B2 same as Visa Waiver?

[nats6624 0]

Is the B2 visa the same as the Visa Waiver?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Is the B2 visa the same as the Visa Waiver?

No.

The B2 is a visa that is applied for at the embassy. Time of validity and how long you can remain in the US varies.

The visa waiver isn't a visa. It's something you register for online electronically (before even that wasn't needed) and this allows you to enter the country that HAS the VWP without the use of a visa. It is typically only for 90 days.

In both cases they are visitors visa. you cannot work while on the visas. You are not guaranteed entry even if you have the visa or visa waiver. It is up to border protection to decide if they think you have immigration intent.

** moving from "Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas" to "General Immigration Related Discussion" as this post is not about adjustment from a visitors visa or visa waiver and is simply a qn about the visas themselves and even this location isn't perfect**

**Edited to add: immigration intent from a visitors visa or visa waiver is fraud so border protection has their rules for determining if they think someone is trying to immigrate. They can decide you do and put you on a plane back home and not allow you to enter.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[Ash and Ric 0]

Is the B2 visa the same as the Visa Waiver?

Yeah you are good to go your AOS will be approved

[Ash and Ric 0]

No.

The B2 is a visa that is applied for at the embassy. Time of validity and how long you can remain in the US varies.

The visa waiver isn't a visa. It's something you register for online electronically (before even that wasn't needed) and this allows you to enter the country that HAS the VWP without the use of a visa. It is typically only for 90 days.

In both cases they are visitors visa. you cannot work while on the visas. You are not guaranteed entry even if you have the visa or visa waiver. It is up to border protection to decide if they think you have immigration intent.

** moving from "Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas" to "General Immigration Related Discussion" as this post is not about adjustment from a visitors visa or visa waiver and is simply a qn about the visas themselves and even this location isn't perfect**

FOR THOSE WHO SAY YOU CAN GET A GREEN CARD WITH OUT A K-1 VISA OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT YOU ARE WRONG AMERICA HAS HOST COUNTRIES THAT REQUIRE NO VISA ENTRY SO IF YOU ARE VISITING AND GET MARRIED YOU HAVE VIOLATED NO CRIME. CAN'T FIGHT WHO YOU LOVE. WE FILED AOS AND GAINED EAD/GREEN CARD WITH A INTERVIEW AND TOLD THE TRUTH HOW WE DID THE PROCESS THE (IO) SAIDS THAT'S FINE AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A STAMP IN THE PASSPORT WELCOME TO THE US AND YOU WILL GET YOU'RE GREEN CARD IN 7 DAYS. ANY ONE STILL IN DOUBT STILL! STOP BEGIN SCARED AND FILE YOUR PAPERWORK PEOPLE THE WAIT IS THE ONLY SCARY WHEN THEY WILL GIVE YOU A UPDATE ON THAT USCIS WEBSITE HOW YOUR PAPER WORK IS MOVING ALONG.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Yeah you are good to go your AOS will be approved

Not necessarily. Please do not post things you cannot POSSIBLY know. You do not know the ins and outs of the persons case. You do not know exactly what happened.

PLEASE stop telling everyone that adjusting from these visas is rosy. Yes it's possible but it is NOT guaranteed and the risk of doing so means you give up your rights of appeal if the decision is denied, and if you are found to have lied to immigration when you entered or whenever (again we don't KNOW) then you can also get a lifetime ban for material misrepresentation.

FOR THOSE WHO SAY YOU CAN GET A GREEN CARD WITH OUT A K-1 VISA OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT YOU ARE WRONG AMERICA HAS HOST COUNTRIES THAT REQUIRE NO VISA ENTRY SO IF YOU ARE VISITING AND GET MARRIED YOU HAVE VIOLATED NO CRIME. CAN'T FIGHT WHO YOU LOVE. WE FILED AOS AND GAINED EAD/GREEN CARD WITH A INTERVIEW AND TOLD THE TRUTH HOW WE DID THE PROCESS THE (IO) SAIDS THAT'S FINE AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A STAMP IN THE PASSPORT WELCOME TO THE US AND YOU WILL GET YOU'RE GREEN CARD IN 7 DAYS. ANY ONE STILL IN DOUBT STILL! STOP BEGIN SCARED AND FILE YOUR PAPERWORK PEOPLE THE WAIT IS THE ONLY SCARY WHEN THEY WILL GIVE YOU A UPDATE ON THAT USCIS WEBSITE HOW YOUR PAPER WORK IS MOVING ALONG.

