UK Citizen...hard to get tourist visa?

[JCUSN 0]

A close friend of mine is wanting to come visit me in the US for several months. She's been here to the USA 3 times before, but this time she wants to stay and see a load of sights instead of traveling back and forth.

She works for the Royal Bank of Scotland, she's 24, still lives at home, and has visited the USA 3 times already. She has no criminal past or anything remotely close to that at all.

Will this be really challenging to be approved? Will she need a detailed itinerary of all the places we're going to go?

Also, if she is denied the visitor visa...will she still be able to visit with her ESTA under the VWP?

Thanks in advance for your help, everyone! Cheers!

[jaycali 415]

A close friend of mine is wanting to come visit me in the US for several months. She's been here to the USA 3 times before, but this time she wants to stay and see a load of sights instead of traveling back and forth.She works for the Royal Bank of Scotland, she's 24, still lives at home, and has visited the USA 3 times already. She has no criminal past or anything remotely close to that at all.Will this be really challenging to be approved? Will she need a detailed itinerary of all the places we're going to go?Also, if she is denied the visitor visa...will she still be able to visit with her ESTA under the VWP?Thanks in advance for your help, everyone! Cheers!

How long is she planning to stay? If less than 90 days she doesn't need a visa.

If she plans to stay for more than 90 days she needs a B-2 tourist visa. To get it approved, she'll have to provide proof of ties to the UK and prove she has sufficient funds to pay for her trip. If denied, she most likely can no longer travel visa-free on the VWP, although it isn't a definite ESTA-denial.

Edited April 22, 2012 by jaejayC

[JCUSN 0]

She's planning on staying longer than 90 days. She plans on staying 4-5 months. She has plenty of money to cover the costs of the trip, and she'll just be staying with me for her lodging. Will I need to write a letter on her behalf stating that, or would that look bad?

Is the fact that all her friends and family are in the UK good enough? She doesn't own any property.

Wow...so because she asks to stay in the USA for longer, and is denied, she can't just return for visits like she previously and legally did on her ESTA?

[Noah Lot 391]

I did not know that Uk banks offered their employees 5 months of paid vacation.....or maybe they don't....if she has been camping out in the US on the VWP for 2-3 months at a time, our border officials will wonder what sort of job she really has....after all, who gets to work 25% of the year for a full salary? (just our Congress!)...I suspect she will have a hard time explaining this plan with a straight face....

[JCUSN 0]

I did not know that Uk banks offered their employees 5 months of paid vacation.....or maybe they don't....if she has been camping out in the US on the VWP for 2-3 months at a time, our border officials will wonder what sort of job she really has....after all, who gets to work 25% of the year for a full salary? (just our Congress!)...I suspect she will have a hard time explaining this plan with a straight face....

She's not getting 5 months of paid vacation at all. She's taking a leave of absence from her work, or she's also considering quitting entirely. She hasn't visited for 2-3 months at a time! She's only stayed for 8 days each time she's been here. She's visited 3 times.

[Noah Lot 391]

She's not getting 5 months of paid vacation at all. She's taking a leave of absence from her work, or she's also considering quitting entirely. She hasn't visited for 2-3 months at a time! She's only stayed for 8 days each time she's been here. She's visited 3 times.

quitting said job would instantly severe her economic ties.....(and no, some randomly generated job offer for when (and if) she returns won't be worth much)....

[Boiler 46,004]

Keep the job, use the VWP.

[jaycali 415]

She's planning on staying longer than 90 days. She plans on staying 4-5 months. She has plenty of money to cover the costs of the trip, and she'll just be staying with me for her lodging. Will I need to write a letter on her behalf stating that, or would that look bad?Is the fact that all her friends and family are in the UK good enough? She doesn't own any property.Wow...so because she asks to stay in the USA for longer, and is denied, she can't just return for visits like she previously and legally did on her ESTA?

If she has sufficient funds, that's definitely a good start. Her difficulty could be proving ties to the UK, since she won't have a job to return to, and no property. If she gets a leave of absence, I'd recommend having her employer write a letter stating that.

She can still legally use the VWP after a visa denial if ESTA is approved.

[JCUSN 0]

If she has sufficient funds, that's definitely a good start. Her difficulty could be proving ties to the UK, since she won't have a job to return to, and no property. If she gets a leave of absence, I'd recommend having her employer write a letter stating that.

She can still legally use the VWP after a visa denial if ESTA is approved.

Is ESTA commonly approved after a Tourist Visa denial? I'd hate for her to be in a position where she can ONLY travel with a visa because her ESTA is denied.

[Boiler 46,004]

They do not issue those stats.

[Harsh_77 718]

Best option is the use 90 days, no official would believe she is getting 5 months of vacation paid or unpaid either way.

If she entirely quits then what is the strong reason for her to return back to UK?

She is young, single and no strong ties, no property why would she return back to UK? Chances of her B1/2 getting rejected are very high.

Her ESTA would be rejected if she fills an ESTA right after he B1/2 denial, most likely she would have to wait out 7-8 months and her ESTA might get approved after that.

[JCUSN 0]

After telling her all of this, she's just sticking with the ESTA and 90 days.

Thanks a LOT for all your help, guys. I really appreciate it:)

[jaycali 415]

Is ESTA commonly approved after a Tourist Visa denial? I'd hate for her to be in a position where she can ONLY travel with a visa because her ESTA is denied.

It's not common, but apparently it happens. There's another user here who got a B-2 denied, and later acquired citizenship in a VWP country, and was still approved for ESTA after filling out that he'd previously been denied B-2. CBP gave him some extra attention at the border, but let him through relatively problem free. I think it depends on the reason for B-2 denial and the circumstances.. But we can only guess.

The State Dept website states a denial "can" result in being ineligible for VWP.

After telling her all of this, she's just sticking with the ESTA and 90 days.Thanks a LOT for all your help, guys. I really appreciate it:)

Good idea.

Edited April 24, 2012 by jaejayC

[N M 96]

I did not know that Uk banks offered their employees 5 months of paid vacation.....or maybe they don't....if she has been camping out in the US on the VWP for 2-3 months at a time, our border officials will wonder what sort of job she really has....after all, who gets to work 25% of the year for a full salary? (just our Congress!)...I suspect she will have a hard time explaining this plan with a straight face....

Noah, mate. I know you are naturally suspicious of intent, and I do understand where you are coming from - but we have explained to you before, that unpaid career breaks are quite easy to obtain for many, many UK workers - especially those in the financial and government sectors. Many companies actively encourage them. Please try and remember that in the future.

Union Jack = being away from work for months on end isn't necessarily suspicious.

[*Snowdrop* 604]

Noah, mate. I know you are naturally suspicious of intent, and I do understand where you are coming from - but we have explained to you before, that unpaid career breaks are quite easy to obtain for many, many UK workers - especially those in the financial and government sectors. Many companies actively encourage them. Please try and remember that in the future.

Union Jack = being away from work for months on end isn't necessarily suspicious.

I think it's hard for many people in the US to understand the vacation allowances of other countries as it's often so small over here.

At my old job in the UK we had 7 weeks paid vacation every year and you were allowed to carry 2 weeks over to the next year if you hadn't used it. Plus after ten years you got an extra week of vacation as a reward for long service.

So it was quite easy to have really long holidays of a month or more off work at a time.

I was horrified when I first had to deal with the American vacation allowances.