OUCH

I agree that the words boyfriend/girlfriend/fiancee are trigger words for immigration officals the world over.

However, I would question your suggestion that you 'gild the lily' and use the word friend instead of girlfriend.

My own experience is that it is NEVER a good idea to lie ( or to be more kind economical with the truth) to an immigration officer. If (and invariably it happens) the truth comes out they have you marked as a bad guy. Much better to take the relevant documentation with you to prove compelling ties with your country of residence (ie mortgage, job, car ownership, credit comittments, children from a previous marriage etc etc) and tell the truth.

For what it is worth I have been dating a lady in the US for 6 years now (if she beahves herself i may consider going steady :p )and neither of us has had a problem with immigration at either end. However, the internet is full of forums where you will find people put on the next plane back because they attempted to decieve the immigration officials.

My point to the OP was get a visa as it makes you less liable but not immune from problems as the US will already have vetted you much closer than someone travelling under the VWP.

And finally good luck to all the other people who suffer the hell of TA travel just to be with the person you love :D

Communication about visiting GF/spouse/family can actually facilitate things with immigration in many places. Passport and place being visited matters. And how responses are worded matters.

Saying that you are "visiting X (person) for the Y period (weekend, week, month)" can help, especially if the answers to a follow-up question gel with what a couple/relatives on vacation may do AND if there is an onward ticket that can be produced to substantiate the pax claim.

I don't think being a foreigner is really the most imporant
concern here. If a US citizen makes "too many" entries
back into the US, he/she will no doubt raise the eyebrows
of the CBP officers.

If you have nothing to hide, there's really nothing to worry
about. However, if you feel that you were subjected to
unreasonable delays/searchs, you can always send in a
complaint to them...

"Too many" entries by a US citizen back into the US must be quite a bit. Weekly (including weekly weekend) long-haul trips are not an automatic red flag.

The number of "too many" entries into the US by foreigners coming into the US under the VWP is probably a lower number -- lower than for US citizens re-entering the US -- given all other factors being near-equal, but even that is not an automatic red flag unless it appears to be a violation of entrance conditions.

What kind of visa do you suggest in this type of case?

I've been going round and round with the American Embassy in Denmark about a visa for my husband and they are basically telling me that there is no visa that fits our situation.

I'm a U.S. citizen, he is Danish. We live in Denmark, but have recently purchased a second home in the U.S., and visit 3-4 times per year for 2-3 weeks each time (with longer visits planned in future).

So far he always enters under the VWP, but we thought we should get something more permanent for him. An immigrant visa isn't correct because he would have to spend the majority of his time in the U.S.

I asked the visa 'expert' at the U.S. Embassy if there was another type of visa, eg. non-immigrant visa, so he could have unlimited visits and not have to worry about the 90-day limit on the VWP (in case we ever decide to spend a few months in the U.S.) and I was told there was nothing. I find it hard to believe, but the U.S. Immigration website didn't shed any light either.

So what visa might be available to a citizen of a VWP country, who needs more than an occasional 90-day or less visit, but doesn't want to immigrate?

Susan

How did you manage to live in Denmark with the Rasmussen-peddled residency laws? Older than 28? :D

More seriously, doesn't the US issue multiple-entry non-immigrant spousal visas? (K-visas??? :confused: ) Or maybe a spouse of a US citizen is required to file an immigration petition regardless of intent to immigrate or not in order to get the spousal visa? :confused:

The LIFE Act -- listed as the third link below -- has some info that may be useful for certain non-immigrant spouses of US citizens.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigra...s_1315.html#3a

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/hdiknonimm.htm

http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/residency/LIFE.htm

http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...life081401.htm

It seems easier to just come in under the VWP since they are not immigrating. I don't even know if the K3/K4 is required anyway -- especially when it seems in the press release that it is not required -- and it may not be wanted because it could be conditioned on filing a petition for immigrant status.

I suggest asking a US immigration attorney in any event.

Good friends of mine are in a similar position (she is from the US, he is from Spain), and the visa section staff at the US embassy in Madrid actually said "take a trip", suggesting they go to South America for a few days if they want to extend his 90 days stay (he would get a new allotted stay in this case). They said the only thing they need to watch out for is that he does not spend a total of more than 180 days of a given year in the US.

The most appropriate NIV would likely be the B1/B2 but due to his eligibility for an IV by virtue of his marriage to a US citizen, he would find it hard to show compelling ties to Denmark. Even if the B1/B2 were to be issued, you would eventually run into problems at a POE and potentially face a 212(a) ruling with a 5-year ban on entry due to the marriage.

You are in a catch-22 situation that many couples find themselves in whereby the US Immigration laws do not support "dual intent" (the law requires an officer to assume that you want to become a permanent immigrant). At least you have the luxury of the VWP - there are many couples from non-VWP countries who are forever banned from simply visiting their spouse's homeland due to the "grey area" in the law above.