STOP POSTING IN CAPS!!

Again PLEASE read your posts. You just wrote "THOSE WHO SAY YOU CAN GET A GREEN CARD WITH OUT A K-1 VISA OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT YOU ARE WRONG " and I suspect that YET AGAIN you have excluded the word "not".

Not one part of my post said it was impossible and in fact had nothing to do with immigration!

[nats6624 0]

Not necessarily. Please do not post things you cannot POSSIBLY know. You do not know the ins and outs of the persons case. You do not know exactly what happened.

PLEASE stop telling everyone that adjusting from these visas is rosy. Yes it's possible but it is NOT guaranteed and the risk of doing so means you give up your rights of appeal if the decision is denied, and if you are found to have lied to immigration when you entered or whenever (again we don't KNOW) then you can also get a lifetime ban for material misrepresentation.

STOP POSTING IN CAPS!!

Again PLEASE read your posts. You just wrote "THOSE WHO SAY YOU CAN GET A GREEN CARD WITH OUT A K-1 VISA OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT YOU ARE WRONG " and I suspect that YET AGAIN you have excluded the word "not".

Not one part of my post said it was impossible and in fact had nothing to do with immigration!

Ok well i put B2 on my AOS forms but i came in on the VWP is there any way i can fix that since i have sent them in already?

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Are you sure you came in on the VWP? If you are a Canadian, I think that is called something else yet again.

Not sure what to do in your case, if you have a case number NOA you can try and contact them by phone to let them know of the error, or mayb make an infopass appointment? If not, you probably need to wait until the interview or until an RFE appears.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Yes, Canada does not participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Canadians have a special status with the US border in that they are allowed to enter (with inspection) without a visa as a visitor so there is no need for a visa waiver. The closest equivalent would be a B-2 visa so there probably isn't a need to change it, although at the interview you could mention that there was no official visa, just a Canadian entering the US as a visitor. You could have put 'Canadian-no visa required' and that would be alright as well.

Canadians sometimes do require visas if they have other reasons for being in the US (business, student, work, etc.) and even B2 visas if they have been advised to get one or turned back at the border.

It may be that now all phases of the WHTI (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) have been implemented that those Canadians using a passport to enter the US are getting a B2 stamp which basically validates their status. They don't have to apply for an official B2 visa, however, at the US Consulates prior to entering the US. So if you used a passport to enter the US and it says 'B2' on the stamp, that is fine.

[nats6624 0]

Yes, Canada does not participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Canadians have a special status with the US border in that they are allowed to enter (with inspection) without a visa as a visitor so there is no need for a visa waiver. The closest equivalent would be a B-2 visa so there probably isn't a need to change it, although at the interview you could mention that there was no official visa, just a Canadian entering the US as a visitor. You could have put 'Canadian-no visa required' and that would be alright as well.

Canadians sometimes do require visas if they have other reasons for being in the US (business, student, work, etc.) and even B2 visas if they have been advised to get one or turned back at the border.

It may be that now all phases of the WHTI (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) have been implemented that those Canadians using a passport to enter the US are getting a B2 stamp which basically validates their status. They don't have to apply for an official B2 visa, however, at the US Consulates prior to entering the US. So if you used a passport to enter the US and it says 'B2' on the stamp, that is fine.

So i should just leave it then? I came to the us before the passport rule applied i just needed my ID so i don't have a stamp or anything like that.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

FOR THOSE WHO SAY YOU CAN GET A GREEN CARD WITH OUT A K-1 VISA OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT YOU ARE WRONG AMERICA HAS HOST COUNTRIES THAT REQUIRE NO VISA ENTRY SO IF YOU ARE VISITING AND GET MARRIED YOU HAVE VIOLATED NO CRIME. CAN'T FIGHT WHO YOU LOVE. WE FILED AOS AND GAINED EAD/GREEN CARD WITH A INTERVIEW AND TOLD THE TRUTH HOW WE DID THE PROCESS THE (IO) SAIDS THAT'S FINE AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A STAMP IN THE PASSPORT WELCOME TO THE US AND YOU WILL GET YOU'RE GREEN CARD IN 7 DAYS. ANY ONE STILL IN DOUBT STILL! STOP BEGIN SCARED AND FILE YOUR PAPERWORK PEOPLE THE WAIT IS THE ONLY SCARY WHEN THEY WILL GIVE YOU A UPDATE ON THAT USCIS WEBSITE HOW YOUR PAPER WORK IS MOVING ALONG.

