SirJon

I would guess NWD would stand for New Delhi........

Wonderful news!!!!! Congratulations!!

I-797 is indeed the NOA2. The form does not seem to say anywhere on it NOA2, and I don't think there is one that says NOA2.

Packet 3 is the communication that you receive from the Embassy with information of the next actions needed before you have your interview.

You have to remember, the Taliban are now in Pakistan. A country with nuclear capabilities.

I guess as it has been said in an earlier post, they were trying to rattle your fianceé. As I understand it, there is a problem with relationship fraud in the Philippines. Your fianceé will more than likely be under more scrutiny than if she was from a different part of the world.

The fact of the matter is that it is YOUR relationship that counts here, and it sounds like you should be in good position due to visits and all of your other evidence.

I wish you all the best with getting flights to be with her, and I wish her luck with her interview.

Sounds like you are both having a rough time of it.

Where is your fianceé having her interview? It might be helpful to get the opinions of those from that country.

Is there no other route you can take to get to your fianceé's country? Your presence could be a help.

You shouldn't have any real problems at all as the VWP and your application are not connected.

Just be honest at border control. If it's for a holiday with your SO, then tell them you are taking a holiday. You don't need to go into fantastic detail with them.

If you do have some worries about being denied for any reason, it could be handy for you to have a letter from your employer, lease agreement or some other piece of evidence to show you will be returning home.

I was quizzed a little bit more than usual last year, but my employment status was more than enough to keep me from having to stay behind.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Cool! I love the "curve ball" So weird how it works

Excellent news! Congratulations!

Hello everyone.

It's been quite some time since we've posted here and are just now about to begin our K-1 process. We have been waiting for quite some time for my final decree of divorce and it's finally arrived.

Our concern is this.

In my decree it states that parties are prohibited from contracting marriage with any other persons until (30) days after the entry of the decree, unless an appeal is taken, and that any marriage contracted before the expiration of that date shall be voidable until the decree becomes final. An agreement which waives the right to appeal from the granting of the divorce and which is incorporated into the decree shall be effective to shorten the period of time during which the marriage is voidable. My ex and I agreed to include such an agreement waiving the right to appeal.

I'm not looking for legal advise but I'm a bit worried about the wording of the decree since we've been planning to begin our filing as soon as I had it in hand. Thoughts?

Also, it's been a bit of a struggle to find the exact process one uses to facilitate the K-2 visa for my fiance's child. I think I have most of it nailed down, however there remains some gray areas. I've found conflicting reports about whether or not a G-325A is required for her child who is under 10 years of age. Most sources say no. I've also read that children under age 14 are not required to attend the visa interview in London and was curious about how the visa is approved and issued without the child being present.

Thanks for reading,

Troy

I would think that means that you can't enter into a contract of marriage in 30 days of the decree being granted, which would not be happening if you are applying for a K-1 visa.

Can't help you on the K-2 bit unfortunately.

Good luck with your application!

My Passport is of a similar vintage, and is probably in a similar contition due to lots of travel and time in airport bars. I haven't had any problems with it, apart from a few comments about the state of it.

Watching "Nothing to Declare" on LivingTV (Aussie Immigration) I know that they can actually tell if a passport is legit even if it has been soaked. I'm sure as long as everything checks out with the details on the passport you will be okay. After all, your fingers are in the system.

Thanks for your reply,

When you say my fingers are in the system do you mean with the Greencard fingerprints? I didn't have fingerprints taken for my passport when I was in the UK.

Maybe I just got a grouchy officer.......

I might call the Embassy just to check. Even that's expensive at $2.60 per minute.

Thanks again

Shona

I was talking about once you get to immigration in the US, and the GC fingerprints.

I'm sure that at UK Customs that they would have access to the info of the UK passport agency if they were to call into question the legitimacy of your passport. For peace of mind it may be better for you to get a replacement.

I know it's granny sucking eggs time but.......... http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/apply-replacing-what.asp

My Passport is of a similar vintage, and is probably in a similar contition due to lots of travel and time in airport bars. I haven't had any problems with it, apart from a few comments about the state of it.

