Help Please - student visa and the US London Consulate.
May 5th 2002, 5:12 am
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2
Help Please - student visa and the US London Consulate.
Hello, I would greatly appreciate any help with the following problem.
My boyfriend is from the UK. Recently his application for a student visa was denied by the US Consulate in London for failure to provide sufficient evidence that he will return to the UK. In a nutshell, the following reasons were given.
His sponsor (i.e. financial) is his girlfriend who is an American. The College’s international student advisor who issued the I20 told me to write a letter stating what our relationship was – so I said long term and committed wanting to be clear that the sponsorship was valid– she attached it to the I20 and sent it to the processing center. She indicated that the letter was fine (apparently it was a disaster).
His course of proposed study (IT) is available in the UK (not as inexpensively and not readily available in the area of Scotland in which he lives – also the proposed course is a recognized US center for Cisco systems certification, which isn’t readily available in the UK).
His UK level of education exceeded the level of the US degree he was applying for even though it is in a complementary but different field therefore making him ineligible for post-graduate application.
The interview consisted of handing in his forms through a window – waiting and then being called and told the above. He was prepared to document a great deal of things during the interview as guided by the Consulate’s premium phone in help line. When he tried to do so the counter person implied that they had denied him three times? (actually one visa) and that he wasn’t helping himself by persisting. It was also suggested that he could put all the money to cover his education in his UK bank if he was interested.
I have contacted two separate immigration attorney’s offices in Florida and I have gotten conflicting responses. So, does anyone know if:
1. Is there a required waiting period prior to resubmitting a new student visa application (one attorney said he believed it was 18 months)?
2. Is there a chance that any student visa application submitted by him to the London Consulate will ever be approved (one attorney said probably not)?
3. Do the visa denial stamp in his passport prohibit or endanger his entry into the US under the US/UK visitors visa waiver program (both attorney’s offices said that it would)?
4. Should he use the French US Consulate rather than the London US Consulate (even though his home address is in Scotland) next time? This was suggested by the College’s advisor and agreed with by one of the attorneys.
Thanks. Sorry for the length of the post, but we really need some experienced advice and I wanted the situation to be clear.
My boyfriend is from the UK. Recently his application for a student visa was denied by the US Consulate in London for failure to provide sufficient evidence that he will return to the UK. In a nutshell, the following reasons were given.
His sponsor (i.e. financial) is his girlfriend who is an American. The College’s international student advisor who issued the I20 told me to write a letter stating what our relationship was – so I said long term and committed wanting to be clear that the sponsorship was valid– she attached it to the I20 and sent it to the processing center. She indicated that the letter was fine (apparently it was a disaster).
His course of proposed study (IT) is available in the UK (not as inexpensively and not readily available in the area of Scotland in which he lives – also the proposed course is a recognized US center for Cisco systems certification, which isn’t readily available in the UK).
His UK level of education exceeded the level of the US degree he was applying for even though it is in a complementary but different field therefore making him ineligible for post-graduate application.
The interview consisted of handing in his forms through a window – waiting and then being called and told the above. He was prepared to document a great deal of things during the interview as guided by the Consulate’s premium phone in help line. When he tried to do so the counter person implied that they had denied him three times? (actually one visa) and that he wasn’t helping himself by persisting. It was also suggested that he could put all the money to cover his education in his UK bank if he was interested.
I have contacted two separate immigration attorney’s offices in Florida and I have gotten conflicting responses. So, does anyone know if:
1. Is there a required waiting period prior to resubmitting a new student visa application (one attorney said he believed it was 18 months)?
2. Is there a chance that any student visa application submitted by him to the London Consulate will ever be approved (one attorney said probably not)?
3. Do the visa denial stamp in his passport prohibit or endanger his entry into the US under the US/UK visitors visa waiver program (both attorney’s offices said that it would)?
4. Should he use the French US Consulate rather than the London US Consulate (even though his home address is in Scotland) next time? This was suggested by the College’s advisor and agreed with by one of the attorneys.
Thanks. Sorry for the length of the post, but we really need some experienced advice and I wanted the situation to be clear.
May 5th 2002, 8:30 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Help Please - student visa and the US London Consulate.
