Will issue with the ESTA affect the U.S. Immigrant visa application? (merged)

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

It's not always the person easing our worries that is giving the information that we need. It was a good thing that you noticed this, and he will ofc tell them what happened at the K1 interview. Here is some information from CBP where this question is answered.

 

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1097/~/previously-denied-a-visa-or-immigration-benefit

 

You guys might need a waiver after the interview https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume9-PartG.html

 

It's good to be aware of all possibilities, and stay informed, but you can't change was has been done already, only move forward.

 

I guess I'm trying to say not to worry too much ( i know it would be hard not to) but to be prepared for any scenario.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[amishbaby 407]

2 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

It's not always the person easing our worries that is giving the information that we need. It was a good thing that you noticed this, and he will ofc tell them what happened at the K1 interview. Here is some information from CBP where this question is answered.

 

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1097/~/previously-denied-a-visa-or-immigration-benefit

 

You guys might need a waiver after the interview https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume9-PartG.html

 

It's good to be aware of all possibilities, and stay informed, but you can't change was has been done already, only move forward.

I have a question. Does he bring this up on his own accord or does he wait for them to bring it up, then tell them? I don't know how to confront this, please help.

 

And by us having to do a waiver, does that mean they will keep the petition and let us fill out the waiver, and then all will be OK if we are approved for the waiver? 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

7 minutes ago, amishbaby said:

I have a question. Does he bring this up on his own accord or does he wait for them to bring it up, then tell them? I don't know how to confront this, please help.

 

And by us having to do a waiver, does that mean they will keep the petition and let us fill out the waiver, and then all will be OK if we are approved for the waiver? 

You wouldn't want this to stay on the record to be discovered later on. That could cause problems upon AOS or n the future. They will most likely ask, and you can take a look at the DS-160 (visa application) that he will fill out online when applying for the visa at the consulate. I don't remember the exact wordings - as it has a lot of questions - but he has to fill out his complete US travel history for example and there are similar questions on there. SO, if they do not bring it up, definitely bring it up. If he is then subsequently denied due to that you will go ahead and file this waiver. There are many ppl here on VJ that have had to fill out this waiver. I don't know the exact process for it other than it's done upon the denial at the interview.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[amishbaby 407]

4 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

You wouldn't want this to stay on the record to be discovered later on. That could cause problems upon AOS or n the future. They will most likely ask, and you can take a look at the DS-160 (visa application) that he will fill out online when applying for the visa at the consulate. I don't remember the exact wordings - as it has a lot of questions - but he has to fill out his complete US travel history for example and there are similar questions on there. SO, if they do not bring it up, definitely bring it up. If he is then subsequently denied due to that you will go ahead and file this waiver. There are many ppl here on VJ that have had to fill out this waiver. I don't know the exact process for it other than it's done upon the denial at the interview.

So, if they deny it and we have to fill out a waiver, do I have to start the K1 process all over again? How does that work, exactly? I have no idea what to expect now.  

[David&Femke 91]

1 hour ago, Simonbln said:

Why dont you just find out and let him apply for a new esta with the correct answers and see if it still gets approved. 

 

There is nothing wrong applying for esta while k-1 pending.

 

let us know how it went. 

 

 

 

 

fairly shure the esta will not get approved if he amswers correctly, if you make any mistakes on the esta you cant use it after that. And if you do use it anyway that is misrepresentation. I have traveled on ESTA when i was not supose to myself. after they found out i aswered untruful they pulled my ESTA however i also dit not do it on purpose like her fiance. But because there was no bad intent i had no problm gtting a B2 visa after that. andthey reviewed the whole case with the esta then, even have a cool stiker in my pasport now that says ESTA recorrd reviewed.

If he can explain why he made that mistake and it does not look like he abused the system to stay in the us longer then he should, it is not a problem for other visas, you are just not allowed to use etsa anymore, you always get picked out of the border line for additional questions and they might take extra processing time at the embassy.

But they can tell the difference between someone trying to abuse the system and someone no beeing to handy with paperwork

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

I just checked my DS-160 and it asks both if you have ever been issued a US visa and then it asks the exact same question about if you have ever been denied one. So there will be a discrepancy between this and his ESTA - so it should be addressed by them. Make sure you guys fill out everything correctly this time.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

1 minute ago, amishbaby said:

So, if they deny it and we have to fill out a waiver, do I have to start the K1 process all over again? How does that work, exactly? I have no idea what to expect now.  

No, you don't start it over, that I know. 

[amishbaby 407]

4 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

I just checked my DS-160 and it asks both if you have ever been issued a US visa and then it asks the exact same question about if you have ever been denied one. So there will be a discrepancy between this and his ESTA - so it should be addressed by them. Make sure you guys fill out everything correctly this time.

OK, so we simply put "Yes", and then they will bring that up? If they don't, he will bring it up anyways. Doesn't that help our case to show that we weren't intentionally misrepresenting ourself since we would be being truthful on the DS-160?  Is there still a chance that they might not deny the K1 visa, and give him the visa anyways without making him file a waiver?