Watching "Nothing to Declare" on LivingTV (Aussie Immigration) I know that they can actually tell if a passport is legit even if it has been soaked. I'm sure as long as everything checks out with the details on the passport you will be okay. After all, your fingers are in the system.

I am sure the USCIS would love someone like me. I would love to keep the riff raff out. If your story were true, ( I am English, my language is English. I am aware of how to use my mother tongue), then I am sure it would be confiscated cigars all round for keeping out someone who is living in the US tax free, and abusing a system that is there for legitimate travellers.

I wouldn't pity the USC to whom I am bethrothed. Pity me. I am marrying a Republican.

There are plenty of people who turn up with so called legitimate tales. It's called attention seeking.

So Monsieur, you lied on your B-1 application?

Please Note: When applying for entry into the United States as a voluntary worker with a visa or under the VWP, you should furnish a letter from your U.S. sponsor which contains the following information:

Your name and date and place of birth;

Your foreign permanent residence address;

The name and address of initial destination in the U.S.; and

The anticipated duration of your assignment.

i don't even know where to start as you're actually ending up being close to pathetic at this point. don't you have better things to do?

1) There are tax agreements between France and the US, and you can't pay taxes twice on your revenues. therefore i'm not living in the US "Tax free". And I pay US sales taxes like everyone else here.

2) I still own an appartment in Paris (that I rent to my young cousin) and which is also my tax domiciliation. I don't recall being asked for my address abroad when applying for my B-1 visa while in Nassau, but if this was a field to fill in the application form, then I certainly provided them with my address in Paris. Call it a lie if you want, that's not what I think. A "permanent residence" in France is the location where your tax forms are mailed to. But I know where this is going and you're gonna tell me that a permanent residence is technically where you do live 181 days a year. Except that no one can verify where you actually spend your time. Except maybe in the world you want to see your children grow. If your wife is a republican, you shouldn't be pitied, you're actually a perfect match. and let me guess, you're wearing a skinhead too? i'm sure our president would appreciate your racist analogy to riff-raffs. i don't know in UK, but in US a riff-raffs are dominican-decent immigrants.

why don't you directly seek an internship at the Mexico/Texas border control unit instead of poluting my post? i'm sure it'd suit you perfectly.

Skidoo, Thank you for the insults. It demonstrates what kind of person you are. I still do not believe you are a genuine poster, and you are commiting an offence, and am entitled to do so. I have not made any personal assault on you, or resorted to racial stereotypes. In fact, all I have done is to point out glaring holes in what you have said about renewing your Visa at Nassau.

If, as you say, you are genuine, then I am surprised a man of your education has not pursued this with those with legal knowledge of immigration laws. I work internationally, and have within my network those with knowledge of such things, and would have no problem in asking them for counsel on such a delicate matter. I did suggest that you make haste to your Embassy, but alas you ignored that tasty morsel.

So, I will address the question as I would do so to a genuine poster.

Contact the French Embassy. I am sure they would help in finding the best care for your mother, either in the USA or work out some way to return your mother to France.

Speak to an immigration lawyer. For such a complex situation only real legal advice will do. After all, "I read it in a forum" is not going to cut the mustard with USCIS.

you are one paranoid and stubborn english man "sir". i pity the USC who's marrying you, it must be tough living with you. if only USCIS could screen people like you, the US would be better off. thanks again for your non-sense and non-contributions. i truly don't understand what would be my interest of 'making this up' as it is a non-relevant part of my post and doesn't really explain my current situation as I'm right now under a B-1 visa anyway.

PS: learn english, it's "If this story WAS genuine".

I am sure the USCIS would love someone like me. I would love to keep the riff raff out. If your story were true, ( I am English, my language is English. I am aware of how to use my mother tongue), then I am sure it would be confiscated cigars all round for keeping out someone who is living in the US tax free, and abusing a system that is there for legitimate travellers.

I wouldn't pity the USC to whom I am bethrothed. Pity me. I am marrying a Republican.

There are plenty of people who turn up with so called legitimate tales. It's called attention seeking.

So Monsieur, you lied on your B-1 application?

Please Note: When applying for entry into the United States as a voluntary worker with a visa or under the VWP, you should furnish a letter from your U.S. sponsor which contains the following information:

Your name and date and place of birth;

Your foreign permanent residence address;

The name and address of initial destination in the U.S.; and

The anticipated duration of your assignment.

