DS-117 Denied, Spouse barred from USA- Need Help Please

[Naemma 0]

Hi,

I am writing this in complete devastation. We are a family of five and I have been married for twenty years. I am an American citizen as well as our three kids. My husband is British and was granted a green card in 2009. Unfortunately soon after his green card arrived he was diagnosed with an eye disease. The cost grew too much in the states and we found out there was a trail that Moorfield was running in England. We didn't have a choice, we had to uproot our family and come to London. After close to eight years his disease has finally gone into remission.

Last month (March 2017), we went to the American Embassy in London with a DS-117 form and asking to reinstate his visa. I had called the embassy several times in the eight years to let them know about what was happening, all I was told that when we are ready to return we should fill in the DS-117. Our application was denied and the worst part was were told that he is barred to coming to America. The kids and I have to leave to later that end of May because our visa ends here in England!! We are now in a situation were we have to split the family up.

I have just received an email that our I-130 petition form has been received and now we have to wait till they process it. I was told this can take up to a year! Yesterday I received a copy of his I-407 form that states he has abandoned his green card.

 

Can someone please please tell me if there is anyway for my husband to remove his ban so he can visit us while his petition is being dealt with?

Why was he even banned?

Is there anyone I can call or email to help us?

We have been married for twenty years, surely they are not going to split our family up like this?

 

Thank you for taking the time to help,

Naemma

[A'n'L 735]

Did you file the i130 petition directly to the London consulate? Assuming you've been a legal resident in the UK all this time, you're eligible to do that. Direct consular filing (DCF) is much faster than regular i130 processing.

 

It's impossible for us to know why your husband was told he was barred from entering the US. Can you tell us exactly the wording that was used?

[Naemma 0]

Hi,

Yes we immediately started to process again sent our I-130 with the London Embassy. Yes, I am a legal resident here for now. The person we saw at the Embassy the day we got denied was unbelievable. She didn't tell us why or anything. She just said he is now barred! I am not kidding you, after that she just pulled down a screen and left us staring a white curtain. 

[A'n'L 735]

57 minutes ago, Naemma said:

Hi,

Yes we immediately started to process again sent our I-130 with the London Embassy. Yes, I am a legal resident here for now. The person we saw at the Embassy the day we got denied was unbelievable. She didn't tell us why or anything. She just said he is now barred! I am not kidding you, after that she just pulled down a screen and left us staring a white curtain. 

Could she simply have meant that he could no longer enter using his old GC? Did you not receive any paperwork? Unless there is something you're not disclosing (eg previous US overstay for your husband), I think he should be able to apply for either a visitor visa or ESTA (although maybe not the latter as your current ds117 denial may count as visa denial).

[Naemma 0]

Hi,

He was never deemed an over stayer. We got no paperwork really telling us the reason why.

Do you think if he applies for ESTA he will be granted a visa to visit us? Is there anyone I can contact in US embassy in London?

I really appreciate your help. I am so lost.

[A'n'L 735]

1 minute ago, Naemma said:

Hi,

He was never deemed an over stayer. We got no paperwork really telling us the reason why.

Do you think if he applies for ESTA he will be granted a visa to visit us? Is there anyone I can contact in US embassy in London?

I really appreciate your help. I am so lost.

I think you should reach out to the consulate (phone or e-mail) for a clarification. Especially with regards to whether he is eligible for ESTA or need to file for a visitor visa. Keep in mind that the DCF process should be rather quick (some months), so maybe you won't even need it.

[Penguin_ie 6,000]

I can understand the denial, but not the ban.

It is true that after any kind of visa denial, getting ESTA approved or a tourist visa can be more difficult, but it is not usually  a ban (unless something happened since the greencard, such as your husband did drugs or was convicted of a crime).  I'd do as suggested above and contact the embassy to ask for more details, hopefully you just missunderstood. Or try for ESTA- it is cheap after all- make sure he fills everything in correctly and see what it comes back with.

