ramblestan

Hi! Firstly a big thank you to anyone taking the time to read and respond to this post. I'm one of the many with a messy US visa situation through mistakes and would love some thoughts on the best way forward.

TL.DR: Rejected from J1 visa in early Feb 2019. Applied (stupidly) for an ESTA the very next day and was automatically denied. Now no longer seeking any opportunity in USA but I have a close friend's wedding in NYC in Mid-August which I am desperate to go to, although my chances look slim. Should I reapply for ESTA, try for a B2 or give up?

My background is in finance, due diligence and investing. I've lived in London my whole life and am British. In Oct 2018 I had a new job with an investor and we were looking at an opportunity in USA. I traveled there for around 85 days to conduct due diligence and help with the investment. During my time there I was offered the opportunity to join the company short term as a trainee finance director. Spoke to a lawyer who recommended the J1. Had my interview on 6 February 2019 in London US embassy and was denied under 214 (b) with the reason given that I did not fit the category of the J1 visa. Specifically, the interviewer felt I was trying to 'get around the system', that I was too experienced for a J1 and was suspicious of my previous near 90 day trip to the States. In hindsight, yes it doesn't look great. But hey, hindsight is 20-20 and all that.

I took some very bad advice to immediately apply for an ESTA (my old one ran out during my 85 day trip). I thought this would allow me to go on occasional trips for financial oversight purposes. Big mistake, but too late - automatic ESTA denial issued.

Fast forward to today, my circumstances and situation have changed. I am no longer working with the US startup in question. A close friend has a wedding in Mid August which I'm desperate to attand. However my proof of ties to UK isn't great, even though I have absolutely zero intention of moving to USA. Some key points:
- I am a sole trader consulting to investors / startups on financial matters. Therefore no payslips, best work proof I can get is contracts and invoices. These don't seem very strong.
- I own a property and pay a mortgage
- Not married, don't have any children
- Am an accountant by background and hold an ACA

From extensive searches of this forum it seems the US embassy barely look at proof docs anyway. So my 3 choices seem to be as follows:
1) Reapply for ESTA right before the wedding (say 8 August) to give as long as possible since the denial in February. I can just about make it to 6 months.
2) Apply for B2. I had a very brief chat with a lawyer who recommended applying in Belfast but I'm skeptical. To me it looks like visa shopping and I'm anxious of making a bad situation worse & losing access to USA for years. I'd really need the opportunity to travel there for future business purposes.
3) Give up. Hugely disappointing but not the end of the world. If I really felt there was <10% chance of success I would accept it and move on.

However it seems very difficult to get a clear idea of which of these is best way forward. Does anyone have advise or insight from similar experiences?

Thanks !!

Pulaski

The only one of your three options which stands any chance of getting you into the US as a visitor is "1)", there isn't much to lose, but a few pounds. I suspect that, after 5 months, your odds are about 50:50.

The chances of a British citizen of working age getting a B-2 are at best slim, unless you are presenting a clear need for a visit longer than 90 days, such as hiking the Appalachian Trail. (Once you are retired/ of retirement age, it is much easier.) And not only will it be a long shot to get it, it add another visa rejection to your record, further extending the time when you are likely to get another ESTA.

scrubbedexpat099

1) is a cheap option, just a few quid so why not?

civilservant

Agree that 1) is your only hope. If 1) fails, 3) will happen.

Good luck.

ramblestan

Thanks for the answers. It's weird - I managed through a contact to get in touch with an immigration lawyer for (admittedly free) advice. His response: you’re not getting an ESTA again for at least a few years yet so the B-1/B-2 is your only option
Again it just leaves me conflicted. The general consensus here is that B2 is very difficult to get in UK whereas lawyers seem to think it's possible. Conversely, you guys believe ESTA is possible and searching the forums seems to bring up a consensus that ESTA could work 6-12 months from first denial (at maybe 50:50 odds). I've struggled to actually find any posts detailing success here, although that could just be a result of my searching skills.
Ultimately I'd like to give it a try rather than immediately resort to (3) and ESTA seems the path of least resistance, so thank you all for the responses.

scrubbedexpat099

Well judging from what has been seen here 6 months would seem the sweet point, but there is no data base.

On what basis did the Lawyer justify the few years comment?

Pulaski

We hear almost exclusively of B-2 rejections, but we have no way of knowing if there are many successes, as Boiler said there is no database.

For almost all travelers/ visitors 90 days on the VWP is more than sufficient, so very few people need to apply for a B-2. Paradoxically because most people with a criminal record are barred from using the VWP, many B-2 applicants have a criminal record and are relatively likely to be granted a B-2, but that has more to do with them not being eligible for an ESTA than with how easy it is to to get a B-2.

tht

ramblestan

He didn't specify but seemed to be my particular situation, in that I was denied a J1 and applied for an ESTA the very next day. Looks like desperation.

I'd need to dig out my old passport as I've since renewed but I went in with the facts, stating it was for business, and had no issue with the airport immigration officer. I'd assume he would have stamped for business.

At the J1 interview in the London embassy, the officer first asked the questions about my intent and previous trip. I explained the situation perhaps poorly because as soon as she heard I was connected to an investor, that was it. In passing at the end of the interview, as I was pleading my case and trying to demonstrate how I fit the J1 visa, she mentioned she was suspicious of my previous 90 day trip. Sort of as an extra justification to deny the J1.

tht

I assume the original trip was not planned/declared at entry as 90 days, and got extended while you were over here... look at it from their perspective, not many people can be away from their job/business and restricted to very limited business activities for 3 months which is probably why she mentioned it, had it of been a long holiday it probably would have been lees of red flag. I would guess your best bet is a long wait and then reapply for ESTA. I assume that any visa you apply for, the officer will have access to your whole file and the officer probably made notes. For a business trip on visa waiver i would think a week, max 2 if you had to visit multiple states would be about the max that would seem reasonable unless there was some specific reasons such as coming for training or something similar in which case they could review the details at the time of entry, I think a lot of the big US banks etc do that for new hires in UK/Europe.

scrubbedexpat099

Sounds like the lawyer is guessing.