Ask me about US immigration.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask me about US immigration.

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

It seems that temporary visits are considered to be an immigration issue, so here goes. I'm a citizen of a non-VWP country, but a permanent resident of a EU VWP country. This year I'd like to come to the US for my vacation, but here's the catch: I was already denied once like 4 years ago. No reasons were given, of course, but I suspect this didn't help:

I worked in a small company and was paid in cash
Probably didn't handle the "why did you come here?" question perfectly, should've stopped at "it was my parent's call"
I have friends and relatives in the US.

I now work at a megacrop and would handle such questions better, of course. But the last point remains, and in fact, some of my relatives are the ones who invited me. So, any suggestions on how to handle this? They can provide me with an invitation with accommodation and promises to feed and take care of me or whatever, but I'm not sure if this would help or hurt me: wouldn't this increase my chances of overstaying and living out of their closet, according to Uncle Sam's understanding?

# ¿ Mar 27, 2013 13:59

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 23:37

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Ashcans posted:

Whoa, thanks, that's a lot of useful information! I should've been clearer there, I was not issued a visa after the interview at the consulate, but at least was smart enough not to try to enter anyway :downs:

. I'm single, but do have my parents here, as well as a lease, two cars, and some other property to show. I'll try to arrange the invitation, tickets, and all the other stuff as you suggest, and hopefully this would work out better this time. Thanks again for the detailed guide!

# ¿ Mar 27, 2013 20:49

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Alright, as I just now got the invitation, I have a few more questions before I go for it:

Is there an official form for the letter of employment? I googled some, but they all seem to be made just by some guy and as a result are as good as mi
Do any other documents, like the apartment lease, car titles, bank statements, etc., need certified translations?
How big of a deal is having a return plane ticket at the time of application? As much as I hope to get the visa, I'd like to avoid plucking down a grand for the tickets and then going through the cancellation bullshit, if possible.

# ¿ May 16, 2013 11:27

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Thanks to your great help, Ashcans, I just loving nailed the interview :smug:

. Just one final question that I messed up and didn't ask right on the spot: what's the validity period on the B-2 visas, and would I be able to, say, go to Canada and back in within a week? I didn't realize that a) I might want to go to Canada from New England and b) I might not be allowed to do that.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2013 19:57

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

As I needed to start discussing the plans with my hosts ASAP, I emailed a question to an address I dug up on the consulate website. The reply was that it's 60 months and multiple entries, which is as good as I could've wished for, hopefully this is also what's actually going to be in my passport

. Thanks again for the information, it's going to be very helpful for confirming what I actually got.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2013 15:22

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

So... hypothetically speaking, how bad would things in Ukraine have to get before a citizen could apply for some kind of asylum?

# ¿ May 7, 2014 16:55

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Hey Ashcans, thanks again for your suggestions earlier :patriot:

I do have a couple of things however:

I had the passport with my visitor visa stolen but didn't realize it was among the stolen stuff until the cops, amazingly enough, recovered it. I was able to use it internally just fine afterwards, but is there any way to check if the visa (or passport, but that's probably not US-specific) has somehow been marked as stolen by the cops while it was being processed? Basically I just don't want to discover it's been invalidated while at the immigration/customs.
I'm considering visiting Uzbekistan at some point this year. There are some very distant relatives (like grandparents' cousins or something) that I last saw like 20 years ago, plus usual touristy stuff. Would going there have an effect on entering the US with an existing visa, or potentially renewing the visa later? The concern could be terrorists/taliban, I'd imagine.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2014 16:46

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Hey Ashcans, another question. I applied for a position located in NY within my company. The hiring manager, who's a former teammate, claims he'd be happy to have me, but he'll need to talk to his boss about relocation. Assuming this is true and they really want me, what are the possible scenarios? Anything I can do to make things smoother from the immigration point of view?

I worked in our Germany-based company for about 4 years, about 60/40% as contractor and now employee. EU permanent resident and have been preparing stuff to apply for citizenship but haven't done so yet. I also already have a 5-year B2 visa thanks to your help

mobby_6kl fucked around with this message at 11:08 on May 6, 2015

# ¿ May 6, 2015 09:54

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 23:37

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Great, thanks guys. Well I mean not so great, but thanks anyway

Does the current citizenship of the applicant (ie., me) make any difference to the process, whether L-1 or H1-b?

# ¿ May 7, 2015 13:09

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask me about US immigration.