Sponsorship by a US citizen is always problematic exactly for the reason you
experienced; it always raises a red flag at the consulate. It would ensure that he
can meet the financial obligation, but it also indicates that he may have a reason to
stay in the US rather than returning to the UK.
Saying that you are his long-term and committed girlfriend makes it worse because now
there is a very high probability that he would get married and remain in the US. Now
in order to qualify for a student visa, that's a disqualifying factor. In theory, you
could overcome that by explicitly stating that both of you will be moving to the UK
after his studies are complete. In practice, it probably wouldn't help because it's
difficult to convince the consular officers of that.
At this point, you really have only one option: marry him. US immigration law is
strange in this respect. As your spouse, he would immediately (well, it takes a year
to get) get permanent resident status, but at the same time he would not be allowed
to come to the US as a temporary student, or even just as a tourist would often be
impossible, or at least difficult.
The procedure is that you would file a petition for a fiance visa in the US BEFORE
you get married. When that is approved, he would go back to the consulate and receive
a fiance visa - and he should get that without a problem. He then travels to the US.
Ingo
On 5 May 2002 05:30:01 GMT, Amangel2 <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hello, I would greatly appreciate any help with the following problem.
>
>My boyfriend is from the UK. Recently his application for a student visa was denied
>by the US Consulate in London for failure to provide sufficient evidence that he
>will return to the UK. In a nutshell, the following reasons were given.
>
>His sponsor (i.e. financial) is his girlfriend who is an American. The College’s
>international student advisor who issued the I20 told me to write a letter stating
>what our relationship was – so I said long term and committed wanting to be clear
>that the sponsorship was valid– she attached it to the I20 and sent it to the
>processing center. She indicated that the letter was fine (apparently it was a
>disaster).
>
>His course of proposed study (IT) is available in the UK (not as inexpensively and
>not readily available in the area of Scotland in which he lives – also the proposed
>course is a recognized US center for Cisco systems certification, which isn’t
>readily available in the UK).
>
>His UK level of education exceeded the level of the US degree he was applying for
>even though it is in a complementary but different field therefore making him
>ineligible for post-graduate application.
>
>The interview consisted of handing in his forms through a window – waiting and then
>being called and told the above. He was prepared to document a great deal of things
>during the interview as guided by the Consulate’s premium phone in help line. When
>he tried to do so the counter person implied that they had denied him three times?
>(actually one visa) and that he wasn’t helping himself by persisting. It was also
>suggested that he could put all the money to cover his education in his UK bank if
>he was interested.
>
>I have contacted two separate immigration attorney’s offices in Florida and I have
>gotten conflicting responses. So, does anyone know if:
>
>1. Is there a required waiting period prior to resubmitting a new student visa
> application (one attorney said he believed it was 18 months)?
>
>2. Is there a chance that any student visa application submitted by him to the
> London Consulate will ever be approved (one attorney said probably not)?
>
>3. Do the visa denial stamp in his passport prohibit or endanger his entry into
> the US under the US/UK visitors visa waiver program (both attorney’s offices
> said that it would)?
>
>4. Should he use the French US Consulate rather than the London US Consulate
> (even though his home address is in Scotland) next time? This was suggested
> by the College’s advisor and agreed with by one of the attorneys.
>
>
>Thanks. Sorry for the length of the post, but we really need some experienced advice
>and I wanted the situation to be clear.
>
>
>
>--
>Posted via http://britishexpats.com
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. For reliable advice, please consult
with a professional immigration attorney.
For further information, check the following frequently-requested links.
For many questions, you may find answers at
http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html (Department of State)
or http://ins.usdoj.gov (INS).
