plastictree487

By the way, I came across this - https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-expands-esta-requirements-visa-waiver-program-travelers - ESTA to be required at land borders soon.

ESTA approved! I am very surprised.

Thank you for your response. Yes, if my ESTA is rejected then maybe a B would be the most sensible, which maybe I'll wait another year/until I've got my Canadian PR for, that'll be nearly 5 years on from my rejection then.

Well my duty is to overcome their assumption of immigrant intent, so it's on me to explain that that's my plan, and well, they can choose whether they want to believe me or not. It's likely that I won't even try until I've either begun my application process for Canadian PR or once I've become a Canadian PR. Obviously there is no way of them knowing with 100% certainty that that is my plan, but that's the same for probably any kind of proof of ties - there is no way of them being certain. But I felt that my current situation with intentions of Canadian PR, having a good job in Canada, having a rental agreement in Canada, having a trip booked back to my home country in December are overall better ties than I've had since my rejection, especially with 3.5 years now gone. I'm not about to give all that up so that I can live illegally in the US. There is no scenario in which I'd ever attempt to stay in the US (or any country) illegally. I'm also not looking for someone with my exact situation, but mostly for people who've had experience with trying to visit the country with perhaps not the usual ties to their home country.

I have applied for an ESTA.

I wasn't thinking of using a land border to cross to try and circumvent the question of being rejected a visa - I would be planning on being fully upfront with them about that. Let's assume I apply for an ESTA, and it's denied, and a wait for a B2 is very long (this is hypothetical, and I'm not saying that I wouldn't actually be willing to wait for a B2 appointment), but I would explain that I was denied an ESTA and that the wait for an appointment was very long. Seattle is not very far for me and even if I had an ESTA and was able to fly then I would likely travel by land (train/coach) anyway, so I thought I would try. I would at least hopefully have a longer chance than I may at an interview to get across that I have no interest in staying in the US any longer than a few days/the length of my trip, that I have a full time, skilled job in Canada, an apartment agreement for a year, and a flight booked for a 7 week trip home to the UK in December, and strong ambitions to become a permanent resident of Canada, for which I need to be present in Canada for. I do also have strong ties to the UK, my family, but I suppose that's not necessarily what they look for in terms of strong ties. So that's all i'd really have for trying to convince them.

Do you? I'm sure I've seen people say online that you don't actually need an ESTA, just a that you need to fill out an I-94W.

It was an uncommon 6 month visa which was an annotation of a B1 visa that allows productive work. I wasn't given an exact reason so I suspect that it was some combination of all of those things that I mentioned. However the interview went south when the interviewer started asking questions about how I would be spending each day & what percentage of my time would be split on particular activities. I thought my answers were ok but it didn't seem to be enough to convince them that this work had to be done from the US and not the UK.

Hi, I am a UK citizen currently living in Canada on a work visa, where I hope to get a permanent residency card and possibly citizenship. I had a US citizen fiance - who I broke up with 3.5 years ago. In early 2019 I was denied a temporary US work visa (before I lived in Canada) - I wasn’t given an exact reason, I was given a sheet with 214b on it and the second thing on the sheet was circled which was more related to ineligibility for the visa rather than lack of proof of ties to home. I suspect the reason was that I hadn’t been in the company for very long at all, couldn’t really justify why the work needed to be done in the US & not just from the UK very easily, and probably due to having a fiancé in the US at the time. I also worked in the US previously on a J1 visa, for a year. I have never overstayed and my holidays to the US were never very long and I never had frequent visits to the US - I think my most was twice in a year, each of those trips were about 5 days. I also never had any issues or questioning when entering the US to visit my fiance. Unfortunately I’m not living in my home country, I do not own any property in my home country and do not have a girlfriend, wife or kids in my home country. Unfortunately I do not anticipate that I will have any of these things any time soon. I do have a good, full time & fairly well paid job in Canada which I’ve been in since March and will be remaining in until at least May next year, as I need it to get permanent residency here in Canada. I also have a rental agreement up until at least July 2023. I also have flight tickets for a 7 week trip back to the UK in December. I have very strong ambitions to get permanent residency in Canada, which I will need to remain in Canada to obtain and maintain, and I hope to eventually get Canadian citizenship which I also will need to remain in Canada for x amount of months a year for. Ever since my denial, I have not tried to apply for an ESTA, any more US work visas or a tourist visa. I know that no one can really give me a definitive answer but I am wondering if anyone has been approved with not really any provable strong ties to their home country but ties to another country a few years after being rejected for a work visa? I don’t know how the US would see this but having a job that I *need* for permanent residency here in Canada, needing to be physically present in Canada to obtain PR & citizenship is a massively strong tie to Canada for me. I am also wondering if anyone thinks it is worth the risk. I don't have anything that I need to be in the US for, but I would like to visit on short trips every now and then. I also would be able to attempt to enter the US via a land border, so I wonder if it would be better to try to enter via land rather than applying for a B2 visa. I may also try to apply for an ESTA but I imagine this would be denied. Thank you.