POE denial question

[Sweetcheeksss 91]

Hello all! Just hoping someone can answer my question

My hubby is a USC and last year I overstayed by 2 months. We hired a lawyer and *thought* he was taking care of our immigration process..but, it turned out he took our money but did nothing. (we sued and won our money back)

Anyway, I came back to Canada to visit my family and that's how I found everything out. I was denied entry at the airport and the guards filled out a report

Withdrawal of Application for Admission/Consular Notification

Application for admission withdrawn is checked

Further down it says "In CBP secondary it was determined that subject would need to establish solvency within Canada before applying for admission to the United States again. Subject's application for admission to the US was withdrawn under section 212 (a)(7)(A)(i)(I) of the INA. Subject was escorted to the airlines counter for futher assistance and instructed not to try to reapply for a signifigant amount of time, 6 months. Reapply showing strength of solvency to Canada. A general suggestion list was given"

So my questions are..

1) Next time I try it will be almost 9 months later, I WILL bring a letter from work, my bank smt, taxes, utility bill, car registration, letter from my son's school showing he's registered for next year. Will that be sufficient do you think? Will I need a waiver?

2) My hubby is a USC and we are applying for CR-1 (have our NOA 1) - will this affect us negatively? Because of course, if it does, I won't even TRY crossing again until after our CR-1 is completed.

[Sweetcheeksss 91]

Does anyone happen to know? I've tried googling but really no luck.

[Justine+David 218]

Hmm...I know that illegal presence for bans starts at 6 months and at a year (3 and 10 years respectively)...but you were for less than that. I'll be curious to hear others replies. Good luck!

[coraliesolms 47]

Ultimately its up to the border agent. If you can show many ties to canada( Job, lease, car, family etc..), as well as an in-depth knowledge of your immigration, then it might be ok. Really, nobody can tell you 100% yes or no, only BP can make that decision. If you take your NOA1 or NOA2 (whatever up to date info you have at the time), make sure if he/she asks, that you tell the truth, that you wish to just visit for a little bit, and then return to Canada to wait out the completion of your visa process, then it should be ok.

Again though, its absolutely up to them at the border.

Edited April 17, 2010 by coraliesolms

[canadian_wife 1,822]

After a denial, you'll need a boat load of ties to Canada. Anything you can think of - concert tickets, doctor's apointment cards, bank accounts, utility bills, credit card bills, mortgage/lease, wedding invitations, job letter, etc. I was denied entry and it is tough to get readmitted (and I STILL get asked about it even though I have my green card now). You'll get pulled into secondary screening so leave lots of time to make it through. When I presented my evidence, she tried to discredit all of it. "jobs can be quit", "you just rented, you can leave that rental", "utilities can be cancelled on the internet". But with all of that, she even had to check with her supervisor to see if I could be admitted - which after an ordeal I was.

It is entirely up to the border guard at the time of entry so no, no one here can tell you if you'll be readmitted. It's stressful and embarassing but what's done is done. If admitted, you'll likely be given an I-94 indicating the time in which you must leave the US. If this happens, make sure you copy it and have the Canadian agents stamp it - just in case they ever question you again as to when you left the US.

You will have to answer on the DS-230 that you were denied entry to the US and you will be questioned about the overstay (I think there is a question about that on one of the forms too). Answer honestly, don't make excuses, and you should be fine

Good luck .

[Sweetcheeksss 91]

Thanks for everyone's answers, I know that ulimately, it IS up to the border guards and deep down, I feel like, even if I bring every bit of evidence I have with ties to Canada, once they see that I am in the process of applying for the immigrant visa AND added on to that the fact that I overstayed last time I was in the US, that I will more likely than not - be denied.

I *wish* I had the courage to say to the guards "Do you think I would have left the US in the first place had I wanted to do something dishonest or stay illegally in the US? I was already IN the US, I could have just stayed if that was my intentions. Plus, we are in the process of fixin to spend upwards to 5k on this entire immigration process, I am not about to jeopardize the chance of legally being able to live with my husband as a real family"

Buuut I'm pretty sure that would NOT be to my advantange nor a very smart move on my part lol.

