what NOT to say during border check

[johnsnow1234 5]

15 minutes ago, smilingstone said:

 

Huh? This makes no sense. 

 

BTW, your plan of her doing 60 days in US and 60 days in Japan on an ESTA will raise serious red flags with CPB. You're already planning her travel so she will be living part time in US on a tourist visa, which is not what it's for. 

 

Not everyone who lives in America is there because they want to be...we have a happy, good life here in Japan. But our kids are getting older now and they want to go to school in America - they have been begging to go to USA for the past 3 years and we finally caved and let them go this year. So we sent them to the US first, and are reluctantly working towards slowly moving over there to be with them. That means, for my wife, leaving her friends, family and life behind, to live in a culture where she can't communicate well, with no friends or roots. For me, it means abandoning a very successful career at my peak, which I have worked hard my entire life to achieve.  But that's because for us, above all else, we don't want to grow old and die living a whole continent away from our children. We wish they didn't want to be in the US, we sent them to the very best private school here, gave them everything they wanted, but they still insisted on going to America, so here we are (they actually insisted we (mom/dad) stay here in Japan and that they'll be fine on their own but wife is having none of that). Rebellious teenagers, but that's another story.

 

The 60 days in/60 days out plan is only for their first school year in the US. So it would be a maximum of 3 trips in total - not each year, but ever, on her ESTA. And then we'd wait out the I-130 process, and during that time either try to convince the kids to come back home, but if we fail, we'll have to pack up and move over to the US.

 

Edited Friday at 05:52 PM by johnsnow1234

[Dashinka 25,843]

9 minutes ago, johnsnow1234 said:

 

Not everyone who lives in America is there because they want to be...we have a happy, good life here in Japan. But our kids are getting older now and they want to go to school in America - they have been begging to go to USA for the past 3 years and we finally caved and let them go this year. So we sent them to the US first, and are reluctantly working towards slowly moving over there to be with them. That means, for my wife, leaving her friends, family and life behind, to live in a culture where she can't communicate well, with no friends or roots. For me, it means abandoning a very successful career at my peak, which I have worked hard my entire life to achieve.  But that's because for us, above all else, we don't want to grow old and die living a whole continent away from our children. We wish they didn't want to be in the US, we sent them to the very best private school here, gave them everything they wanted, but they still insisted on going to America, so here we are (they actually insisted we (mom/dad) stay here in Japan and that they'll be fine on their own but wife is having none of that). Rebellious teenagers, but that's another story.

 

The 60 days in/60 days out plan is only for their first school year in the US. So it would be a maximum of 3 trips in total - not each year, but ever, on her ESTA. 

 

My only suggestion is she may want to rethink the 60 here, 60 out plan.  As mentioned, that may raise flags on the 2nd or 3rd entry.  Maybe lengthen the stay outside to like 90 days, or shorten the subsequent trips, or something like that.  Honestly, it is natural for a parent to want to keep an eye on their children particularly when they are moving a couple of thousand miles away, so I doubt she will have much problem.

 

Good Luck!

[S2N 299]

OP — to try to answer your original question and things you’ve mentioned since:

 

—She can say she’s visiting her kids. That’s a 100% valid use of ESTA.
— It’ll likely have to be less than 60 on/60 off; the recommendation is double the time outside the U.S. as inside.

— Would recommend getting global entry if she doesn’t have it already. It cuts down on questions as she’d be pre-vetted. Normally they don’t even ask purpose of visit.

—There’s no need to frame your question any way; just have her answer in short sentences that are factual. There’s no requirement to volunteer more information than asked.

—If there’s a language difficulty that requires translation CBP has translators they can call

 

People here get a bit angsty when they see people trying to avoid the rules, which is not what you’re doing, but a lot of people who try to bend the rules ask similar questions, which is the reason for some of the responses you’ve received were a bit stronger in wording.

 

The one thing worth mentioning on the I-130: you can postpone it at NVC indefinitely so it goes to the consulate when you’re ready, but you need to pay the fee in the first year and then log into CEAC at least once a year afterwards. It’s recommended to also send them an email a least once a year so there’s a paper trail.

 

Other thing to note is the substantial presence test and if that has any tax implications for you all.

