Visiting Boyfriend on B2 Visa

[kmelanie 1]

I’m planning to visit my boyfriend in the US (we’ve been dating for more than a year now). He’s a Swiss citizen and working in the US on a H1B visa.

I’m an Austrian citizen and currently studying via distance learning course (doing my Bachelor’s degree). The organization I’m doing it with is located in Germany. (So I have a student card which I can show when applying for the visa.)

Other than that, I’m always welcome at home; I’ve got a place to live here and my parents are willing and able to financially support me (they could write a letter stating that).

I’ve already visited him for three months (Visa Waiver Program) this summer and I’d like to go back in January. I would live with some friends (they could provide a letter for me to take to the US embassy when applying for my visa). There I would proceed with my studies and, of course, spend time with my boyfriend.

If we decide not to continue our relationship, I would go home. If we decide to get married, we would marry in Austria – so I would go home too and then apply for a different visa.

I don’t want to go to the US on the Visa Waiver Program again since the chances of denial at the port of entry are unknown but certainly higher than with a visa and since I’d like to stay longer than 90 days.

What are my chances of getting a B2 visa? Or is there a better alternative? Any information / advices that might be helpful are greatly appreciated.

[MalaysianGirl 26]

In your case, I don't think you even need to mention your boyfriend when you apply for your B2 visa... so I doubt you'd have a problem getting it. But I could be wrong so please forgive me in advance.

[Bsze 50]

If you are from a VWP country, you will need a very, very good reason to apply for a B2. Basically, you need to prove why you need to stay beyond the 90 days the VWP allows. If you do a quick search on this forum concerning your situation, you will find that many people from VWP countries have applied and been denied a B2. You can take the risk if you wish, but a denied B2 might affect your ability to travel on the VWP again as ESTA asks if you've ever been denied a visa.

So, if you are going to try for a B2 anyways, make sure you provide lots of evidence of strong ties to your home country - rental lease, employment letter etc. But, seeing as you've visited the US just a short while ago and you're currently doing a distance learning course, I would say the odds are stacked against you for the B2 and possibly entering again on the VWP.

I understand you wanting to see where your relationship with your boyfriend will go, but unfortunately there is no "try and buy" visa. I wish you the best of luck.

Edited November 7, 2011 by Bsze

[MalaysianGirl 26]

kmelanie, how about staying less than 90 days? If so, you could just travel to the US on the VWP and have no hassles there.

[Noah Lot 391]

I’m planning to visit my boyfriend in the US (we’ve been dating for more than a year now). He’s a Swiss citizen and working in the US on a H1B visa.

I’m an Austrian citizen and currently studying via distance learning course (doing my Bachelor’s degree). The organization I’m doing it with is located in Germany. (So I have a student card which I can show when applying for the visa.)

Other than that, I’m always welcome at home; I’ve got a place to live here and my parents are willing and able to financially support me (they could write a letter stating that).

I’ve already visited him for three months (Visa Waiver Program) this summer and I’d like to go back in January. I would live with some friends (they could provide a letter for me to take to the US embassy when applying for my visa). There I would proceed with my studies and, of course, spend time with my boyfriend.

If we decide not to continue our relationship, I would go home. If we decide to get married, we would marry in Austria – so I would go home too and then apply for a different visa.

I don’t want to go to the US on the Visa Waiver Program again since the chances of denial at the port of entry are unknown but certainly higher than with a visa and since I’d like to stay longer than 90 days.

What are my chances of getting a B2 visa? Or is there a better alternative? Any information / advices that might be helpful are greatly appreciated.

Letters from friends or aquaintences carry little or no weight at the interview....after all, anyone can write a letter that says anything...but at the end of the day, are those letters enforceable in any way? (No). Who would believe that you would stay with some random friend rather than your BF? No one. No matter what some letter says. For some inexplicable reason, people seem to believe that letters stating this or that are worth something during a visa interview; in reality, they rarely add any value and instead, often have the opposite effect, generating skepticism at best or instigating a fraud interview at worst. And trying to explain with a straight face why you 'have to' stay 4 months instead of 3, in spite of the scholastic demands of an online course, will be very challenging.

[brian_n_phuong 193]

kmelanie, how about staying less than 90 days? If so, you could just travel to the US on the VWP and have no hassles there.

[kmelanie 1]

Hello everybody,

thx a lot for your comments.

I tried nevertheless and... received a B2 visa. (And it's probably needless to say, that I'm quite happy about that...) It expires in ten years from now (which of course doesn't mean that I can just stay there for such a long time).

In case someone might ever be in a similar situation: Here's what I provided:

- Letter of my parents stating that they are willing and able to pay for my trip and all the costs involved

- Statement of their bank showing that they are actually able to do so

- copies of passport, visa (H1B) incl. form that belongs to it of my boyfriend

I could have shown more things, but that was obviously enough. I was asked why I wanted to go there and what I would do (studying via distance learning course). That's it.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Melanie,

you did a brave thing: pulled the trigger on a gun with 3 bullets in the 6-bullet chamber and it only made "click." It's called Russian Roulette, but the fact that you got lucky doesn't mean that I would recommend that to anybody else. Period.

Had they denied your B2 visa petition, and there was about a 50% chance for that to happen, your ESTA would have been denied as well and your boyfriend could have come to Austria to hang with you.

So congratulations on being successful, but it was a very brave (for lack of a better term) move.

P.S.

Even with a B2 you cannot spend more than 180 calendar days in any given year in the U.S. because that's when you become a resident for tax purposes. So while the VWP allows you up to 2 x 90 = 180 days in the U.S., the B2 allows you the same total time, just in one visit. In addition, if a CBP officer feels you are spending too much time in the U.S. he or she can deny you admission as easily with a B2 than with a VW. Same difference.

Edited December 3, 2011 by Brother Hesekiel

[MalaysianGirl 26]

I agree with Brother Hesekiel.