For consular policies and visa reciprocity fees, find your consulate in
http://travel.state.gov/links.html
For visa denial and suggestions what to do about them, see
http://travel.state.gov/visadenials.html
For DOL Online Labor Certification: http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/
For information on affidavit of support for marriage to US citizens (I-864), go to
http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html and http://travel.state.gov/checklist.html
For information on entering the US as a K-1: http://www.k1poelist.com/
For poverty levels, see http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/00poverty.htm
For information on H/L/O/P visa extensions at Dept. of State in St. Louis, MO, see
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html
For non-official information, check:
(When using these sites, and any Web sites, please watch out for privacy, as I do not
know all site operators.)
http://www.visalaw.com http://www.shusterman.com http://www.immigration.com
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall http://www.murthy.com/ http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
(dual citizenship FAQ) http://www.ilw.com http://www.srs-usvisa.com
http://www.getusavisa.com http://greencard-lottery.virtualave.net/
http://www.jcvisa.com (H-1B) http://www.h1bresources.com (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.kamya.com/misc/ (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm http://www.workpermit.com
This is not an endorsement of any of these Web sites. I am not affiliated with any of
the Web site owners and do not receive nor accept payment in return for listing them,
and typically don't even know them.
(if believe you have a good immigration-related Web site and want your Web site
listed here, please e-mail me).
experienced; it always raises a red flag at the consulate. It would ensure that he
can meet the financial obligation, but it also indicates that he may have a reason to
stay in the US rather than returning to the UK.
Saying that you are his long-term and committed girlfriend makes it worse because now
there is a very high probability that he would get married and remain in the US. Now
in order to qualify for a student visa, that's a disqualifying factor. In theory, you
could overcome that by explicitly stating that both of you will be moving to the UK
after his studies are complete. In practice, it probably wouldn't help because it's
difficult to convince the consular officers of that.
At this point, you really have only one option: marry him. US immigration law is
strange in this respect. As your spouse, he would immediately (well, it takes a year
to get) get permanent resident status, but at the same time he would not be allowed
to come to the US as a temporary student, or even just as a tourist would often be
impossible, or at least difficult.
The procedure is that you would file a petition for a fiance visa in the US BEFORE
you get married. When that is approved, he would go back to the consulate and receive
a fiance visa - and he should get that without a problem. He then travels to the US.
Ingo
On 5 May 2002 05:30:01 GMT, Amangel2 <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hello, I would greatly appreciate any help with the following problem.
>
>My boyfriend is from the UK. Recently his application for a student visa was denied
>by the US Consulate in London for failure to provide sufficient evidence that he
>will return to the UK. In a nutshell, the following reasons were given.
>
>His sponsor (i.e. financial) is his girlfriend who is an American. The College’s
>international student advisor who issued the I20 told me to write a letter stating
>what our relationship was – so I said long term and committed wanting to be clear
>that the sponsorship was valid– she attached it to the I20 and sent it to the
>processing center. She indicated that the letter was fine (apparently it was a
>disaster).
>
>His course of proposed study (IT) is available in the UK (not as inexpensively and
>not readily available in the area of Scotland in which he lives – also the proposed
>course is a recognized US center for Cisco systems certification, which isn’t
>readily available in the UK).
>
>His UK level of education exceeded the level of the US degree he was applying for
>even though it is in a complementary but different field therefore making him
>ineligible for post-graduate application.
>
>The interview consisted of handing in his forms through a window – waiting and then
>being called and told the above. He was prepared to document a great deal of things
>during the interview as guided by the Consulate’s premium phone in help line. When
>he tried to do so the counter person implied that they had denied him three times?
>(actually one visa) and that he wasn’t helping himself by persisting. It was also
>suggested that he could put all the money to cover his education in his UK bank if
>he was interested.
>
>I have contacted two separate immigration attorney’s offices in Florida and I have
>gotten conflicting responses. So, does anyone know if:
>
>1. Is there a required waiting period prior to resubmitting a new student visa
> application (one attorney said he believed it was 18 months)?
>
>2. Is there a chance that any student visa application submitted by him to the
> London Consulate will ever be approved (one attorney said probably not)?
>
>3. Do the visa denial stamp in his passport prohibit or endanger his entry into
> the US under the US/UK visitors visa waiver program (both attorney’s offices
> said that it would)?
>
>4. Should he use the French US Consulate rather than the London US Consulate
> (even though his home address is in Scotland) next time? This was suggested
> by the College’s advisor and agreed with by one of the attorneys.
>
>
>Thanks. Sorry for the length of the post, but we really need some experienced advice
>and I wanted the situation to be clear.
>
>
>
>--
>Posted via http://britishexpats.com
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. For reliable advice, please consult
with a professional immigration attorney.
