British Expats - visa advice needed for cohabitating B2 + J1

Hi,

I am the BF of the OP, I thought I'd chip in and clarify a few things, and ask a few more questions if I may....

Many thanks to you all for taking the time to comment. We really appreciate it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crg14624 (Post 7593639)

1. I thought that .....snip

crg14624, thank you for the informative post. It's clear you have an understanding of this situation, most people do not, including it appears, many immigration officers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crg14624 (Post 7593732)

The problem is that the state department often doesn't write "partner of" on the visa, the border officers don't give them a year, and the participants don't do the extensions or do them improperly. Some people decide to travel briefly instead of submitting the extension requests.

It's a royal mess.

What you describe here is like a checklist for our situation. But do you know of anyone who leaves briefly every six months? Every time I try to re-enter, I may have no problem whatsoever, or I may be denied entry and barred. I expect everyone in my situation would have all the same issues.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Folinskyinla (Post 7595635)

So, when criticizing "they," it is CBP inspectors that count.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crg14624 (Post 7595649)

That's exactly what I was thinking. According to the State Department, the visa is toast per 222(g) when the extension is denied and the I-94 has expired. USCIS doesn't agree, and CBP deals with it differently based on who is working the border at the time.

Since it's the DOS's visa, they're probably right.

your comments about section 222g also being open to interpretation makes me think that the officer was focusing on this issue solely.

I called both the USCIS and the State Dept when I received my decision letter to ask them about this. Both told me that if I left before the 30 day period was up, my visa would not be invalidated. I believe the correct state of affairs is much as you say. It depends who you ask, deal with, and sometimes what side side of the bed they got out of that morning.

As Folinskyinla said, at the end of the day it doesn't matter if the State Dept is right, it is the CBP officer at the POE who counts, and unfortunately they appear to be the the most random in their knowledge and application of this rule. And sadly also the ones you can't afford to argue with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric S (Post 7595680)

But I'm curious. If DOS issues a B-2 cohabiting visa, does it look any different from a "regular" B-2 visa? And is CBP supposed to treat B-2 cohabitating visa holders any different from regular B-2 visa holders? Or do they just let them in for the standard 6 months and then it's up to the visa holder to continually file for extensions while they're here? If so, that kind of traps them here, doesn't it? Because if they leave and try to return on the B-2 visa, the POE officer is going to give them a hard time for "living" in the US on "visitor" visa.

Thanks.
- Eric S.

The visa is supposed to be 'annotated' with a comment saying the holder is cohabitating with a J1 (or whatever...) visa holder. I'm not sure if it's supposed to name the primary visa holder, mine was not annotated. Other than that is it just a regular 10 year combined B1/B2 visa.

And yes, the cohabitating visa holder is supposed to be treated differently, as you say, allowed to continually apply for another 6 months ($300 a pop). Also, they should be given 12 months when they enter. (this also didn't happen to me).

And you've noticed something most people don't - it does trap you. The people who deal with the extension applications may or may not be conversant with this rule, but the people at POE's are not. so even if the continuous extension approach were to work, you take a huge risk to leave the US.

I personally believe that the rule is poorly understood by many people all over the system, and any time you come into contact with an officer, it's pot luck whether you get someone who knows it properly or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crg14624 (Post 7596060)

The caveat is the " If otherwise admissible" part. The applicant may not have a foreign residence as required.

This is the other thing which confused me with the cbp officer. He didn't want to see my evidence of a foreign residence, etc. Is this because I have previously shown sufficient evidence? Or did he mess that bit up, because I must in fact show evidence every time? I suspect the latter, or he'd spent so long roasting me for 'bending the rules' he didn't want to take any more time?

Ok, thanks again......

I'm gonna put my questions in a separate post :)

J