B1/B2 Visa instead of ESTA ??

[ytw95 3]

Hi guys,

 

I want to ask if I'm eligible ( BRITISH SPOUSE) to apply for B1/B2 visitors visa to see my LPR husband instead of using ESTA?

 

I know this is not conventional but im curious because B1/B2 allow for longer visit ... 

 

Thank you!

 

 

[Unlockable 7,315]

**** Topic moved to "Tourist Visas" section of the forum

 

VJ Moderation

[Unlockable 7,315]

28 minutes ago, ytw95 said:

Hi guys,

 

I want to ask if I'm eligible ( BRITISH SPOUSE) to apply for B1/B2 visitors visa to see my LPR husband instead of using ESTA?

 

I know this is not conventional but im curious because B1/B2 allow for longer visit ... 

 

Thank you!

 

 

Anybody is eligible to apply.

 

But you should be more concerned on a denial. Because a denial of a B2 will mean you will lose your ESTA. Because as per the ESTA it is obligated that you are screened for ANY denied visas to the US. And a denied B2 makes you ineligible to have an ESTA. Then you won't have any way of seeing your husband. Basically, you are rolling the dice for a few more months of stay. Not worth it.

 

Yes you are right that it is unconventional. Because you are already given a privilege of entering the US without going through the B2 process. So when people from countries that have ESTA/VWP apply for a B2, they are often denied. Because the consular is going to assume you can do everything in 90 days that you can do in 6 months. And with a husband in the US they will think you are trying to "live" in the US by staying here 6 months at a time. There are even threads here on VJ where people have lost their ESTA by applying for other visas and being denied.

 

So can you apply for a B2? yes

The bigger question is... Should you?

[ytw95 3]

1 minute ago, Unlockable said:

Anybody is eligible to apply.

 

But you should be more concerned on a denial. Because a denial of a B2 will mean you will lose your ESTA. Because as per the ESTA it is obligated that you are screened for ANY denied visas to the US. And a denied B2 makes you ineligible to have an ESTA. Then you won't have any way of seeing your husband. Basically, you are rolling the dice for a few more months of stay. Not worth it.

 

Yes you are right that it is unconventional. Because you are already given a privilege of entering the US without going through the B2 process. So when people from countries that have ESTA/VWP apply for a B2, they are often denied. Because the consular is going to assume you can do everything in 90 days that you can do in 6 months. And with a husband in the US they will think you are trying to "live" in the US by staying here 6 months at a time. There are even threads here on VJ where people have lost their ESTA by applying for other visas and being denied.

 

So can you apply for a B2? yes

The bigger question is... Should you?

Oh WOW really....Damn....That sounds risky, I guess I'll stick with ESTA for now then....Thank you!

[Unlockable 7,315]

1 minute ago, ytw95 said:

Oh WOW really....Damn....That sounds risky, I guess I'll stick with ESTA for now then....Thank you!

Just want to clarify that it is possible to obtain a B2 if you have an ESTA. We have seen it. It is just that we have also seen the other side where they are denied. And to me personally, the risk is too great to attempt a B2 when a person have an ESTA. But this is just my personal feeling. The decision is yours.

[ytw95 3]

Just now, Unlockable said:

Just want to clarify that it is possible to obtain a B2 if you have an ESTA. We have seen it. It is just that we have also seen the other side where they are denied. And to me personally, the risk is too great to attempt a B2 when a person have an ESTA. But this is just my personal feeling. The decision is yours.

Yeah I agree, it's not worth it for that extra few months, shorter visit is better than no visit allowed at all and it might even jeopardise our ongoing application so yeah i will just settle for shorter visit. 

[Unlockable 7,315]

Read the thread below. It is an example of someone losing an ESTA by applying and being denied a B2. Disregard the OP, because they overstayed their ESTA which is another issue,  but play closer attention to @June2017UK , who starts posting a little later in the thread to share her experience losing her ESTA. She admitted that she wanted to stay longer than 90 days to visit her BF and was denied a B2, then subsequently loss her ESTA. She then decided to get engaged and do the K1

 

 

 

[ytw95 3]

11 minutes ago, Unlockable said:

Read the thread below. It is an example of someone losing an ESTA by applying and being denied a B2. Disregard the OP, because they overstayed their ESTA which is another issue,  but play closer attention to @June2017UK , who starts posting a little later in the thread to share her experience losing her ESTA. She admitted that she wanted to stay longer than 90 days to visit her BF and was denied a B2, then subsequently loss her ESTA. She then decided to get engaged and do the K1

 

 

 

It's pretty scary to hear that people actually stretch out their ESTA allowance and then ended up overstay! I almost did during my first visit this year back in March due to COVID flight cancellations but thankfully didnt in the end after spending hours of phoning up airlines trying to rebook my return flight, but i imagine if i did overstay due to COVID it might cause complications later on. I plan to visit my husband again from mid Dec to mid Feb for 2 months. My prior visitations in 2020 are 29/01-14/04 & 04/08-06/10 which total up to 141 days. Do you think my next visit will be problematic ? 

