Visa for GIrlfriend

[Jaweaver72 0]

Hey all, 

Just looking for general guidance. I am a U.S. citizen, my girlfriend is from Argentina but has Italian citizenship as well because of her family ancestry. We met in Europe volunteering together and after I left back to the U.S. she went to Italy to experience the culture and look for work opportunities. While in Italy we talked back and forth about the possibility of her coming to the U.S. She did not have an Italian passport at the time (just the ID) so we thought we would attempt to try for a visa instead, especially because 6 months worked well with both of our schedules. I filled out the proper paperwork including an affidavit of support but as you can probably tell where this is going, her request ended up being denied. 

It has been about 7-8 months since she applied for that visa and she is now back in Argentina in her house (that she shares ownership of with one family member) and also has employment. I just got back to the U.S. about a week ago from visiting her and we are now considering options. 

We were ignorantly unaware of how detrimental a visa denial would be for her future chances of using an Italian passport, however she applied for one and will be receiving it in a manner of weeks. It seems unlikely though that due to the automated ESTA system she will be able to get a visa waiver. Is going to the U.S. Embassy in B.A. and applying for a 3 month visa our best option at this point for her to be able to visit the U.S.? Should we wait longer and try to find another country to visit and work with her newly acquired Italian passport? I am guessing that there is no one right answer but I am looking for any possible suggestions at this point. 

We had thought about attempting ESTA when her Italian passport arrives in the mail. Are there any concerns with doing the ESTA and if that doesn't work, then scheduling a trip and appointment to BA for a visa application in person? (Would the consulate officer see that she attempted ESTA recently and flag her for that?) 

Thank you for your time and looking back I wish I would have asked for advice prior to the initial application in Italy. We both just got a bit excited about the possibility of it without thinking about the negative consequences.

 

 

[az2014 381]

Get Italian passport; apply for ESTA stating the previous visa denial. If approved good to go. If denied apply for B2 visa.

[Boiler 47,705]

4 hours ago, az2014 said:

Get Italian passport; apply for ESTA stating the previous visa denial. If approved good to go. If denied apply for B2 visa.

Seconded