Entry to the US- Please help this worried Brit!
 

Hi folks

I am hoping that someone might be able to help me out.

I am a Brit and my girlfriend is American. From 2009 to 2011 she was doing her Master's in the US. I visited a few times, traveling from Guatemala, where I was living at the time (living as a tourist, leaving the country every 90 days...immigration control is very relaxed there). I work for a freelance research company in the UK and work remotely and I choose not to live in the UK, although my bank account is in the UK and I use my parents address for all correspondence. I am also writing a book, but that is not a paid activity.

Anyways, in September 2010, I was attempting to enter the US from Guatemala and I was taken to secondary questioning where I spent 4 hours being questioned by a number of different CBP officers. They thought that I was trying to live in the US (my previous visit to the US had been in February 2010 and I had stayed for about 6 weeks...previous to that I had entered in September 2009 and had stayed for 3 weeks...previous to that there were a few transits from the UK to Guatemala and one stay of 2 days in December 2006).

They eventually let me enter and gave me the usual WT stamp in my passport. I visited an immigration lawyer in Boston and she said it was strange that I had been stopped. I left the US in November 2010 and moved back to Guatemala. In September 2011, I moved with my girlfriend to Mexico, where she is working for the government. She has residency here but I don't. I went to the immigration office in Mexico City and they told me that as we're only planning on staying for a year, it isn't worth me applying for residency and I should just keep leaving the country and coming back in every 6 months on a tourist visa.

We want to spend Christmas in the US but I am a bit worried that I will be stopped again and, in the worst case, refused entry. I am only planning on being in the US for a week and have an outward bound ticket back to Mexico. I recently applied for the ESTA since my previous one had expired and it was approved (I should mention that I transited through the US in April 2011 on my way to the UK and had no problem).

Basically, what I want to know is if I should be worried about entry next week? I will some documents with me to prove that I am planning on returning to Mexico (I have a very expensive lease here and I can take some of my girlfriend's pay checks). I just want to have a relaxing Christmas with her and her family. I know that much of it is down to the individual CBP officer, but have I done anything wrong that might impact my chances of being allowed entry?

Many thanks in advance and Merry Christmas one and all!

I;'m not sure anyone here can give you a better answer.
 

Since you are traveling w/ your G/f and have her pay stubs, lease etc that should help. As will the fact you've never overstayed a visa. As will the ESTA waiver.

Good luck! You may be subject to extra questioning but just keep your cool ...

Thanks squeakr,

Don't worry...whenever I find myself in stressful situations I transform into a typical apologetic bumbling Brit...think Hugh Grant in pretty much any movie.

Similar to what squeakr said, its tough to tell. Unlike the TSA, which is fairly uniformly draconian, Immigration is more selective and it can be pretty tough to tell how you got selected for 'happy-fun-time' in secondary.

The fact that you don't have a job that ties you to your home country (if I read that correctly) is a pretty big negative. However, the fact that you are with your girlfriend, who does have a job that ties her to a country other than the US, is a positive. That you are 'visiting your US girlfriend' has been reported by some to be a red flag since the officers are worried you'll end up overstaying as a result. That you have onward travel is a pretty big positive, as is the ESTA waiver I would think.

In all, you have a couple things going against you (though who doesn't really?) and a number of things going for you. If I were betting on it, you'll come through without an issue.

You mean like this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNF4m...eature=related

:D

This is the kind of thing that happens from time to time when your SO lives in another country. In more than 20 road and air entries to Canada before I had a NEXUS card, I was secondaried once by immigration. The US, with our naturally sunny ( :rolleyes: :D ) dispositioned immigration people, is probably worse with this. Given that you were cleared for ESTA, you shouldn't have as much problem.

Second this--two red flags, that's asking for trouble.

Mexico is considered "contiguous territory" with the United States and therefore, in addition to having a ticket that exits the USA you MUST also have either a residence permit for Mexico or else a ticket that exits Mexico to a point outside "contiguous territory" within 90 days of your entrance to the USA in order to be eligible to use the VWP. Alternatively, you should apply for a B1/B2 US visa prior to your journey.

If you are entering at a land border, this may not be immediately evident to the CBP officer and you may be granted entry without any issues, but if traveling by air it should be a flag from your APIS data and could potentially cause issues upto and including denied entry, expedited removal, permanent ineligibility for the VWP and a 5-year entry ban from the USA.

