james_lancashire

ok so my visa to work in the usa is having some problems. I was in the USA last year from march to december i have returned to the uk to get a new visa. However i am having difficulties as my employer messed up on the application. So the important bit is if my visa is rejected my employer wants me to return to the us and stay longer than the 90 day permitted period. I would not be getting paid as obviously i cannot without a visa. So what i want to know is if i saty longer than 90 days without a visa will it effect my application for a visa next year? my employer assures me if i dont get into trouble with the police it would have no effect.

racing girl

I wouldn't agree with your employer, they have a vested interest, and it's also not the police who decide if you can enter the country again or not. 10 years ago I had to have a visitors visa in the middle of an H1B application (I was already here on an expired E2). The H1B came through before the visitors visa had expired so I never left the country at the allotted time on the visitors visa. 10 years later I got stopped at the border crossing between Sarnia/Port Huron in Michigan by a rather over zealous Immigration Officer and got sent to the little interegation room and was grilled for an hour about something that had happened 10 years ago, because that loop on the visitors visa had never been closed to them.

Also, when I arrived back in the US and got that visitors visa I had to go into a room and explain what had happened and why I had left the country to a senior officer, who told me that if the H1B did not arrive before the visitors visa expired then I would HAVE to leave the country or severely impact my likelihood of getting an H1B at all.

Brenda

augigi

What type of visa did you have? What type of visa do you plan to apply for?

You cannot stay longer than 90 days on the VWP, unless you want to become subject to a ban from the country.

It's difficult, but you need to do it the legal way, even if it takes longer.

ian-mstm

You must not stay longer than 90 days if you're on the VWP. If you stay too long, you could face a 3-year ban from the US... which would certainly throw a monkey wrench into your employer's plans.


Oh my... yes, it certainly could have an effect... a bad one! Consider this... why would the US government issue you a visa when you have already demonstrated that you ignore the rules?


Your employer is an idiot. He is actively recruiting you to help him conspire to act against the US government... and you, my friend, are going to be the one caught in the middle.

Ian

AdobePinon

I assume you're not going to do it free of charge - in which case that would be illegal too.

Elvira

(1) What sort of visa were you on from March to Dec last year?

(2) What work visa is your employer applying for now?

(3) You cannot work in the US without work authorization at all - whether or not you get paid is irrelevant.

(4) Never, ever exceed the time on your I-94 - not even by a few days, nay, not even a single day. You'd be making trips to Secondary on every future entry.

chicagojlo

You have to hand in a slip when you leave which they use to record whether you stayed more than 90 days or not. That is how they will know. Staying out of trouble with the police is irrelevant (although also advisable!)

Bob

You can't work, even unpaid on the VWP...the employer won't be the one barred from the country for working on the VWP or be held in the clink until you get booted if you get caught.

pejpm1

I think the impotant question is what visa were you on from march to dec last year?? If you didnt have a valid visa and overstayed by 6 months then you could have messed up your chances already...

Dont listen to your employer, they are wrong. If you overstay, it's illegal. I'm not one of the holier than thou people on this forum, I dont see a moral issue, I dont really care what someone chooses to do...but for your own good, do not overstay. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but you said that you cant get paid without a visa...I think even the very act of working would be illegal. I dont think you can even do volunteer work without a visa...it's a serious matter, if you really want to move, dont mess around with the system as they will catch you.

Tracym

It is illegal to work, even unpaid, in a job for which a person would NORMALLY be paid.

so.. one can do pure volunteer work, where noone would be paid for it. But to "volunteer" for a job, thus "taking that normally paid job away from an American", is not allowed without the proper visa.

elisabetta

hi you all,i have been turned down my visitor's visa and now i really don't know if i can still use the visa waiver program to enter the US.please help me if u know something about it!thank you very much,
lisa

Noorah101

Yes, you can still use the VWP for traveling to the USA. You must declare your previous visa refusal.

Rene

elisabetta

thank u very much for your response!so r u sure i wont be barred?u know i'm scared!!

Noorah101

You're only barred from the USA if you've had a previous lengthy overstay.

Bring plenty of proof of your ties to your home country in case you are asked for it at the POE.

Rene

elisabetta

ok thank u so much!