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 06:09 PM by S2N

[Dashinka 25,843]

37 minutes ago, S2N said:

OP — to try to answer your original question and things you’ve mentioned since:

 

—She can say she’s visiting her kids. That’s a 100% valid use of ESTA.
— It’ll likely have to be less than 60 on/60 off; the recommendation is double the time outside the U.S. as inside.

— Would recommend getting global entry if she doesn’t have it already. It cuts down on questions as she’d be pre-vetted. Normally they don’t even ask purpose of visit.

—There’s no need to frame your question any way; just have her answer in short sentences that are factual. There’s no requirement to volunteer more information than asked.

—If there’s a language difficulty that requires translation CBP has translators they can call

 

People here get a bit angsty when they see people trying to avoid the rules, which is not what you’re doing, but a lot of people who try to bend the rules ask similar questions, which is the reason for some of the responses you’ve received were a bit stronger in wording.

 

The one thing worth mentioning on the I-130: you can postpone it at NVC indefinitely so it goes to the consulate when you’re ready, but you need to pay the fee in the first year and then log into CEAC at least once a year afterwards. It’s recommended to also send them an email a least once a year so there’s a paper trail.

 

Other thing to note is the substantial presence test and if that has any tax implications for you all.

 

 

 

To add to the Global Entry suggestion, she also should look into the the Global Entry app.  Last time I entered the US I used the GE App and was asked no questions.  Not sure it is the same for a visitor coming on ESTA, but who knows.

[WeekendPizzaiolo 102]

2 hours ago, Dashinka said:

To add to the Global Entry suggestion, she also should look into the the Global Entry app.  Last time I entered the US I used the GE App and was asked no questions.  Not sure it is the same for a visitor coming on ESTA, but who knows.

 

My spouse and I have Global Entry, but I did not know about the Global Entry app until now. Last time we entered the US, the Global Entry kiosk scanned our faces and the officer immediately said from afar "Welcome <name>". From a Google search about the app, it allows you to skip the kiosk step and just wait for the officer checkpoint after the kiosks. If there is a long line or the kiosks are having issues, one can also speed up their arrival. Are those the main benefits of the app?

 

[S2N 299]

28 minutes ago, WeekendPizzaiolo said:

 

My spouse and I have Global Entry, but I did not know about the Global Entry app until now. Last time we entered the US, the Global Entry kiosk scanned our faces and the officer immediately said from afar "Welcome <name>". From a Google search about the app, it allows you to skip the kiosk step and just wait for the officer checkpoint after the kiosks. If there is a long line or the kiosks are having issues, one can also speed up their arrival. Are those the main benefits of the app?

 

Some POEs it has no benefits as the officers don’t know it exists and make you do the kiosk scan. Others like IAD have dedicated GE app lines.

 

I mainly enter through MIA where the wait at the kiosk is 0-5 seconds so the app would take longer for me.

 

The main thing is if your spouse is from a GE eligible country, it’s useful to have them enroll. From there they can decide app or kiosk.

 

MPC app definitely is beneficial for returning ESTA visitors without GE, but is a different program and there’s less pre-vetting so more opportunity for secondary.

Edited Friday at 09:38 PM by S2N

[Boiler 47,451]

It is the VWP and yes multiple long visits will at some point end in tears.

[WeekendPizzaiolo 102]

CBP officers are assuaged by seeing short visits in one's record. When I was dating my spouse long ago, the visits to the US were never longer than 2 weeks. This may be too short of a visit for most people, however, it resulted in very short questioning after the first few visits. One's record forms a pattern that can lead to more or less questioning depending on the circumstances. Extensions to previous trips longer than a few days (to account for flight cancellations or acute emergencies) may be a yellow flag. Many people on these forums successfully "almost max out" their allowed stay periods. You want to be careful to always leave wiggle room for flight cancellations/acute emergencies (e.g. broken ankles).

 

I trust that you both intend to be truthful as you said. I would have reframed your question to be something along the lines "what are limitations of an ESTA on VWP?" First and foremost, the noncitizen traveler entering on VWP/B1/B2 fully intends to return to their country, they do not work while in US (see definition of work here), and they never violate the duration conditions for VWP/B1/B2. Bear in mind the terms of B1/B2 vs VWP are not equivalent. VWP allows stays up to 90 days. B1/B2 duration can vary -- the general guidance for Japan is a 10 year B1/B2 with visits up to 180 days. According to the Foreign Affairs Manual, the CO has the discretion to issue a B1/B2 with less duration than what is standard for the country or to limit the number of entries. This is probably less common for a low fraud country like Japan. As always, the CBP officer has final discretion to deny admission or admit a person for a shorter duration than what is allowed by their visa or VWP.