I am afraid you are incorrect.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-li...tryRequirements

You still never mentioned where your taxes go to either.

this article has obviously only been updated about the swine flu. what they state in there is an old article taken from the old specs of USCIS's website. It is NOT current. If you don't believe me, go on forums related to travel to the bahamas. Or simply call any airline going to Nassau, like Bahamasair or JetBlue. When I left in February (and the 3 times prior that), they always have taken my i-94 slip. now can we move on?

Since you're so interested I pay my taxes in France since my freelance business is registered in Paris and I'm a french citizen. I have no revenue in the US, and frankly am not seeking any given the terrible exchange rate USD/EUR.

In other words, all I do now is spend my money earned abroad in the US. PRetty much like a tourist. Same applies to my mother as her pension is paid by french govt. Our money goes to french bank accounts and I process bank wires on a monthly basis towards my account at bofa.

I am sorry, but you are just making this up in my opinion. The British Foreign Office do keep up to date with the latest things happening in the world. The law has not changed. Not even because of swine flu. The law is that visits to the Bahamas count in the VWP 90 day total. They would pull you as soon as they look at your I-94W and your passport. There is no getting away from this.

If this story were genuine, and it was my mother, I would be down to my embassy like a shot to get advice.

I may not have been to Nassau, but I have been to Bermuda, and also I have friends who know the system pretty well.

The Bahamas counts as part of the “contiguous territory and islands” for US visa waiver purposes and time spent in The Bahamas counts towards the 90 day maximum permitted stay in the US under this waiver.

If you have ever filled in an I94, I am sure you would be aware that you have to fill in all of your lovely travel details, with flight numbers and port of departure and arrival.

you are wrong. Bahamas doesn't count as part of the “contiguous territory and islands” anymore for the reason i've already explained. you can travel from Nassau to Cuba or the UK. Understand???? that means they have to take your i-94 slip. What you say was right 3 years ago, until Nassau airport opened to new international destinations.

I am afraid you are incorrect.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-li...tryRequirements

You still never mentioned where your taxes go to either.

I may not have been to Nassau, but I have been to Bermuda, and also I have friends who know the system pretty well.

The Bahamas counts as part of the “contiguous territory and islands” for US visa waiver purposes and time spent in The Bahamas counts towards the 90 day maximum permitted stay in the US under this waiver.

If you have ever filled in an I94, I am sure you would be aware that you have to fill in all of your lovely travel details, with flight numbers and port of departure and arrival.

I am surprised that they do not recognise a UK long birth certificate. I know from my experience when they were checking my papers at the embassy, they were a little bit dubious that the copy I had received from the GRO was a certified copy. It could be worth while trying to speak to someone and find out exactly what the problem is.

I would suggest that a counsellor could be good for the both of you. Why throw away two years without trying to find out why you argue more than talk?

Something smells fishy here, and it's not the bouillabaisse.

It's a very long post, and I have a few questions.

Your business in the US goes bad, your mother in France gets ill. You manage to get work in Europe from the US, move to Miami and fly your ill mother over so she could have some sun, and you are her primary caregiver. You have been flying backward and forward to Nassau to extend your visa AFTER committing visa fraud so you can stay in the US, and now have a different sort of visa so that you can work.

1. Why fly your sick mother all the way to the US when there when France has an excellent healthcare system, wonderful weather in the South of France and would be closer to her friends?

2. What kind of work are you doing in the US, and where is the tax being paid?

3. Why is it that the authorities have not picked up on your visa fraud? I think we all know here the lengths they go to in their background checks?

4. Why, if your story is genuine, do you expect to get help to commit visa fraud on this site?

1. did you even read my post? My mother was here back in 2005 visiting me on VACATION (under VWP). She got very sick and stayed at the hospital. Her situation worsened to a point where she can not travel back to France. As a side note, the weather in southern France is fine only 3 months out of the year and life there costs twice what it does here in Florida. Not to mention that she has no more family in France, her sister recently died. She has only me and my life has been in the US for the past 8 years. I'm ok to take care of her, but I'm not willing to sacrifice the part of my life where I decide where I want to live.

