Hi there
If anyone could help me figure this out it would be much appreciated. Earlier this year I was granted an I (media) visa to travel to the US, as I am a journalist and I was attending a trade show in California in June. That trip went ahead okay.
However in October I am planning to go to Seattle, Portland and San Francisco for a holiday with a family member. I was denied an ESTA due to a brush with the law that happened when I was a minor. This was discussed in my interview for the I visa and was no problem. However I cannot get a B-2 tourist visa in time for the holiday as the wait time is too long, the next interview appointment is in January and I'm booked to go in October. I cannot cancel or rearrange the trip without losing a lot of money.
My question is, can I take this vacation and enter the US using my I visa? Even if I am not visiting for journalistic purposes. I cannot find any guidance on this online.
Thanks for your help.