Has anyone been denies entry/ or heard of being denied entry at US border when visiting spouse on a tourist visa?

[misslondon 1]

Hi guys!

Question: Has anyone been denied entry at US border when visiting spouse on a tourist visa?

I'm asking because i am going to be visiting my husband in NYC in may, We got married 3 weeks ago in NY, i am currently in London, and am a UK citizen. He has applied for jobs in London so he will probably move to London where i am from.

I was initially considering not telling the border official that i was visiting my husband, and just telling them i was going to NY for a holiday.

But people have told me NOT TO LIE at all, as i could be in trouble for misrepresentation.

MY question is, have you guys heard of anyone getting denied entry on a Tourist visa, because the border officials are suspicious that the person entering intends to stay and live with their husband and to just apply for adjustment of status.

I'm 22 yrs old, would have JUST graduated in may when i visit him (may to them look like a perfect time for me to make a move to the US and live with me husbad) and i feel they always ask me soooooo many question at the border, i've been traveling alone for about 5 years and my passport is FULL of stamps and the always question me about my intentions and funds and how i can travel so much.

I've been taken in for secondary questions twice before, which was such an experience that i don't want it to happen again! Now that i'm married to a US citizen im worried it will get worse?

Plus, I got denied 2 work permits in Dec. Though they were not for work in the US per say, it was a foreign media work permit. Anyway, i figured they would ask me a ton of questions and although i will be fully prepared with all evidence proving my intentions to return to London, a return tickets, bank statement and ties to the UK... I'm still anxious they may turn me away on suspicion.

Anyone heard of such denials of tourist visa's at entry based on suspicion or ANY similar experiences?

ANY ADVICE PLEASE!!

Edited March 17, 2011 by misslondon

[canadian_wife 1,823]

Yes - happened directly to me...twice!

Now Canadians don't travel on a tourist visa, we have very liberal travel privledges to the US and the 1st time was becasue I didn't have enough ties to Canada. The 2nd was presumed immigrant intent due to my USC husband.

No guarentee that you'll be admitted entry to the US

Good luck

[misslondon 1]

Yes - happened directly to me...twice!

Now Canadians don't travel on a tourist visa, we have very liberal travel privledges to the US and the 1st time was becasue I didn't have enough ties to Canada. The 2nd was presumed immigrant intent due to my USC husband.

No guarentee that you'll be admitted entry to the US

Good luck

Omg that's what i was worried about! Some people are telling me not to even mention my husband (thus lie) others say and that people travel to visit husbands that work abroad all the time and it's fine. I'm 22 I don't own a house in London and the only thing that is a tie to London is my waitressing job...which seems like a weak case. I'm worried they can pull up my name on the system if they want to take me aside for secondary questioning and then catch me out..

Any advice at all?

Thanks for your input!

[canadian_wife 1,823]

ALWAYS tell the truth. Just because I was denied doesn't mean that you will be. If you present a strong case, with ties (even a letter from your job with an expected return date, maybe some utility bills with your address on it - perhaps a car bill or a cell phone bill, a return ticket)

IF they ask you if you have family in the US then yes, you must answer yes. You can say you are going on holiday but if they ask where you are staying...then you HAVE to tell the truth.

Good luck

[misslondon 1]

ALWAYS tell the truth. Just because I was denied doesn't mean that you will be. If you present a strong case, with ties (even a letter from your job with an expected return date, maybe some utility bills with your address on it - perhaps a car bill or a cell phone bill, a return ticket)

IF they ask you if you have family in the US then yes, you must answer yes. You can say you are going on holiday but if they ask where you are staying...then you HAVE to tell the truth.

Good luck

Appreciate your input! Thanks!

[JoannaV 174]

Of course people have been denied. And the more you trawl the internet the more stories you will find. But the VAST MAJORITY of people are NOT denied entry.

Personally I never had a problem, despite visiting boyfriend/fiance/husband 5 times for a total of nearly 6 months in the space of 12 months. AND I was intending on moving to the US. I only ever had to show my return ticket, nothing else. Of course I worried more each time because I had heard more bad stories, but ultimately all you can do is try.