[JFH 12,195]

I'm trying to think of the possible reasons that could cause a ban. My husband has a lifetime ban from the U.K. but he has a criminal record. So we know why. Has your husband been arrested ever? Here or in the U.K.? Too bad he didn't become a citizen beforehand. If you have been in the U.K. for 8 years and you are the spouse of a U.K. citizen you would also be able to pursue British citizenship now. I would always recommend acquiring citizenship at the earliest possible opportunity so that you cannot be banned from or forced to leave the country. 

 

Just had a thought - is he British born or is he originally from one of the countries that Trump has clamped down on with regard to visas (Somalia, etc)?

Edited April 19, 2017 by JFH

[JFH 12,195]

*~*~*moved frkm "K-1 fiancé visas" to "general immigration discussion"*~*~*

[Detron 15]

I think worse case scenario he can use a tourist visa the so called, ESTA and visit 3 months each time until his paperwork is done.
ESTA is an agreement between the EU and US. However, not sure now how things work since England has voted to leave EU and if ESTA is still issued to British citizens as result of this.

The best thing to do is to call USCIS and talk to an officer (you need to ask the operator to schedule you that) and only then you can get your answers. The embassy doesn't do much other than the normal paperwork in processes.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Detron
spelling

[jan22 3,174]

2 hours ago, Detron said:

I think worse case scenario he can use a tourist visa the so called, ESTA and visit 3 months each time until his paperwork is done.
ESTA is an agreement between the EU and US. However, not sure now how things work since England has voted to leave EU and if ESTA is still issued to British citizens as result of this.

The best thing to do is to call USCIS and talk to an officer (you need to ask the operator to schedule you that) and only then you can get your answers. The embassy doesn't do much other than the normal paperwork in processes.

Just to clarify, ESTA is not an agreement between the US and UK (or any of the other countries that benefit from being in the visa waiver program).  It is a US-only program that allows people from certain countries that have met specific qualifications such as a low visa denial and overstay rate to travel to the US and seek entry without having to apply for a visa.  It also has nothing to do with being in or out of the EU.

 

It is highly unlikely that ESTA would be approved in this case,, given that he will have to report the denial of a Returning Resident visa.  OP, unless you are aware of something in your husband's past that would make him ineligible, I suspect "ban" was just a very poor choice of words on the part of the interviewing officer and/or she was referring to him now not being able to travel visa- free or use the visa waiver program (i.e., ESTA), given the visa denial and the documented intent to immigrate.  The good news is that, since you could file at the Embassy, the case will not take nearly as long.  Even better news, of course, is that your husband is in remission!  

Edited April 19, 2017 by jan22

[JadeyHexed 29]

What a complete nightmare for you. I'm so sorry you're going through this.

[Coco8 1,054]

Maybe you should contact your house representative or senator from the US (I know you've been living abroad, but maybe use a family member's address). They can contact the consulate for you and make inquiries, and they will get back to you. If you call, it should be faster because they can take a week or two to reply to e-mails. 

 

Edited April 19, 2017 by Coco8

[ConOfficer 167]

Sorry to play devil's advocate, but the decision the officer made was absolutely correct. Your husband abandoned his residency. Emailing the embassy didn't accomplish anything (if someone gave you some kind of false hope that sending emails was keeping your husband's LPR status alive they were incorrect). The only entity that can give LPRs permission to remain outside the US for more than a year is USCIS. 

 

Retuning resident visas are rarely granted. It needs to be a truly exceptional reason - think comas. 

 

My assumption is that the officer intended to say that your husband was ineligible for a tourist visa or ESTA because he's an intending immigrant. You could try again but the result will surely be the same. You have to start over with a new I-130. 

[MacUK 983]

How exactly did your husband gain his greencard back in 2009? K1 or CR-1?

 

Just curious about your wording that he was "never deemed an overstayer" instead of saying he has never overstayed.

Does that mean that he had overstayed but adjusted status so the overstay was forgiven?