2. I do NOT work in the US. My clients are in Europe (mostly France and Italy). I work from home thanks to this beautiful thing called the web.

3. I have never commited any visa fraud!!! I simply have used a loophole. This is way different. Plus I explained in my response above that what I told that officer in 2006 wasn't not a lie since at that time, I was actually seeking to transfer my business to Florida so I indeed had a file in US embassy in Paris to seek re-instatement of my E-1 visa, since the trustee couldn't manage to sell-off my inventory of shoes and offered me to buy them out. If you were familiar with the E-1 visa, you would know that there is no requirement of prooving your business is still in existence at the port of entry. It is however required to get renewal. What the officer did was HIS mistake. He should have granted me only the time remaining on my E-1, but since their protocole is to grant automatically 2-years, I certainly wouldn't contest that.

4. I don't know what you're talking about and why you're being so aggresive. I'm not asking anyone to get help to commit visa fraud on this site. I am simply stating the options I'm facing. I'm obviously not asking for advices on how to commit to the options potentially implying illegal status (i'm not stupid), I'm asking evidently for help on all the other LEGAL options that I still have at this point. All I say hereby is that if I don't find any legal way to stay, yes I assume the fact that I will eventually become an illegal alien as I have no other choice since I can not abandon my mother here. Is that clear enough for you now?

I think my error with this post was to be too honnest. Something I have to admit americans are not very used to, at least that's what I've witnessed in the past 8 years on forums like this one where only politically correct posts and comments rule. I feel very sorry for you if your mindset reached a point where you can believe someone would have made up such a story. All this truly happened to me. If you don't want to believe me, so be it. But at least try to be useful and constructive instead of condescending. You should chill out a little and get a life instead of polutting my post.

Man, I must be really stupid to have even believed getting any help here. Only rude (and formatted) answers so far. Very disapointing.

If only I could still edit my post and removed the "illegal" options I've listed. I have never said I was asking for help on these. I was only listing them as options, like any other immigrant wannabe who's listing his options at one point. It's my fault to have treated this post more like a diary post. My mistake. Unfortunatly I can't edit my original post.

The biggest reason why I do not believe your story is that to be eligible for renewing VWP in Nassau, you would have to be a legal resident or citizen of the Bahamas.

Touché

Hello everyone!

Get ready for what I think is quite an original case. Enjoy the ride of my personal story as a US immigrant wannabe, and please help me resolve my situation if you can, because right now I'm totally desperate!

So here we go:

I am a french citizen. My ex-wife (also french) and I arrived in the US first in March 2001 under a E-1 visa. I had indeed invested in a franchise of a famous french brand of luxury shoes. We opened the store early april '01 on the island of MAUI (HAWAII) in a high-end newly-opened shopping center.

Business was doing ok until 9/11 happened. Japanese prime-minister asked his citizens to stay home, and neither travelers from California or NY visited the island anymore for close to a year past this awfully sad event. On top of that, the Island of Maui got put on quarantine for the first time in 50 years in October '01 (yes, less than a month after 9/11) due to the DENGUE fever that hit the northern part of the island. Maui's airport was shut down for 2 months, thus even local visitors from the 4 other islands would not visit us. In other words, it was a total economic disaster for us and most businesses that rely on tourists in Maui.

Things got ugly with my ex-wife (advice: never partner with a friend or spouse!) and she left the island in May '02 and moved back to Paris. I decided to stay on Maui and tried to handled the already tough situation with the business, since our landlors wouldn't give us a break with the rent ($15,000 a month!!!). Anyway, like many other independent stores in this luxury shopping center (Shops at Wailea), I had to go bankrupt by September'02. THe only survivors were the big guys such as Louis Vuitton or Gucci who can handle losses for months as long as they make profits in other parts of the world.

I'm sure you know, but E-1 visa (investor's visa) are granted for 5 years, and each time you enter US, you're usually granted 2 years to stay. My last entry was in July'02, so technically I could stay until July'04, even though if you go by the books, that's only if the business still exists. But at that time of entry it still existed, and I had to stay to manage the bankruptcy, liquidation etc. until the end of 2002 minimum anyway.