My suggestion here (and I am NOT a lawyer so take it with the appropriate pinch of salt) is to file an IV petition as a spouse and then apply for parole. When the PR status is approved, maintenance of the status will require periodic visits - but nothing that appears outside of your current travel patterns. I know of at least two other couples who do this and while it is not ideal (having to rush and make trips just to get the passport stamped before a certain date to comply with the laws is never fun), it is probably the most efficient solution to the problem - and gives the flexibility to remain in the US as long as you want.

There is an additional upside and one very big downside to this strategy. The upside is that with PR you can work in the US as much or as little as you want, and nobody will bother you about that. The big downside is that as a PR, you are now required to pay US taxes on your worldwide income. At the very least, this puts you in the sights of the IRS as somebody who's due to pay taxes (not to mention the additional paperwork you'll go through every year for the rest of your life) and at the very worst, could increase your tax bill from your current situation.

I came to Denmark 16 years ago as a staff member for an international organization, so my residence permit is issued by the Foreign Ministry by virtue of my job. Yes, I'm over 28 (ha, well over). :)

Susan

That's almost verbatim what the woman at the Embassy told me. She actually said we could have trouble at POE someday, if my husband just continues on VWP, because with us having a home in the U.S., they may assume he's going to try and stay.

On the other hand, if we get the immigrant visa for him but then he doesn't spend the majority of his time in the U.S., he can lose that. And we'd have the tax issue as Pickles mentioned.

I was actually quite shocked to learn that this was going to be so difficult. As a 'mixed' couple, isn't it logical that we'd want to have homes in both countries, and split our time? This must be common.

Right now it isn't such a problem because as long as we are both working in Denmark, our travel pattern to the U.S. is only a few weeks at a time, a few times a year.

But our intention is to split our time between the two countries once we have the time freedom to do so. That's what I was mainly investigating, and was stunned to learn that this will be such a problem.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and input. I've got some further research to do, I can see.

Susan

SusanDK, thanks for bringing this issue up too.

It seems like there is an increasing need for Congress to act again in recognition of certain global realities -- i.e., growing number of "mixed" couples not intending to immigrate/work in the US. Communicating with elected US representatives on this matter cannot hurt.

True. Also in my experience, Canadian immigration ALWAYS gives me the third degree just when I am visiting for a week. I have had to show proof of onward tickets, my job, the friends I was visiting, complete itinerary, hotel reservations and all the rest of it. The US is a hit-or-miss with a third degree half of the time and a friendly "business or tourist" the other 50%. In ALL other 60+ countries that I have visited I have never been asked a single question!

When I did the canpass application, it never asked why I visit Canada every few weeks, it just wanted to know if I had any convictions. I wasn't asked, so I didn't tell ;)

I got stopped once at the border entering Canada, give then 3rd degree. I didn't know the last name of the person I was staying with. (met her at a hockey camp.. only knew her by her first name) I also didn't have return tickets, as I was non-reving. They issued me a 3 day visa, since thats how long I was planning on staying, and I left a day early, just in case flights filled up. Now, every trip, I have names/address of most everyone I know up there with me, just in case they ask for name/address of where I'm staying.

K3/K4 visas are clearly not appropriate in these circumstances as they are immigrant visas.

It strikes me that he needs a B2 Visa. I saw an earlier post that you may not stay more than 180 days per year in the USA. My understanding is that this is not correct. A B2 visa can be extended to allow for periods of up to one year in the USA.

A B-2 Visa is Suitable For: Tourists on a pleasure trip to the U.S., People visiting friends and relatives in the U.S., People coming to the U.S. for medical treatment, Foreign nationals coming to the U.S. to marry a U.S. citizen or Green Card holder, upon establishing to the consular official and the USCIS that after the marriage, they will depart from the U.S., even though intending ultimately to immigrate, Dependents of nonimmigrant for whom no derivative classification is available. For example, the elderly parent of an E visa holder


To qualify for a B2 tourist visa, you must demonstrate that:

• The purpose of your trip is to enter the U.S. for business, pleasure, or medical treatment

• You plan to remain in the U.S. for a specific, limited period

• You have a residence outside the U.S. as well as other binding ties, which will insure your return abroad at the end of the visit

The B-2 visa duration varies between single entry with one month's duration, and multiple entries with five years' duration.

Other posters have mentioned that the inspecting officers at the POE presume an intent to immigrate and this is indeed correct. However having credible and sufficient evidence to compelling ties abroad that indicate clearly you intend to return home overcomes this problem.

Marriage to a US citizen does not so far as I am aware make your husband inelligble for a B2 visa. As an aside a B" visa is one that allows you to apply for adjustment of status or another class of visa providing there was no intent to adjust at the time of application. So should you decide at some point in the future that your husband wishes to immigrate to the USA this should not present a barrier.

That said of course no visa whatever classification guarantees entry to the USA that is soely the preserve of the officials at the POE.