[trailmix 77]

Depends how you say that

If you are angry - well no, that won't help - but if you say it calmly, it shows you know what you are doing and what your intentions are. Good luck, let us know how it goes

[emt103c 10]

Just remember that if they start to do an expedited removal you need to request to withdraw your application again. . .that is also up to them. If they do give you an expedited removal, you will no longer be eligible for your CR1 visa without a waiver that takes 6-18 months and $545 to process. . .this happened to my husband a Canadian citizen, and lots of others. I would advise you to wait for your visa instead of taking the risk. . .he could visit you in the meantime.

[coraliesolms 47]

Just a personal note here. I am going through the IR-1 visa right now. I cant go and see my hubby because they wont issue me a visitors visa. It has been 2 years since I last saw him. It is hard, but it can be done!! Sometimes taking the hard times now, means it will be easy later on.

My recommendation to you would be to just stay here, and when your visa gets approved, then you can go over. Like I said, it is very hard, but it absolutely can be done!

[Meredith_Brahim 2]

Just a personal note here. I am going through the IR-1 visa right now. I cant go and see my hubby because they wont issue me a visitors visa. It has been 2 years since I last saw him. It is hard, but it can be done!! Sometimes taking the hard times now, means it will be easy later on.

My recommendation to you would be to just stay here, and when your visa gets approved, then you can go over. Like I said, it is very hard, but it absolutely can be done!

As an American, why can't you get a visitors visa to South Africa? Just curious, as I thought it was a fairly open country?

[coraliesolms 47]

Im the south african...I live in Canada (as a permanent resident). This means I have to get a visitors visa to visit my hubby in the US.

[Pliskin 0]

Why won't they issue you a visitors visa? Because you have the pending IR-1 application?

Just curious because I've read elsewhere that other ppl waiting to get their immigrant visa have been allowed to cross into the US to visit.

[BlueBonnet 84]

Ive been reading up on what to expect from the packages that the consulate sends out. It requires that I photocopy the pages of my passport. I noticed that when they stamp me, they stamp the entry date .. ie. Dec 23 and the date I have to be gone ie: March 23 ... is this a visitor visa/tourist visa ? Ive never applied for one, just the customs officials stamps in my passports. ( It was my understanding that Canadians can stay in the USA for 1 day short of 6 months, Im not Canadian, Im UK, but PR in Canada ) Because if this is the visitor/tourist visa thing .... then what is it that you have to apply for cora ?

March 27 is coming soon, keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[coraliesolms 47]

March 27th came and went already.....And yes Canadians get "visitors visa's" its an I-94 that they stamp in your passport at the border.

The visitors visa that I have to apply for is a B1/B2 because I am not Canadian. I have to go to a US consulate and apply for it (nearest one is pretty far away). I can apply for one if I want to, and could possibly have it granted to me. Unfortunately one needs to show some serious ties to the country you are visiting FROM.. I dont really have any of those right now.. I rent, and work at a part time job. No other ties here, and with a pending immigration application they may deny it. Also, lets say theoretically I received the visitors visa, they could still turn me away at the border, it is 100% up to the officer at the border if they will let me in or not. It could turn out to be quite costly, and everytime you get turned back at the border, it gets logged on a file, which brings up questions at your interview.

Does this make sense? Im not really good at the legal jargon explanations.

[emt103c 10]

March 27th came and went already.....And yes Canadians get "visitors visa's" its an I-94 that they stamp in your passport at the border.

The visitors visa that I have to apply for is a B1/B2 because I am not Canadian. I have to go to a US consulate and apply for it (nearest one is pretty far away). I can apply for one if I want to, and could possibly have it granted to me. Unfortunately one needs to show some serious ties to the country you are visiting FROM.. I dont really have any of those right now.. I rent, and work at a part time job. No other ties here, and with a pending immigration application they may deny it. Also, lets say theoretically I received the visitors visa, they could still turn me away at the border, it is 100% up to the officer at the border if they will let me in or not. It could turn out to be quite costly, and everytime you get turned back at the border, it gets logged on a file, which brings up questions at your interview.

Does this make sense? Im not really good at the legal jargon explanations.

Just one clarification, Canadian citizens do not use I-94's. . those are for VWP'ers and visa entries. . .Canadians don't use them unless they need a visa for a longer, more permanent stay than 6 months.