For further information, check the following frequently-requested links.
For many questions, you may find answers at
http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html (Department of State)
or http://ins.usdoj.gov (INS).
For consular policies and visa reciprocity fees, find your consulate in
http://travel.state.gov/links.html
For visa denial and suggestions what to do about them, see
http://travel.state.gov/visadenials.html
For DOL Online Labor Certification: http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/
For information on affidavit of support for marriage to US citizens (I-864), go to
http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html and http://travel.state.gov/checklist.html
For information on entering the US as a K-1: http://www.k1poelist.com/
For poverty levels, see http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/00poverty.htm
For information on H/L/O/P visa extensions at Dept. of State in St. Louis, MO, see
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html
For non-official information, check:
(When using these sites, and any Web sites, please watch out for privacy, as I do not
know all site operators.)
http://www.visalaw.com http://www.shusterman.com http://www.immigration.com
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall http://www.murthy.com/ http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
(dual citizenship FAQ) http://www.ilw.com http://www.srs-usvisa.com
http://www.getusavisa.com http://greencard-lottery.virtualave.net/
http://www.jcvisa.com (H-1B) http://www.h1bresources.com (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.kamya.com/misc/ (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm http://www.workpermit.com
This is not an endorsement of any of these Web sites. I am not affiliated with any of
the Web site owners and do not receive nor accept payment in return for listing them,
and typically don't even know them.
(if believe you have a good immigration-related Web site and want your Web site
listed here, please e-mail me).
May 5th 2002, 11:25 am
#3
Just Joined
Joined: May 2002
Location: Arbroath, Angus, Scotland
Posts: 3
Re: Help Please - student visa and the US London Consulate.
So, am I correct in thinking that the marks in the back of my passport have blacklisted me as a "flight risk"?
I fear that this would make ay US travel impossable unless under an immigrant visa.
I have already had a bad experience with officers going through Manchester simply because of the amount of stamps in my passport to the US recently, although I have never out stayed a visa and always spent quite some time back in the UK between US visits.
Is there any reason that we would encounter problems regarding a Fiance (K?) visa? I hear that this would be quite an ordeal anyway, and there is some age difference between me and my girlfriend.
Btw, I am the UK boyfriend in question from the initial enquiry
I fear that this would make ay US travel impossable unless under an immigrant visa.
I have already had a bad experience with officers going through Manchester simply because of the amount of stamps in my passport to the US recently, although I have never out stayed a visa and always spent quite some time back in the UK between US visits.
Is there any reason that we would encounter problems regarding a Fiance (K?) visa? I hear that this would be quite an ordeal anyway, and there is some age difference between me and my girlfriend.
Btw, I am the UK boyfriend in question from the initial enquiry
May 5th 2002, 9:00 pm
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Help Please - student visa and the US London Consulate.
On 5 May 2002 16:00:01 GMT, Blackfly <[email protected]> wrote:
>So, am I correct in thinking that the marks in the back of my passport have
>blacklisted me as a "flight risk"?
Which marks are you referring to? If there is a stamp that says "application
received" that would indeed be an indication that a visa has been denied for you
(actually, the stamp doesn't mean much, the consulate looks you up in their computer
system. So getting a new passport won't make a difference).
>I fear that this would make ay US travel impossable unless under an immigrant
>visa. I have already had a bad experience with officers going through Manchester
>simply because of the amount of stamps in my passport to the US recently, although
>I have never out stayed a visa and always spent quite some time back in the UK
>between US visits.
It is not unheard of for INS to deny somebody admission if he visited the US too
frequently.
>Is there any reason that we would encounter problems regarding a Fiance (K?) visa? I
>hear that this would be quite an ordeal anyway, and there is some age difference
>between me and my girlfriend. Btw, I am the UK boyfriend in question from the
>initial enquiry
The K-1 visa is more difficult than entering as a tourist, but I would not call it an
ordeal. An age difference may subject you to more scrutiny than most couples, but
again nothing you couldn't overcome.
And given the situation, I think that you would NOT have problems getting a fiance
visa, because that visa explicitly requires immigration intent.
Ingo
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. For reliable advice, please consult
with a professional immigration attorney.
For further information, check the following frequently-requested links.