If you are expected back at your waitressing job, take proof of that. If you have something showing proof that your husband has applied for jobs in the UK, take that. You probably won't be asked, but it makes you feel better having it if needed. It shouldn't be that hard for them to believe that your husband is intending to move to the UK.

I visited a lot whilst a student/ex-student, and always worried they would interrogate be about how I had the time to travel. But no-one did. When transiting through Canada the Canadians wanted to know who paid for my ticket and where the money came from: student loans But the US agents never seemed to be suspicious at all.

[misslondon 1]

Of course people have been denied. And the more you trawl the internet the more stories you will find. But the VAST MAJORITY of people are NOT denied entry.

Personally I never had a problem, despite visiting boyfriend/fiance/husband 5 times for a total of nearly 6 months in the space of 12 months. AND I was intending on moving to the US. I only ever had to show my return ticket, nothing else. Of course I worried more each time because I had heard more bad stories, but ultimately all you can do is try.

If you are expected back at your waitressing job, take proof of that. If you have something showing proof that your husband has applied for jobs in the UK, take that. You probably won't be asked, but it makes you feel better having it if needed. It shouldn't be that hard for them to believe that your husband is intending to move to the UK.

I visited a lot whilst a student/ex-student, and always worried they would interrogate be about how I had the time to travel. But no-one did. When transiting through Canada the Canadians wanted to know who paid for my ticket and where the money came from: student loans But the US agents never seemed to be suspicious at all.

Hi, visiting 5 times for a total of nearly 6 months in the space of 12 months sounds very similar to what my last 3 yrs have looked like, thanks do much for your reply, appreciate it and it really helps!

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

The fact that you even have a B2 (tourist) visa is unusual. Most Brits travel to the US without a visa as the Ukay is part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). You must have stayed in the US prviously for longer than 3 months at a time in order to even have seeked a B2.

[juliava 80]

Hmmmm...I would be prepared to answer some questions at POE for choosing B-2 over Visa Waiver Program. The fact that you are married would not help. Good luck to you!!

[misslondon 1]

The fact that you even have a B2 (tourist) visa is unusual. Most Brits travel to the US without a visa as the Ukay is part of theProgram (VWP). You must have stayed in the US prviously for longer than 3 months at a time in order to even have seeked a B2.

????

I don't have a B2 visa, I fly under the 3 month Visa Waiver program

Hmmmm...I would be prepared to answer some questions at POE for choosing B-2 over Visa Waiver Program.

??? I didn't...

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

????

I don't have a B2 visa, I fly under the 3 month Visa Waiver program

??? I didn't...

Yet you specifically asked the question whether or not somebody has been denied with a tourist visa. If you don't have a tourist visa, heck, if you don't have any visa at all, I wonder why you would ask such a question then.

[misslondon 1]

Yet you specifically asked the question whether or not somebody has been denied with a tourist visa. If you don't have a tourist visa, heck, if you don't have any visa at all, I wonder why you would ask such a question then.

Okay, I thought a tourist visa for people from the uk comes in the form of a 3 month waiver? It seems you are suggesting they are 2 different thing? I will do some research on this. Let's keep things polite shall we. Just some advice was all i was asking.

[misslondon 1]

The fact that you even have a B2 (tourist) visa is unusual. Most Brits travel to the US without a visa as the Ukay is part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). You must have stayed in the US prviously for longer than 3 months at a time in order to even have seeked a B2.

thanks for your reply, i wasn't very clear when i say tourist visa i mean visa waiver, i didn't util now, know there was a difference. I will be flying hoping to enter on a 3 month waiver, as i always have.

[Boiler 45,657]

You probably know about ESTA.

Saying you had a Tourist Visa suggested there were other issues that prevented you from using the Visa Waiver Program. Hence the confusion.

[USA UK 1]

I don't have any direct experience, but my cousin does. They have been married almost 2 years, and he's never had problems visiting. I think the longest he stayed was 30 days at once. He's from the Netherlands, and they are a young couple (20 or 21). Good Luck!!