What is needed to show ties to ones own country?

[Unidentified 2,930]

My fiance is from Italy, we tried once using and ESTA, and 2 times trying to get a tourist visa. All three times he was denied, because of lack of ties to Italy. I feel your pain. In Italy, it is also the norm to live with parents, not make "sufficient" money.... On one hand I understand what the US is trying to do, but on the other I think a more sympathetic look at the culture the person comes from would be nice.

Are you sure that was the reason he got denied for ESTA? ESTA never asks for ties to your country (unless he actually went to the US and they sent him home again). It only asks for valid passport and asks questions about your health, mental state and whether or not you have done or intend to do any type of crime.

[GH8283 5]

He was denied entry on an ESTA because customs agents new we were engaged. (This was our first, "naive", attempt at being together while the K1 processed.)

[Unidentified 2,930]

He was denied entry on an ESTA because customs agents new we were engaged. (This was our first, "naive", attempt at being together while the K1 processed.)

Wow, seriously? What airport? That customs agent must have had a really bad day.

[General Buhari 46]

I came here on a student visa to be with my bf 7 years ago , back then same sex marriage wasn't legal and that's what I had to do ( and I did finish school and received my degrees)

Long story short , I applied to a public university and got accepted. You send the school your bank accounts with balances cover the cost of at least the first year of attendance. The school will tell you how much it would be. They will not issue you an I20 form if you don't have enough money to cover your first year of attendance. Once the school issued you an i20 , you have to register online through the servis system. Take you i20 and servis registration receipt to the nearest embassy / consulate and apply for a visa.

In the immigrating to the US spectrum, Hong Egypt are on different parts of the scale.

Just a thought.

[General Buhari 46]

He was denied entry on an ESTA because customs agents new we were engaged. (This was our first, "naive", attempt at being together while the K1 processed.)

Do you mean immigration agents?

[subwayguy 100]

In the immigrating to the US spectrum, Hong Egypt are on different parts of the scale.

Just a thought.

What you mean by that ?

[Unidentified 2,930]

What you mean by that ?

He means they are two different countries and you can't really compared them when it comes to how easy or hard it is to get a visa.

Do you mean immigration agents?

US Customs and Border Protection, the people interviewing you when you get into the US.

[subwayguy 100]

He means they are two different countries and you can't really compared them when it comes to how easy or hard it is to get a visa.

US Customs and Border Protection, the people interviewing you when you get into the US.

There has to be something else to the story. They don't just send an esta national back because he is engaged to a U.S. Citizen.

[Unidentified 2,930]

There has to be something else to the story. They don't just send an esta national back because he is engaged to a U.S. Citizen.

This thread is not about this particular poster and we should get back to helping the OP.

Most likely the CBP officer felt he had not enough reason to go back to his home country, maybe suspected they would get married during his visit. Who knows. Lets get back to trying to help the OP.

[subwayguy 100]

He means they are two different countries and you can't really compared them when it comes to how easy or hard it is to get a visa.

US Customs and Border Protection, the people interviewing you when you get into the US.

You really have to be very very well prepared for your student visa interview. When i applied for my student visa for the first time , I was denied within 2 mins. I had an i20 from a public uni in Nyc. Back then I was living in Beijing and applied for a visa using my UK passport at us embassy in Beijing. The visa officer only asked me about the school and financial support . He spent the rest time typing. He told he outright he couldn't approve my visa because he couldn't confirm my sponsor (my biological mother ) was indeed my mother and he couldn't confirm the authenticity of the bank statements. However he was courteous and told me to go back to HK and reapply. I did went back and had an interview at U.S. consulate in HK , the female visa officer was very nice , asked me about school and family ( I was super nervous ) and then she looked at me in the eyes and asked " you will coming back when you finished school ?" I told her "yes ". She then typed in her computer and told me she approved my visa .

I think approving a visa is very subjective, you have to be sincere and convincing.

[GH8283 5]

I do not want to hijack the op post... prior to learning everything we know now, we naively thought we could travel back and fourth between the the US and Italy. Customs agents do question you when you go thought customs. My fiance was questioned. My point to the original poster was that showing ties to your country is very difficult because what is the norm elsewhere is not always the norm here in the US, and being engaged, if you do not have strong ties, (money, house, job....) the customs agents will often view you as a risk not to leave the US. As in the case that happened to us.

[KokiLulu 8]

If he wants a Student Visa the main point is to study. That does not seem to be the case here.

You mentioned the job as showing his tie. The reason he would go home.

$120 a day, or what?

That would be nice! $120/day would go a long way in egypt. Unfortunately, he makes about 1000 LE which is equivalent to less than $150 a month and the government takes money out of that and he's left with about $120 a month.

[KokiLulu 8]

I see that you have a number of issues.

There was a very long post a few days back about an Egyptian lady who is going for a B2, hopefully she will come back and up date. A few people questioned the going to see b/f issue without a chaperon, not a problem it seemed?

If it is and he has limited resources where would he stay etc if he got a B or a F?

I hope to see an update from the Egyptian woman. The issue of chaperones and such is more of an issue if I go to Egypt. As a muslim woman i should really not travel alone without family. There aren't really hotels in my fiance's city so I would have to stay in Cairo. Which is about an hour away from where my fiance lives. It would be frowned upon for me to stay in a hotel by myself. If my fiance came here on a visitor or student visa, he could live with some friends of mine.

[Boiler 43,433]

That would be nice! $120/day would go a long way in Egypt. Unfortunately, he makes about 1000 LE which is equivalent to less than $150 a month and the government takes money out of that and he's left with about $120 a month.

Does he have other income? Sounds very little money compared to the cost of either a vacation or studying in the US.

[Boiler 43,433]

I do not want to hijack the op post... prior to learning everything we know now, we naively thought we could travel back and fourth between the the US and Italy. Customs agents do question you when you go thought customs. My fiance was questioned. My point to the original poster was that showing ties to your country is very difficult because what is the norm elsewhere is not always the norm here in the US, and being engaged, if you do not have strong ties, (money, house, job....) the customs agents will often view you as a risk not to leave the US. As in the case that happened to us.

From memory there is a lot more to this than just a VWP refusal.

The vast majority of VWP entrants have no problem, I was always clear when I entered that I was visiting the GF and it was not an issue.