For many questions, you may find answers at
http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html (Department of State)
or http://ins.usdoj.gov (INS).
For consular policies and visa reciprocity fees, find your consulate in
http://travel.state.gov/links.html
For visa denial and suggestions what to do about them, see
http://travel.state.gov/visadenials.html
For DOL Online Labor Certification: http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/
For information on affidavit of support for marriage to US citizens (I-864), go to
http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html and http://travel.state.gov/checklist.html
For information on entering the US as a K-1: http://www.k1poelist.com/
For poverty levels, see http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/00poverty.htm
For information on H/L/O/P visa extensions at Dept. of State in St. Louis, MO, see
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html
For non-official information, check:
(When using these sites, and any Web sites, please watch out for privacy, as I do not
know all site operators.)
http://www.visalaw.com http://www.shusterman.com http://www.immigration.com
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall http://www.murthy.com/ http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
(dual citizenship FAQ) http://www.ilw.com http://www.srs-usvisa.com
http://www.getusavisa.com http://greencard-lottery.virtualave.net/
http://www.jcvisa.com (H-1B) http://www.h1bresources.com (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.kamya.com/misc/ (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm http://www.workpermit.com
This is not an endorsement of any of these Web sites. I am not affiliated with any of
the Web site owners and do not receive nor accept payment in return for listing them,
and typically don't even know them.
(if believe you have a good immigration-related Web site and want your Web site
listed here, please e-mail me).
>So, am I correct in thinking that the marks in the back of my passport have
>blacklisted me as a "flight risk"?
Which marks are you referring to? If there is a stamp that says "application
received" that would indeed be an indication that a visa has been denied for you
(actually, the stamp doesn't mean much, the consulate looks you up in their computer
system. So getting a new passport won't make a difference).
>I fear that this would make ay US travel impossable unless under an immigrant
>visa. I have already had a bad experience with officers going through Manchester
>simply because of the amount of stamps in my passport to the US recently, although
>I have never out stayed a visa and always spent quite some time back in the UK
>between US visits.
It is not unheard of for INS to deny somebody admission if he visited the US too
frequently.
>Is there any reason that we would encounter problems regarding a Fiance (K?) visa? I
>hear that this would be quite an ordeal anyway, and there is some age difference
>between me and my girlfriend. Btw, I am the UK boyfriend in question from the
>initial enquiry
The K-1 visa is more difficult than entering as a tourist, but I would not call it an
ordeal. An age difference may subject you to more scrutiny than most couples, but
again nothing you couldn't overcome.
And given the situation, I think that you would NOT have problems getting a fiance
visa, because that visa explicitly requires immigration intent.
Ingo
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. For reliable advice, please consult
with a professional immigration attorney.
For further information, check the following frequently-requested links.
For many questions, you may find answers at
http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html (Department of State)
or http://ins.usdoj.gov (INS).
For consular policies and visa reciprocity fees, find your consulate in
http://travel.state.gov/links.html
For visa denial and suggestions what to do about them, see
http://travel.state.gov/visadenials.html
For DOL Online Labor Certification: http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/
For information on affidavit of support for marriage to US citizens (I-864), go to
http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html and http://travel.state.gov/checklist.html
For information on entering the US as a K-1: http://www.k1poelist.com/
For poverty levels, see http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/00poverty.htm
For information on H/L/O/P visa extensions at Dept. of State in St. Louis, MO, see
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html
For non-official information, check:
(When using these sites, and any Web sites, please watch out for privacy, as I do not
know all site operators.)
http://www.visalaw.com http://www.shusterman.com http://www.immigration.com
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall http://www.murthy.com/ http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
(dual citizenship FAQ) http://www.ilw.com http://www.srs-usvisa.com
http://www.getusavisa.com http://greencard-lottery.virtualave.net/
http://www.jcvisa.com (H-1B) http://www.h1bresources.com (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.kamya.com/misc/ (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm http://www.workpermit.com
This is not an endorsement of any of these Web sites. I am not affiliated with any of
the Web site owners and do not receive nor accept payment in return for listing them,
and typically don't even know them.
(if believe you have a good immigration-related Web site and want your Web site
listed here, please e-mail me).
