S Folinsky

You precise situation is quite common -- Argentina used to be a VWP country and was removed from the list; a fair number of Argentinians have claims to Italian nationality. I understand that those Italian passports are somewhat slow in coming. A law school classmate is quite curious since her daughter-out-law is in the same situation.

bignames

Daniel what have you found out? I have the same situation with my friend. He was denied 3 years ago a visa, He finally just got his italian passport, and we were making travel plans and this ESta form came up. Does he say no he was not denied a visa, which under his Italian passport he was not. Or does he say yes, because with his Argentine passport he was. I am seeing an immigration attorney here in the usa, to ask. I am disgusted with this and the gov here. I filled out an esta form and made up everything just to see, guess what it was approved, with all fake info.

scrubbedexpat099

He was denied a visa, not his Argentinian Passport.

Simple

bignames

He was denied a visa as a argentine citizen with his argentine passport. Now he has DUEL citizenship , Citizen of Italy and a citizen of Argentina. He will be traveling on his italian passport since Italy is a Visa waiver country (I would assume as an italian citizen then) The question have you been denied a visa one would answer???? That is the issue. AS an Argentine citizen yes would be the answer, but now being an italian citizen with an italian passport, could you answer no? That is what my meeting with the attorney will have to answer. We do not want to fill out that form until I have a legal answer, sorry to say that I do not trust DHS, and this country is the land of the legal loopholes.

scrubbedexpat099

You answered your own question

DanielMDQ

HI BIG NAMES!!

say the truth, i've been reading a LOT, u have to say YES to the denied visa question, at the airport they will know anyway, and if he lied it's worst.

If the Esta comes approved there are high chances he will get into the country, he will just need to explain why his visa got denied, and show some evidence, tell him to bring everything he can to show the port of entry officer

but, PLEASE, always say the truth, never try to hide that u got a visa denial, they will know you're lying and they will send him back to Argentina, just say the truth, and there are high chances he will be authorized to enter in the country.

Big names, could u PLEASE send me a private message here with ur MSN address? i'd love to be in contact with you since we have exactly the same case.

BY THE WAY, I DID THE SAME THING AS YOU, i completed the ESTA thing with all fake information to see what happened, i entered a fake name, fake passport number, i said i was lituanhian, etc, etc, and i put YES to the visa denial question, and i wrote it was deniad this month at the US embassy in argentina, and after 3 hours, it came back approved

Please give me ur MSN by private message so we can keep in contact

DanielMDQ

By The way, I got this from the US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION SITE, here u have ur answer Big Names, don't waste your money with an attorney

Many people make the mistake of thinking that if they were denied a visa when they were a citizen of one country, then become a citizen of another country, they can travel to the U.S. under the visa waiver program using their new passport. That is wrong. The eligibility question about having been denied a visa does not ask whether or not the denial was made after you became a citizen of another country. It asks, "Have you ever been denied a visa?" - period. If you answer "No" then we determine that you have been denied a visa in the past, we consider that to be fraud, and you will be barred from entry for a number of years. It is better to admit the truth, and then apply for a visa, then go through the experience of being deported for fraud.

source:https://help.cbp.gov/cgi-bin/customs...i=&p_topview=1

as i told you, i've been investigating this issue since the day they denied me the visa (feb 2nd, wish i could turn back time and just wait for the italian passport...idiot me, slap!)
and you need to declare your denied visa, in the ESTA application, and in the form you will have to fill on the plane and give it to the port of entry officer with ur passport,
He will be sent to secondary inspection, they will ask him questions, etc, but there are chances he will be allowed to enter the country

S Folinsky

You may not trust DHS, but they are the gatekeeper -- and an applicant for admission needs THEIR trust. There are two old cases in the "E" treaty investor arena where people tried to take advantage of dual citizenship with Italy -- it did NOT work.

In the 2003 "special registration" anti-terrorism effort, Israelis born in Iran were required to register as Iranians even though they entered the US on Israeli passports.

You are looking for a "loophole" that does not exist.

Final comment -- there are many Argetinians who have now obtained Italian passports. If nothing else, the immigration authorities are aware of patterns. Saying "no" when the pattern creates a high probability that the correct answer is "yes" will cause suspicion in of itself.

ian-mstm

Both citizenship and passport are irrelevant.

The question does not ask if you were denied a visa but now can travel on a different passport. It asks if you have ever been denied a visa. Full stop. End of story.

He *WAS* denied a visa. He must disclose this. To put down anything else - anything at all, is a lie.

Ian

mintprata

Hi there.
I'm a Singaporean who experienced the exact same problem as the thread starter.

Basically, I've applied for a B2 Visa on Wed morning and got rejected.
When I get back home, I applied for ESTA. Application was pended till midnight before it was approved.

I am planning for a trip next weekend and is really worried the clearance at the POE.

A few questions to ask people who have experiences.

1) What questions should I prepared at the POE?
2) Thread starter: Have u visited US already? What was the outcome?

Hope to hear from everyone soon.
Thanks!

ian-mstm

What will you be doing here? How long do you intend to stay? Where are you going to stay? How much money did you bring with you? Show me proof that you have a ticket home.

Ian

crg

So if someone is born Argentinian.... and then later in life becomes Italian..... and then someone asks them if they were ever born.... they can say no..... because they weren't born as an Italian..... ?

That doesn't make much sense either. When a question includes the words "Have you ever" it means just that. It is not appropriate to rationalize an incorrect response by qualifying or modifying the question in your head.

I wouldn't suggest a dishonest approach when traveling without a visa. They can essentially just send you back for any reason they can think of. Don't squander your credibility before you even get to the border.

liu856

seek for a review?

Englishmum

Why would you want a B-2 visa when Singaporeans can use the visa waiver? How long are you planning to visit the States for....and are you a young person, what are your ties to Singapore?

I live in the US and Singapore (although I'm British) and I'm aware that it's rare for young Singaporeans to be able to afford to buy or rent their own properties and usually live with their parents until they get married, or even when newly married.

Therefore, what the POE officers are looking at is if you are likely to overstay in the US if you don't have strong ties such as a mortgage or rental agreement, job etc. which you can prove you are not going to abandon.

Have you completed your National Service if you are a guy? Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend in the US? How long can you afford to be a tourist in the US...again more than 90 days is considered a long time.

Englishmum

If I were you and still intended to visit the US, I would fly to New York by taking either an Aer Lingus flight or Continental Airlines flight (to JFK and EWR - Newark respectively) by flying from the Republic of Ireland...

These flights briefly stop at Shannon where there are US Immigration (and I believe now there's also US Customs) based at Shannon airport. You are pre-cleared for entry to the US and the flights are treated as domestic arrivals once they arrive in New York (or NJ).

If you are denied entry to the US by the US Immigration officials at Shannon, ok you've lost the price of your air ticket - as I doubt airlines would give a refund...but hey, you haven't had to fly across the Atlantic in the first place and it's an easier trip to go home again...