[Mike E 11,740]

1 hour ago, ytw95 said:

I plan to visit my husband again from mid Dec to mid Feb for 2 months. My prior visitations in 2020 are 29/01-14/04 & 04/08-06/10 which total up to 141 days. Do you think my next visit will be problematic ? 

Converting this into a date format I actually understand, you were in the USA Jan 29 to April 14 and from August 4 to October 6, correct?  And now you want to come to USA Dec 15 to Feb 15.   
 

So about 200 days in about the past 365. 
 

Yes it is a problem.  
 

You should have filed to adjust status before you left last week.  
 

Since you want to be in the USA more than 50 percent of the time you need to get a green card.  

[ytw95 3]

9 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Converting this into a date format I actually understand, you were in the USA Jan 29 to April 14 and from August 4 to October 6, correct?  And now you want to come to USA Dec 15 to Feb 15.   
 

So about 200 days in about the past 365. 
 

Yes it is a problem.  
 

You should have filed to adjust status before you left last week.  
 

Since you want to be in the USA more than 50 percent of the time you need to get a green card.  

My understanding of this is if I reenter on 13th December 2020 and stay until Feb 17th 2021, they would check my travel dates up to 13th December 2019 ? Which was 141 days in total ( Jan 29th 2020-April 14th 2020 & Aug 4th  - Oct 6th 2020 ) ....or they'll count from Feb 17th 2020 to Feb 17th 2021 ? So confused .... 

[ytw95 3]

14 minutes ago, Mike E said:

You should have filed to adjust status before you left last week.  
 

Since you want to be in the USA more than 50 percent of the time you need to get a green card.  

I was not aware that Im eligible to file AOS ? We have only filed I130 back in April, i thought only people that have a approved I130 are eligible to apply for AOS ? .....Im trying to do everything right and by the law. If youre right about the the dates, I might have to rebook my flight for my December visit  

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

13 minutes ago, ytw95 said:

My understanding of this is if I reenter on 13th December 2020 and stay until Feb 17th 2021, they would check my travel dates up to 13th December 2019 ? Which was 141 days in total ( Jan 29th 2020-April 14th 2020 & Aug 4th  - Oct 6th 2020 ) ....or they'll count from Feb 17th 2020 to Feb 17th 2021 ? So confused .... 

no, they don’t cut off when they look at dates. They look at a totality, they know people try to game the system. The unofficial “rule” is to spend twice as long out the US as in it. I agree coming back after a two month gap for the third long visit this year is going to raise questions. 
 

And yes it’s correct your i130 needs to be approved to file AOS. The poster who suggested adjusting may have missed that you’re filed under F2A. 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[Mike E 11,740]

23 minutes ago, ytw95 said:

My understanding of this is if I reenter on 13th December 2020 and stay until Feb 17th 2021, they would check my travel dates up to 13th December 2019 ? Which was 141 days in total ( Jan 29th 2020-April 14th 2020 & Aug 4th  - Oct 6th 2020 ) ....or they'll count from Feb 17th 2020 to Feb 17th 2021 ? So confused .... 

CBP Officers have wide discretion and in this case, were they to deny you entry, their supervisor would likely praise them.  Especially since you’ve a pending I-130.  I think with the amount of time you’ve been spending in the USA, it is miraculous you haven’t been denied entry.  
 

Spend less than 50 percent your time in the USA.  This should be based on rolling 180 and 360 day windows. 
 

Each time you spent X days in the USA, don’t come back any sooner than X+1 days. And don’t try to do side trips to nearby countries to game the system.  
 

Don’t spent more than 180 days in the USA in any calendar year.  

[Boiler 45,657]

What do you do that allows you such long holidays?

[SalishSea 17,920]

My husband applied for, and got a B visa before we filed the petition for the K visa.  Previously he had and ESTA with no overstays or issues.

 

I'm not recommending this, but just mentioning that he was able to do it.