 

I expect the most common questioning your wife might be subject to would be her ties to Japan, especially given that there is an I-130 pending in which she is the beneficiary, she has kids in the US, and her intending visits are on the longer side. Does she have a job in Japan, property there, or proof of the urgency of her return?
 

3 hours ago, johnsnow1234 said:

Not everyone who lives in America is there because they want to be...we have a happy, good life here in Japan. But our kids are getting older now and they want to go to school in America - they have been begging to go to USA for the past 3 years and we finally caved and let them go this year. So we sent them to the US first, and are reluctantly working towards slowly moving over there to be with them.

 

I understand what you mean. Robert Frost's "Two Roads" comes to mind. That said, once your wife enters on a CR-1/IR-1, you both will need to set down deeper roots in the US -- years. Permanent residency can be abandoned if a PR holder spends too much time outside the US in any given period. Also, if OP spends too much time outside the US, there may be greater scrutiny in the future due to cohabitation requirements of marriage PR. Regular business trips are fine.

 

 

 

 

 

[Boiler 47,451]

I had a friend who spent nearly 10 years in the US using a B, everytime he left I was convinced that would be the last time and back he came.

 

Not sure he could get away with that now, computers.

 

But if you are planning to spend half your time in the US as a visitor now, well good luck.

[S2N 299]

19 minutes ago, Boiler said:

But if you are planning to spend half your time in the US as a visitor now, well good luck.

Correct, and it’d trigger tax repercussions. But ESTA does give the right to request this, even if CBP can say no at any time.

 

30 days in/60 out wouldn’t likely trigger questions since it’s less than half the year. You’d still have to be careful on tax treatment even of that, though.

[Boiler 47,451]

He said he is well remunerated and she is retired so I assume they have a CPA involved as he certainly needs to file.

[S2N 299]

12 minutes ago, Boiler said:

He said he is well remunerated and she is retired so I assume they have a CPA involved as he certainly needs to file.

Yah: the substantial presence rule plus MFJ might screw over the foreign earned income exclusion. Or even his wife being there more than 30 days. Filing is definitely required but this falls into complex tax situation even within the already complex expat tax realm.

 

I’m pretty decent with taxes but this type of stuff would need a CPA who is familiar with people living between two countries. Like you said, hopefully OP has one, but you’d be surprised the things people don’t tell their accountants until the IRS or  a regulator comes knocking.

Edited yesterday at 12:36 AM by S2N

[Dashinka 25,843]

15 hours ago, WeekendPizzaiolo said:

 

My spouse and I have Global Entry, but I did not know about the Global Entry app until now. Last time we entered the US, the Global Entry kiosk scanned our faces and the officer immediately said from afar "Welcome <name>". From a Google search about the app, it allows you to skip the kiosk step and just wait for the officer checkpoint after the kiosks. If there is a long line or the kiosks are having issues, one can also speed up their arrival. Are those the main benefits of the app?

 

I agree with @S2N, it depends on the airport.  On a recent flight from London to Wash. DC (Dulles), the app allowed us to breeze right through immigration in a dedicated line for the app where no one was waiting, so we were able to make a 1 hr connection easily.  In Detroit, the lines are usually not too long even when 3-4 flights arrive around the same time, and I did not see a dedicated app line.

[OldUser 9,865]

1 hour ago, Dashinka said:

I agree with @S2N, it depends on the airport.  On a recent flight from London to Wash. DC (Dulles), the app allowed us to breeze right through immigration in a dedicated line for the app where no one was waiting, so we were able to make a 1 hr connection easily.  In Detroit, the lines are usually not too long even when 3-4 flights arrive around the same time, and I did not see a dedicated app line.

Did you install the app on your main phone? I'd have privacy concerns about the app. I'm sure it can scan contents of my phone in the background and determine I'm all clear, but not sure I'd be a fan.

Does it ask for any permissions? 

[Dashinka 25,843]

5 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Did you install the app on your main phone? I'd have privacy concerns about the app. I'm sure it can scan contents of my phone in the background and determine I'm all clear, but not sure I'd be a fan.

Does it ask for any permissions? 

Put it on my work phone.  Actually installed it upon landing while transiting to the immigration arrivals hall.