British citizen ESTA and b1/b2 visa denials after overstay married to a usa inmate .

[caliliving 606]

INA says marital union and USCIS have interpreted that to mean living together, which is wrong, especially in 2016 when we have so many different varieties of marriages and living arrangements. I've already told my husband that if I decide to become a USC, and I'm not too sure about that, we are taking on USCIS again in January 2019.

wow! did you meet him before he was in prison? and when is he out?

I think the fact this OP cant see him and hes given a lifesentence isnt going to work... also, what did he do to get in there? would the AWA apply there? i dont even want to know what he did to get a lifesentence in jail:/ she also met him when he was already in prison.

however, you dont have a ban for an overstay because it wasnt long enough.. but that will prevent you from seeing him.

you also lied on your application so you may get a misrep ban? tough to tell.. i mean how does one omit the fact they are married???

even IF he gets out of prison, i doubt he would be able to visit you in the UK.. i really dont think you guys have a good chance at all.

[JFH 12,191]

He definitely won't be able to visit the UK. Anyone with an overseas conviction that resulted in a sentence of 4 years or more in prison (regardless of how much time they actually served in cases where they were successfully paroled or moved to community corrections AND regardless of what the equivalent sentence would be in the UK) has a lifetime ban.

My husband was sentenced to 5 but paroled at just under 3 years. This was over 20 years ago. He is still banned.

[mallafri76 1,012]

wow! did you meet him before he was in prison? and when is he out?

I think the fact this OP cant see him and hes given a lifesentence isnt going to work... also, what did he do to get in there? would the AWA apply there? i dont even want to know what he did to get a lifesentence in jail:/ she also met him when he was already in prison.

however, you dont have a ban for an overstay because it wasnt long enough.. but that will prevent you from seeing him.

you also lied on your application so you may get a misrep ban? tough to tell.. i mean how does one omit the fact they are married???

even IF he gets out of prison, i doubt he would be able to visit you in the UK.. i really dont think you guys have a good chance at all.

I met my husband when he was already in prison. I decided to write someone in prison as a good deed after seeing this show of the lengthy and crazy prison sentences in the US. Didn't know he was gonna turn out to be my soulmate.

Yeah, VAWA and Adam Walsh might be an issue, that's definitely something that OP needs to look into.

OP, you said you think you wrote that you were married, that's something you need to try and find out because that'll have an impact on any immigration visa you apply for. You didn't keep a copy of your application on your computer?

[JFH 12,191]

INA says marital union and USCIS have interpreted that to mean living together, which is wrong, especially in 2016 when we have so many different varieties of marriages and living arrangements. I've already told my husband that if I decide to become a USC, and I'm not too sure about that, we are taking on USCIS again in January 2019.

Interesting... I was referring to the USCIS handbook which specifically mentions incarceration as not being applicable for involuntary separation

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartG-Chapter2.html

Work and education reasons are OK.

[zorus40k 21]

While in America in 2011 i overstayed from April until September which means i over stayed by 3 months , which of course i apologise for and i was not aware that my ESTA visa was only for 3 months .

I have remained in England since 2011 and I applied for my ESTA visa in May 2016 it was denied with no reason given

i was advised i could apply for a b1/b2 visa which i did however on the 15th jun 2016 my visa was denied under 214(b).

when i asked why it was denied she said : 1. i overstayed my visa 2. because I'm married and did not list it on my b1/b2 visa (I'm unsure if i did or did not ) and she accused me of working bc i attended a trade show in USA dealing with afro Caribbean hair which i wanted to re attend this year for my own start up Business in the u.k i reiterated i did not work .

am healthy physically and have income to support myself so I believe my ESTA and b1/b2 visa denials are solely because of my overstay

I'm extremely concerned it may prejudice my attempts to re-enter America for any reason

and so i am relying on legal advice before we make any further applications and exhausting the circumstance.

but my husband is adamant we pursue a CR1he wants me to become a citizen, i am worried so soon we would be denied

Even in your post you sugarcoating and lying even tho VJ is not a CO or legal advisor

You were given reasons for your denial as you mentioned yourself

You wanted to visit for business related reasons and lied

It's only your responsibility to do your own research about rules

Yes it will "prejudice" any further attempts to enter

VJ is not a source of a legal advice, contact immigration attorney with experience related to US legal system

[Empress200735 6]

Hi

The fact that you arrived in the USA in 2011 on ESTA and overstayed will raises concerns. Also I am not sure why your husband wants you to apply for a CR1 as oppose to a IR1 visa considering you have been married since 2011. Also until you are allowed to legally live in the USA you cannot apply for citizenship.

There is no easy solution to your situation.

As your situation is not that straight forward i would recommend seeking legal advice.

[NikLR 13,232]

Hi

The fact that you arrived in the USA in 2011 on ESTA and overstayed will raises concerns. Also I am not sure why your husband wants you to apply for a CR1 as oppose to a IR1 visa considering you have been married since 2011. Also until you are allowed to legally live in the USA you cannot apply for citizenship.

There is no easy solution to your situation.

As your situation is not that straight forward i would recommend seeking legal advice.

Ir1 and cr1 are essentially the same visa. The manner in which one is applied for doesn't differ. Married time at port of entry is the only major difference leading to either the 2 year conditional card or 10 year non-conditional card.

[mallafri76 1,012]

Interesting... I was referring to the USCIS handbook which specifically mentions incarceration as not being applicable for involuntary separation

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartG-Chapter2.html

Work and education reasons are OK.

Yeah, I know. But that's their interpretation of what marital union means and it's wrong, in my opinion so I'm ready to fight them about it. INA only talks about marital union not that someone have to live together.

[NikLR 13,232]

Found this... may be relevant to the OP

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences without parole are unconstitutional for juveniles. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that ruling does not apply to inmates already serving time, and the federal Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal.

....

Since the rule change, Gov. Mark Schweiker commuted one sentence and Gov. Ed Rendell commuted five.

Gov. Tom Corbett has commuted none.

http://publicsource.org/investigations/life-means-death-for-thousands-of-pa-prisoners

Each state also has an inmate database you can look some up in and find out exactly what they did wrong.

Maybe the OP will decide that this inmate isnt worth the immigration effort and find a new one to help.

Edited June 18, 2016 by NLR