enmgs

Hi guys,

I am a British citizen living in Canada as a permanent resident. I was planning to visit Vermont this weekend by Car with my friend. Initially, I was under the impression that I don't have to get ESTA and all I have to fill was I-94W form at the border crossing.

This is all ok but today by chance I downloaded and read the I-94W form and came across the question F on the form which is.....
F. Have you ever been denied a U.S. visa or entry into the U.S. or had a
U.S. visa cancelled?

If you answered “Yes” to any of the above (includes question F), please contact the American Embassy BEFORE you travel to the U.S. since you may be refused admission into the United States.

In my case, originally I had an Indian citizenship and I was refused a student visa in 2002. I eventually moved and settled in the UK and even once traveled to the USA on a tourist visa in 2009. I later acquired UK citizenship and never traveled to USA on the british passport so far.

Now I am afraid that I will be refused entry to the USA if try to cross the border by car due to my student visa refusal. I am not sure how contacting American embassy will help. They might just ask me to apply for a tourist visa again. I can always apply for ESTA first to check but not sure if that will be valid for travel by car.

Has any one else been in similar situation? I was reading some threads where people have mentioned that now ESTA is being accepted at the border crossings. If that is true then I can apply for ESTA first and if authorised then I can proceed with my travel plans.

I will really appreciate any help/suggestions. Thanks in advance.

MB-Realtor

I cant help you with most of your questions, except ESTA.

Last time we drove over the boarder we were told that we should have applied for ESTA prior to crossing, and to do so before we next came over.

enmgs

Thanks, may be that might be the only good option in my case. I hope all the borders are asking for ESTA nowadays.

christmasoompa

As this is a US immigration query, I'll move it to that part of the forum, where I'm sure the lovely folks there will be able to help.

Good luck.

crg

You can seek entry, disclose the previous visa denial on the green form, and let the chips fall where they may. Being refused a visa for suspected immigrant intent doesn't make you ineligible for VWP.

You could seek an ESTA and it may be approved after a delay, but if the ESTA is denied then you'll be required to obtain a visa before seeking entry even if it's by land.

An approved ESTA can be used at land crossings to skip the green form but that's about it. You still have to pay the $6 and a white form is issued.

sir_eccles

Is the tourist visa in you Indian passport still valid?

crg

Wouldn't India consider the passport invalid once the person became British? That's visa in the old passport is only sufficient if both passports indicate the same nationality.

sir_eccles

Not sure, Indian citizenship rules are complex and I think they changed recently to allow dual citizenship.

maulajatt

No, India does not recognize dual citizenship. Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) and Person of Indian Origin (PIO) Visas are often incorrectly described as offering "dual citizenship."

MarylandNed

Correct. Indian citizenship is lost once another citizenship is obtained.

sir_eccles

Ok, thanks for clarifying.

enmgs

Ok guys, an update here. This morning I decided to go ahead with my ESTA application. I applied and got pending authorisation for around 8 hours but I finally got it approved. So I am really happy about it. I am now considering to proceed with my travel plans.
However, as you guys know that ESTA does not mean a guaranteed entry to the USA so I am keeping my fingers crossed that at the border they consider ESTA and my earlier visa refusal does not cause any problems and they let me travel further.

md95065

While there are never any guarantees, you should be just fine - don't worry about it.

enmgs

Thanks