By early 2003, I was 33, divorced, and had lost pretty much all the money I had saved in almost 10 years of hard work back in France. I'm talking about around $360,000. Lost for me, but a big amount of cash that got input in US economy since all that money was paid to the store's architect and contractor, into rents, inventory purchase from NY (that french brand had an office there), employees salaries etc...

I gambled and lost. Fair enough. ###### happens.

But I decided to at least enjoy my 5 years of visa and stay in the US, since I had fell in love with this country (hard not to when you live in Hawaii...) and was sure by then it's the country I want to live the rest of my life in.

By the way, here's a little piece of advice and trick: if your E-1 is about to expire (say at 4 years and 10 months), make sure you enter US a couple months just before the deadline, and claim (if asked) that your E-1 renewal is being process your country's US embassy, but you haven't received validation yet. The officer can not refuse to let you in (since you're a manager and essential tothe business' survival) and he will likely grant you another round of 2 years, making it a total of 5+2=7 years of stay. That's what I did and it worked.

Now you may ask: "why the hell did you want to stay in US so bad"? I told you, I just love it here and always felt like feeling in prison while in Paris, which is a great city to visit, but certainly not to live in. That's my personal opinion though, but based on 30 years of experience there.

So here I am, in Hawaii enjoy the sun and try to recover from losing both my wife and business in less than a year. Shitty year that was.

As if that wasn't enough, in the meantime my mother contracted a very rare degenerative disease (in the family of Parkinson/Alzheimer) aged only 55. Being her only family (my father left I was only 8), I decided to help her and moved closer to France, namely in Miami so she could travel back and forth (under VWP) and at least enjoy the sun for the few years she had left.

I was living back then through freelance contracts (I hold a MBA level) and never stole the job of any american as all my revenues were coming and still come from Europe. I don't even benefit from any social structure from the US since we have universal health care in France, thus I'm totally covered if I end up at the hospital.

Until 2005, my mother was still ok, but her situation got rapidly worse, to a point where she got stuck here in the US, ending up at the hospital and overstayed. We're 4 years later and she's still alive, but can't neither talk, nor walk. We have a letter from the neurologist saying she already couldn't travel by plane by 2005. She indeed is incontinent, can get into panic attacks and start screaming and/or cry with heavy noise and could vomit etc... no airline would accept her so she's basically stuck in US. A private charter to France would be out of the question as it costs nearly $250,000 and her travel insurance wouldn't cover it since she's not in a life-threatening situation either. In other words, she's here for good, until the end of her life, which according to her neurologist should have already happened 3-4 years ago, since life expectancy for this disease is usually around 6-7 years.

It's almost a miracle she's still alive. Today I'm her care-giver 24/7 and get help from a nurse just 6 hours a day as we can't afford more. But we're fine, my mother's pension from France and my revenues from Freelance jobs amply cover us financially. I want to believe the reason why the woman who sacrificed everything to raise me (alone) and to pay my MBA, is somehow still holding to life thanks to my good care and love. One thing is sure, I want to be here for her until the end, otherwise I couldn't watch at myself in a mirror anymore.

Sorry for this digression, but it'll help you understand where I'm coming from. Back to my visa issue...

We're in february 2008. The "2 years extension" of my 5-years E-1 visa come to an end and I become nothing more than a regular tourist. At that point, it's too dangerous to let my mother alone with a nurse (not to mention that there are certain cares only I can do - too long to explain) so my solution is to travel back and forth to Nassau and renew my VWP every 90 days. I was traveling the morning to Nassau and come back the same day. All was good.

Until February'09. I got caught by the immigration officer who said I was 'abusing' my VWP prerogatives. I contested that as there's yet no text of law defining the exact number of days you're supposed to spend abroad before coming back to the US under a VWP. Anyway, it was obviously a bad day for her and I got denied entry. The next morning I went to the american embassy in Nassau and managed to get a business visa, since I'm also in the process of doing business in the US now with a partner from France who's willing to open a sister company here (in the dog fashion industry / I know... please don't laugh. It's actually one of the only growing industry right now - LOL) and commissioned me to organize his exhibition at a trade show in NYC on august 23rd.