Also, how long does it take after filing a waiver to hear back?

[David&Femke 91]

5 minutes ago, amishbaby said:

So, if they deny it and we have to fill out a waiver, do I have to start the K1 process all over again? How does that work, exactly? I have no idea what to expect now.  

Jiust be honest about it, the ESTA is not teh same as a visa, when there is anything a little off you dont get the ESTA, but that is because the ESTA is not a visa, and thy dont really look in to much when they give you the ESTA, not getting the ETSA just means they need to look in to it. but they are not completely unreasenable. It might just take them a little longer.

[amishbaby 407]

8 minutes ago, David&Femke said:

fairly shure the esta will not get approved if he amswers correctly, if you make any mistakes on the esta you cant use it after that. And if you do use it anyway that is misrepresentation. I have traveled on ESTA when i was not supose to myself. after they found out i aswered untruful they pulled my ESTA however i also dit not do it on purpose like her fiance. But because there was no bad intent i had no problm gtting a B2 visa after that. andthey reviewed the whole case with the esta then, even have a cool stiker in my pasport now that says ESTA recorrd reviewed.

If he can explain why he made that mistake and it does not look like he abused the system to stay in the us longer then he should, it is not a problem for other visas, you are just not allowed to use etsa anymore, you always get picked out of the border line for additional questions and they might take extra processing time at the embassy.

But they can tell the difference between someone trying to abuse the system and someone no beeing to handy with paperwork

I did it to see if he would get denied. If he does get denied, he won't be using the ESTA waiver anymore... he will simply having to get a tourist visa of some kind of visit me if and when that happens. But I would really hope you're right in this case, and that they don't deny us the visa... but it's hard to tell now. I am getting a bunch of different information and I guess nobody would really know for sure except for the Consulate.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

4 minutes ago, amishbaby said:

OK, so we simply put "Yes", and then they will bring that up? If they don't, he will bring it up anyways. Doesn't that help our case to show that we weren't intentionally misrepresenting ourself since we would be being truthful on the DS-160?  Is there still a chance that they might not deny the K1 visa, and give him the visa anyways without making him file a waiver?

Also, how long does it take after filing a waiver to hear back?

Yes, if they determine it wasn't willful misrepresentation he can still be approved.

 

- I'm unsure, afaik it adds quite a bit of time. So prepare for the worst but hope for the best! Just the fact that you will be correcting it this time around and being upfront, will be in your favor. The unknown is if they will think he was lying to get the ESTA.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[amishbaby 407]

3 minutes ago, David&Femke said:

Jiust be honest about it, the ESTA is not teh same as a visa, when there is anything a little off you dont get the ESTA, but that is because the ESTA is not a visa, and thy dont really look in to much when they give you the ESTA, not getting the ETSA just means they need to look in to it. but they are not completely unreasenable. It might just take them a little longer.

He's going to be completely honest with them... that will only help our case.. not saying anything will hurt us. 

[David&Femke 91]

1 minute ago, amishbaby said:

I did it to see if he would get denied. If he does get denied, he won't be using the ESTA waiver anymore... he will simply having to get a tourist visa of some kind of visit me if and when that happens. But I would really hope you're right in this case, and that they don't deny us the visa... but it's hard to tell now. I am getting a bunch of different information and I guess nobody would really know for sure except for the Consulate.

well sinds you are already in teh K1 he will very likely not get a B2 visa. but that is not because of the esta but becasue they dont then to do that when you have a k1 pending. I got my B2 visa before we started the K1.
However based on me getting the B2 after a similar situation. i dont think it will be an issue to get the k1 visa for your fiance. he will just have to answer mor questions and maybe some prossesing time or waiver like others sayd, although i personnaly dit not need a waiver.

[amishbaby 407]

3 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

Yes, if they determine it wasn't willful misrepresentation he can still be approved.

That's good.... so with that in mind, what do you think will happen based off your expertise and knowledge? What is the most likely situation to come out of this? I want to be prepared for the possibility of a waiver, but I'm interested in how you think this will pan out. 

[amishbaby 407]

3 minutes ago, David&Femke said:

well sinds you are already in teh K1 he will very likely not get a B2 visa. but that is not because of the esta but becasue they dont then to do that when you have a k1 pending. I got my B2 visa before we started the K1.
However based on me getting the B2 after a similar situation. i dont think it will be an issue to get the k1 visa for your fiance. he will just have to answer mor questions and maybe some prossesing time or waiver like others sayd, although i personnaly dit not need a waiver.

Since he more than likely can't use the ESTA anymore, he wouldn't be able to visit me at all right now than would he? The only way he would be able to visit me is through an ESTA while using the K1, is that right? And now that he cannot use it because of me fixing the error, he will have to wait to get approval on the K1 to come back to America and see me, right? 

 

But yeah, I am willing to do whatever I have to. I don't want to screw this up.. so waiver or not. I hope that we don't have to do a waiver, but if we do, we will do it.