There have been many horror stories posted here from people in similar situation.

You should expect the worst-and hope for the best.

Or cancel your plans.


Even though he hasn't been back in the USA in over a year.

The USA is insane. On second thought, cancel your trip,

The purpose of the "contiguous territory" rule is to prevent people de-facto "living" in the USA and simply doing runs across the border to re-set their 90-day entry period.

The major set of people outside the above group to be affected by this are VWP nationals who are de-facto living in a neighbouring country to the USA and who do not have the appropriate documentation that "legalises" their residence there. This is the OPs situation. Those with appropriate residence permits are exempt from the "contiguous territory" rule.

The final group that tends to fall foul of this regulation are those who travel in transit via the USA to Canada/Mexico for a period in excess of the 90 days granted by the USA but short of the 6 months granted by Canada/Mexico. They may be technically in violation of US Immigration law as overstayers, even though they were not physically in the USA. This is a very small percentage of persons however and the USA usually turns a blind eye to this. The USA is the only jurisdiction that I am aware of that applies this kind of extra-territorial test for immigration status. Even the Schengen states have exceptions for territorial visas.

To be perfectly honest, if the OP relates his story exactly as above he will almost certainly be denied entry to the USA. He is an extremely high-risk VWP entrant by virtue of the fact he has no current ties to his home country and is not even guaranteed re-admissability to his present country of de-facto residence. His only apparent long-term ties appear to be to the USA by virtue of his relationship with a US citizen. His occupational track record of working without authorisation in multiple countries over the past few years will also count against him.

ESTA approval is irrelevant. All that ESTA does is determine that no statutory ineligibility exists. Intent is still determined via interview at POE and the evidence as narrated by the OP is definitively not in his favour.

That said, the determination at stake is a subjective one so we can simply speculate.

Simply as a bystander, I want to say thank you to B747-437B for providing good, clear information on this thread.

It always pains me when I see questions about immigration - very serious stuff indeed - answered by people of the clueless "don't worry - it'll be alright" persuasion, potentially leading the OP down a very dangerous path.

It's ok to have an opinion, and it's ok to guess things, but in issues such as immigration I think its only right that responders overtly state that they are guessing or that their response is based on nothing more than their own brand of "common sense" rather than leaving this as implied. Peoples lives can be impacted irreversibly by this stuff, so it's just too important to mess around with.

I agree with B747-437B. There's every chance of the OP being "invited to withdraw his application to enter the US" (which I believe is the current euphemism for being denied).

Thanks
 

Thank you all, especially B747-437B for the clear advice.

Will it make a difference if I purchase a ticket from Mexico to London for sometime in Jan/Feb (before the 90 day period allowed under the VWP expires)?

I am planning on applying for residency here in Mexico, but for the type of residency I will be applying for I have to had been in the country for 150 days prior to applying.

I guess the burden of proof is going to be on me. I agree that my links to my home country are tenuous at best.

Yes, it could make a significant difference. You will now be clearly entitled to use the VWP (technically, the VWP requires you to have a "return ticket" but that interpretation is often loosely applied to include separate tickets) without relying on oversight. You will also be demonstrate temporary residence in Mexico and intent to return to your country of citizenship, thus creating a tie to the UK that was not hitherto in place. Taken together, these create a far lower risk scenario than otherwise.

Remember, the main thing is to not attract attention to begin with. Once they start poking around in secondary, it is a toss up whether the officer woke up on the right side of the bed that morning.

^^ It sounds like you are getting good advice from the experts, but I'd like to add my emphasis to the above statement. Start the process calmly and with just the basic required information. Don't volunteer any added information when asked questions. Just answer the questions. When testifying, lawyers sometimes advise clients to answer "Is the sun shining outside?" with strictly a "yes" or "no". No add-ons as to "rain is forecast", "maybe a little bit cloudy", "and the temperature is...", etc.. Nothing else. Then calmly and quietly wait for the next question.

"Never let them see you sweat."

If they request added information or back-up, by all means drag out all the added proof. Just don't start with it. Shakespeare's "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." says it best.

And while I'm at it, maybe dress quietly/conservatively/respectfully. Job interview/meeting girl friend's parents/house of worship/??. Every little bit helps.

Romelle