fleming77

Can anyone please advise on the following!
I was in the US for a period of 15 months (2002-03) and was managing to stay on Extensions to my 6 month Tourist Visa.

Unfortunately on my 2nd request for an extension i was denied
and was told to leave immediately. When i applied I was''IN'' status but the length of time it took for them to reply i was eventually ''OUT'' of status. My official status ran out in DEC 02.
I received the letter telling me to leave in Feb 03 but did not actually leave until march 03, due to financial reasons.
I have now planned to return for 1 weeks holiday and am concerned that when i try to go through immigration they will look at my history and see that i did stay over my visa for a couple of months and consequently deny me entry.

Can anyone tell me if it is likely i will encounter much difficulty at the airport and if so what should i do other than take all the necessary letters and documents from my previous stay.

I am currenltly in full time employment in the UK and have no intention of giving up my job and was thinking of getting a letter from my employer stating that i will be returning after my stay.

Any comments or information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance
Regards
Dave, Scotland, UK

supernav

you could try your luck. But legally you have a 3 or 10 year bar. You could try for a waiver. But good luck.

Issue is you didn't receive notice about your extension, and you over-stayed only due to waiting to hear back from them. I don't know if that gives you rights to continue staying in the US,.

-= nav =-

Jozef

"fleming77" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Can anyone please advise on the following!
    > I was in the US for a period of 15 months (2002-03) and was managing to
    > stay on Extensions to my 6 month Tourist Visa.
    > Unfortunately on my 2nd request for an extension i was denied
    > and was told to leave immediately. When i applied I was''IN'' status but
    > the length of time it took for them to reply i was eventually ''OUT'' of
    > status. My official status ran out in DEC 02.

You continued to be in status during the time it took CIS to process the 2nd
extension.

    > I received the letter telling me to leave in Feb 03 but did not actually
    > leave until march 03, due to financial reasons.

That means you were out of status and accrued illegal presence for about a
month.

    > I have now planned to return for 1 weeks holiday and am concerned that
    > when i try to go through immigration they will look at my history and
    > see that i did stay over my visa for a couple of months and consequently
    > deny me entry.

You are not subject to any bars since those only kick in after 180 days of
illegal presence so you're OK there.
But the immigration officer may deny you entry because you overstayed.

    > Can anyone tell me if it is likely i will encounter much difficulty at
    > the airport and if so what should i do other than take all the necessary
    > letters and documents from my previous stay.
    > I am currenltly in full time employment in the UK and have no intention
    > of giving up my job and was thinking of getting a letter from my
    > employer stating that i will be returning after my stay.

Good idea. Make sure you have that, and a return ticket, the approval notice
of your first extension, the denial letter of your second extension, and a
good explanation why it took you a month to depart after receiving it.

I assume your B1/B2 visa is still valid and multiple entry.
Note that because of your overstay you will not be able to use the Visa
Waiver Program anymore.

fleming77

I am actuallly on a new passport as the one with the B1/B2 visa in it expired and due to the passport being damaged the UK passport agency took the whole thing and denied me the right to get the page with the visa back.
So i will actually be going back on the VW.

I assume at the immigration desk, when they scan the passport, my history of entry to the US will appear, even with a new passport.?

So can anyone advise on how i can check my current status. Is there anyone i can call before i leave the UK so that i dont find myself in an embarrassing situation.?

Please help. Any information is greatly appreciated.
d

Rete

The fact that you have a US Consulate issued B1/B2 tourist visa most certainly means that your name and information are on the database which will be pulled up with the scanning of your UK readable passport. Also if your I-94 was removed upon exit from the US that information will probably also be on the database.

Rete

Jozef

"fleming77" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I am actuallly on a new passport as the one with the B1/B2 visa in it
    > expired and due to the passport being damaged the UK passport agency
    > took the whole thing and denied me the right to get the page with the
    > visa back.
    > So i will actually be going back on the VW.
    > I assume at the immigration desk, when they scan the passport, my
    > history of entry to the US will appear, even with a new passport.?
    > So can anyone advise on how i can check my current status. Is there
    > anyone i can call before i leave the UK so that i dont find myself in an
    > embarrassing situation.?

As Rete indicated, you almost certainly are in the CIS/CBP database.

I reread the 'Who Is Eligible to Use the VWP?' section on the CIS website
(http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/...spect/vwpp.htm)
and it appears that - contrary to what I said in my previous post - you may
still be able to use the VW program. Only those people that overstayed on a
VW are not eligible to use the VWP anymore. You overstayed on a B1/B2 visa.

However, I still think you stand a better chance of being admitted if you
have a regular B1/B2 visa.

Even with the visa you may still be denied entry but then again you may not.
It all depends on the immigration officer at the airport.

Make sure you're prepared (see my previous post) and be completely honest (I
mean, don't try to hide your overstay).

Good luck!


Jozef