My problem is that my business visa will expire on August 1st '09 (valid for 6 months) and the trade show will take place on august 23rd. Right now I'm working on building the booth displays, handling potential partnership with local manufacturers and fabric sourcers etc...

I've of course tried to get a visa-extension directly at the point of entry, but they didn't want to give me more than 6 months, given my records of VWP 'abuse' (or whatever they call it).

In these past 8 years, I've become what I think is a proud literate american deeply in my heart, even though I can't neither work nor vote in this country I love. But fair enough, being here and spending my money here is all I'm asking. Yet I risk deportation as soon as August 1st if I don't find a way to stay legally.

So far, I'm 100% legal in this country. My mother has overstayed by already 4 years due to medical reasons as you already know, but I doubt she could be detained should USCIS ever finds her, given her medical condition. Otherwise, I would contact french embassy immediately and inquire for help with her case.

I can't imagine leaving the country after more than 8 years here, somehow contributing to your economy by spending both my mother's pension and my own revenues here. We're stealing the jobs of nobody. We're both more like long-term retirees.

I know it's a lot to process, so here's what I think my options could be at this point:

________________________

1) try the diversity program lottery (check. i cross my finger for this year, results will be in July and since I'm accidently born in Morrocco, my chances are pretty high since almost 10% of winners come from this country!)

________________________

2) ask for a business visa extension. at best I get an extra 6 months. I can claim the date for the trade show is 3 weeks after my visa expires and can prove it as we have a signed contract with the show organizer.

________________________

3) apply for an L-1 visa. ask my partner in France to say I work with him for more than a year (which is true on and off) and 3 years later try to get a greencard

________________________

4) in case results from the lottery are negative, find quickly a girl friend ready to marry me and do that in July before my business visa expire august 1st, and then seek immediate AOS. That will probably cost me big time, at least in organizing a decent wedding, not to mention all the trouble with interviews I've been told. By the way, does anyone know if the interviewer still show up at your house without notice? (as seen in countless movies). Because if so, I'm afraid they would find my 'illegal alien' mother...

________________________

5) Become an illegal alien and take my chance. I just moved to a new house, so I still can forward the mail from my previous address to a PO Box instead of my new address and of course not seek any job in US (which is by no means my intention anyway since I remain a freelance for good).

_______________________

I don't know, at this point I'm depressed, panicked and confused. I really don't know what to do. What if I can't find a solution? Will they deport me or put me to jail? What will happen to my mother? I have no brother, no sister. I'm the only family she has, and same for me.

Any input will be highly appreciated. Don't hesitate to be frank. Please tell me which of the above 5 options is the most viable in your opinion, and if so, please give me your advice on how to succeed with this path.

I know this is a VEEERRRRY long post. If you managed to read it fully, I would like to thank you very much for reading my quite unfortunate story. Maybe it will even cheer you up and make you feel like your life isn't that bad after all...

Thank you again in advance for your responses and advices.

Something smells fishy here, and it's not the bouillabaisse.

It's a very long post, and I have a few questions.

Your business in the US goes bad, your mother in France gets ill. You manage to get work in Europe from the US, move to Miami and fly your ill mother over so she could have some sun, and you are her primary caregiver. You have been flying backward and forward to Nassau to extend your visa AFTER committing visa fraud so you can stay in the US, and now have a different sort of visa so that you can work.

1. Why fly your sick mother all the way to the US when there when France has an excellent healthcare system, wonderful weather in the South of France and would be closer to her friends?

2. What kind of work are you doing in the US, and where is the tax being paid?

3. Why is it that the authorities have not picked up on your visa fraud? I think we all know here the lengths they go to in their background checks?

4. Why, if your story is genuine, do you expect to get help to commit visa fraud on this site?

I love the smell of 419ers in the morning!

The really sad thing is that there are many people sucked into believing all of this, and happily send of thousands to these unscrupulous rogues.

Give them as much as you want. I'm sure it will all be to the good. Better to have to much than to little.

Not that I am aware of, unless you are living off a private income that's tucked away in a bank.

As long as you met the requirements for support, then it is not necessary.

Just checked my copy of DS230 as submitted. I put in N/A in question 3, and it was accepted.