do you want to know why people see it as a disadvantage? Because they're greedy... and 90 days just isn't enough of a privilege! Let's keep that in mind! Those "other visitors" you see as being so much luckier than you are, in fact, at a disadvantage.

Ian

Mummy in the foothills

Yeah what zerleson said
Does the father know for sure he can even pass USC onto his child once he finds all his paperwork/evidence, just being born here isn't good enough, he has to have lived here for a set number of years and a number of those have to be over the age of 14.

Tommaso

Respectfully, how does "privileged" apply to NOT being allowed to visit the USA for between three and six months? Non-VWP persons (apparently) can do it, but "privileged" VWP persons (apparently) cannot. I can understand why VWP persons intending to stay for less than 90 days would be excluded from using a B-2 visa (nobody wants to do pointless paperwork, after all), but not those VWP persons who simply wish to stand in line and be treated like everyone else.

Does anyone know if this exclusion is a written policy, or just a practice? I'd like to read it (as soon as I learn to read!)

ian-mstm

The solution is simple. Relinquish your UK citizenship, move to a non-VWP country, stay there long enough to become a citizen... and enjoy spending more than 90 days in the US. Easy peasy... and then you'll be treated like everyone else!

Ian

Tommaso

Thanks for your help.

crg

VWP travelers don't have to pay something like $155, attend an interview and provide all 10 fingerprints to perhaps be allowed to travel to the US if approved. VWP travelers can complete an ESTA for $14 and then just show up and ask. If you want to stay more than 90 days you get to pay the fee and do the interview.

zerlesen

Every prospective visitor to the US is presumed to have immigrant intent. A claim that your visit needs to last longer than 90 days often raises suspicion. Every presumption can be rebutted in theory, but in practice a lot of B-2 applications from VWP-eligible folk are shot down immediately. The claim that this is discriminatory *against* the VWP-eligible assumes that it is easy for non-VWP folk to get B-2 approvals, which is not necessarily the case.

Good luck, anyway. At the risk of running this point into the ground, I think it is of the utmost importance to decide once and for all whether or not the kid is a natural-born USC. (Again, this will depend on things like how long the father lived in the US.) If so, there will almost certainly (I think? I am not a lawyer) be no consequence to your messing around on the VWP, but get them a damn passport. It's what you're legally supposed to do, it'll make your lives easier, and it won't make anyone any less English. OTOH, if the kid is not a USC by birth, then it becomes all the more important to be in full compliance with all appropriate regulations.