Yes, it's not a crime to enter the US with a tourist visa or visa waiver and then get married. It's also not a crime to apply for a green card while in the US based on marriage to a US citizen. However, it IS a crime if you enter the US with the INTENTION of getting married AND applying for a green card. Using a non-immigrant entry for the purpose of immigration is fraud. The consequences if you are caught are severe - a lifetime ban from the US, without possibility of appeal or waiver. What's worse, the risk of getting caught NEVER goes away. Even if your AOS is approved, the subject can resurface when you apply to remove conditions, when you apply for US citizenship, or even years after your US citizenship is approved. If evidence EVER surfaces that the marriage and AOS were planned when you entered the US, then you could find yourself in deportation hearings facing an immigration judge. The consequences are always the same - all of your immigration privileges are revoked, and you are banned from the US for life. You'll never know if you really succeeded until the day you die in the US, still having legal status. Until then, the possibility of being caught will always be hanging over your head, and there are a myriad of ways you could end up being caught. For example, if you casually mentioned to a friend or family member that you were going to the US to get married, then that person will always be a potential witness against you.

What you are promoting is possible, but it comes with enormous risk, whereas a fiancee or spousal visa carries practically no risk. This is why nobody here will recommend you do something so risky just to shave a few months off the process.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

So i should just leave it then? I came to the us before the passport rule applied i just needed my ID so i don't have a stamp or anything like that.

I would leave it. If you have an interview you can mention that you weren't sure what to put there because Canadians don't require a paper visa but are still in the US as visitors. The standard visitor is considered a B2 status. There is no intent to falsify or misrepresent yourself here and I doubt this will be any sort of a problem for you.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Kathryn41

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Yes, VISITOR to AOS is perfectly LEGAL to do! (lol...I for one have done such...see my vj timeline...)

No, it's not illegal that you came to the US and get married while you were down here for a visit.

AS LONG AS YOU CAME HERE WITHOUT PRIOR INENTION TO IMMIGRATE ON YOUR VISIT and not do this as to avoid and/or break immigration laws, then it's fine and legal to do such.

I was in the same situation before too, as I came over to visit my boyfriend (now husband), on a tourist visa (which are rare for Canadians, as Canadians generally don't need visas to visit the USA) from Canada for 2 weeks, and then ended up getting married here in the USA, and overstayed, and then filed the paperwork with immigration. And yes, I did get approved and got my green card afterwards. For more information on my sitation, see my VJ timeline (the link can be found on my signature).

In fact, I had no clue about the immigration/visa process when I got married and afterwards and was 'stuck' in the USA...

Definitely no intention at all in my case....Just visited...got married..then realized..Uh Oh....Can I stay?

So I went to seek the advice of an immigration lawyer....

And it was the lawyer that said that I should do the Visitor to AOS route instead of the other immigrant visa routes....(no point in going back for me..)...

Definitely not a loophole here! It is legal! But yes, it does carry a lot of risk in this process!

For example, if there was a denial, it could not have been appealed (unlike the other visa routes), and would have been deported...scary....

But we took that risk anyways..and it paid off for me....Can't say that this works for everyone though...

Again, contact a lawyer if in doubt of your particular situation....Which I advise anyone to do in this and in any case...

Every situation is different...So don't pre-judge as to one way is better than another way......

As long as in the end it all works out well, then so be it...

Hope this helps too..Good luck on your journeys too..

Ant

P.S. If you HAVE PRIOR INTENTION TO IMMIGRATE ON YOUR VISIT you're probably better off filing for:

-A K1 (fiance visa...go back to your former country, file the paperwork, get married in the USA, adjust status, get green card)

-A K3 (marriage visa...go back to your former country, get married in the former country, file paperwork, come to USA, adjust status, get green card)

-A CR-1 (marriage visa...go back your former country, get married in the former country, file paperwork, come to the USA, get green card...)

P.P.S.Nats6624-From what I can remember, I put "B2 visa and I-94 (and put the dates of those visas/records)" on my AOS forms, and they had no problem with that....Hope this helps too....

Edited March 9, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA