Need your help!

[sunflower72 0]

My fiance came to visit me from Jamaica back in February 2010 and he was going to stay until June 2010. When he arrived at DFW airport, immigration told him he could only stay for 2 weeks, much to our disappointment, and they also told him he didn't have enough proof that he was going back to his country. He is scheduled to come back at the end of May and he wants to stay until the end of June, and we are afraid that immigration will shorten his stay again. What can we do or say to immigration that will prove that he is going back to Jamaica so that he can stay the full month? We don't want to do anything that will jeopardize our K-1 visa process. Thanks in advance!

Edited April 22, 2010 by sunflower72

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Sorry no definitive answer... It could be the lunch/dinner he had that night, or the weather. It could be anything that day, or it could be a POE officer who is going strictly by the books.

[Otto 83]

One thing he should do is bring proof of ties to his home country. For a better idea what that might mean, check HERE.

As far as what to say/not-say when he returns, there's not much he/you can do besides answer questions when asked - it is up to the individual CBP officer. He can certainly explain that he is only staying the month - show his 'evidence' and hope for the best. From what I've seen - the more prepared a person is, the more likely they'll have very little trouble.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Isn't I correct in stating that you genrally don't even know how much time the POE officer has given you until he has stamped your passport. Have anyone ever asked for a specific amount of time. That I don't know the answer to, but what I do know you can ask to have it extended, that is done thru another process. So my recommendation would be for you to look at how do you get a vistor visa time extended, rather than how to second guess an POE officer.

[M4rinus 1]

As previously stated :

Providing proof of ties is the best option;

An apartment lease,

a letter from his employer stating he is expected back,

his work contract,

a return ticket,

a letter from you (and your family) inviting him to come visit specifying the dates of arrival and return

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

As previously stated :

Providing proof of ties is the best option;

An apartment lease,

a letter from his employer stating he is expected back,

his work contract,

a return ticket,

a letter from you (and your family) inviting him to come visit specifying the dates of arrival and return

She is not asking how to obtain a vistor visa, she wants to know how to request for more time to stay in the US. Just ask for the amount of time you want, it may or may not be granted.

[M4rinus 1]

She is not asking how to obtain a vistor visa, she wants to know how to request for more time to stay in the US. Just ask for the amount of time you want, it may or may not be granted.

Actually she is saying he is scheduled to come in May.

She wants to know how to not have a repeat of what happened in February,

when he intended to stay longer, but wasn't allowed.

Bringing the evidence I posted, would show he is intending to return,

and customs would likely let him stay longer than 2 weeks this time around.

If they only let him in for 2 weeks, the NEXT step would be to request more time after arrival.

Since she stated it won't be until May, he currently isn't in the US, and thus can't request more time yet.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Actually she is saying he is scheduled to come in May.

She wants to know how to not have a repeat of what happened in February,

when he intended to stay longer, but wasn't allowed.

Bringing the evidence I posted, would show he is intending to return,

and customs would likely let him stay longer than 2 weeks this time around.

If they only let him in for 2 weeks, the NEXT step would be to request more time after arrival.

Since she stated it won't be until May, he currently isn't in the US, and thus can't request more time yet.

If he had a hotel reservation and a return airline ticket, they would have stamped his 1-94 for that alloted time frame, but since he probably had neither, they gave him two weeks.

Showing that you have ties in your home country doesn't play into the time frame that the POE officer allot for a visit. Showing ties only shows that you will have a reason to leave the US and go back home.

[M4rinus 1]

If he had a hotel reservation and a return airline ticket, they would have stamped his 1-94 for that alloted time frame, but since he probably had neither, they gave him two weeks.

Showing that you have ties in your home country doesn't play into the time frame that the POE officer allot for a visit. Showing ties only shows that you will have a reason to leave the US and go back home.

Well it worked for me.

So thanks for continuously putting words in my mouth and correcting MY experiences...

Geez.

Thought this was a place to share experiences to help one another.

I'm just getting annoyed now.

[pushbrk 12,106]

Well it worked for me.

So thanks for continuously putting words in my mouth and correcting MY experiences...

Geez.

Thought this was a place to share experiences to help one another.

I'm just getting annoyed now.

People who post without the proper understanding of the issues at hand are often annoyed when corrected. I suggest you read and learn, so next time you get it right. Every situation is different but there's no reason to think that strong ties is going to assure an I-94 expiration later than the date on the return ticket.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Thank you Pushbrk.

[Rob and Jill 82]

Dang it. I really want to respond to this, but the arrogance in this thread is beyond annoying. There is no flipping reason for people to be out and out rude to others on this forum. POST AFTER POST after POST about the growing level of rude here proves people are sick of it.

I'll stand behind Otto & Karin on this one for simplicities sake. Gather the information, ask, and try. That's all you can do.

[M4rinus 1]

1) I'm expressing what helped in my personal first hand experience.

The customs guy didn't seem like he was going to let me stay the amount of time I planned for,

despite the return ticket. Fortunately I had brought proof of ties, and after volunteering those,

he dated the I-94 as I had hoped and planned for.

2) Annoyance about being corrected on own my experiences has nothing to with annoyance about being wrong.

I am not wrong about my own experience. I have the best 'proper understanding' of those, since they are my own.

3) What I stated may not be the whole truth, that doesn't make it wrong. What harm is there in their situation, in bringing additional documentation just to be safe, like when I brought it along.

4) I never said it would grant some unlimited time-frame or an expiration later than the return ticket. Simply that it wouldn't harm to bring it as an extra tool to get what they're hoping for.

Can you please not be rude, and just appreciate I'm trying to give back from my experiences.

[~Johnny~ 27]

Dang it. I really want to respond to this, but the arrogance in this thread is beyond annoying. There is no flipping reason for people to be out and out rude to others on this forum. POST AFTER POST after POST about the growing level of rude here proves people are sick of it.

Well Said!!

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

As previously stated :

Providing proof of ties is the best option

;

An apartment lease,

a letter from his employer stating he is expected back,

his work contract,

a return ticket,

a letter from you (and your family) inviting him to come visit specifying the dates of arrival and return

Those two sentences by themselves are incorrect, that's what I was trying to point out to you. You did not express that you were basing this on your own personal experience until, I explained to you that - I question that a apt lease or a job contract gave support to the POE officer as to how much time you needed to spend in the USA. I am quite sure that when you presented those documents to use in your argument for more time, you some how verbally gave him a time reference that you needed for your visit.

Edited April 22, 2010 by LIFE'SJOURNEY