US Visa confusion
 

Hello,

I'm very new here and I hope I can get good support from all of you guys.

Let me explain you my situation here.

I am holding US Immigrant visa on my Indian Passport and also holding Australian Permanent residency in my passport. I have also applied for Australian Citizenship and going to get it in few days.

Now, my situation is that how would I travel to US after getting my Australian Passport. On which Passport I need to travel and how the Australian Immigration will allow me to travel to USA and USA POE will allow me to enter into their country.

As far as I know , I cannot transfer my US Immigrant visa from Indian passport to Australian Passport due to different nationality...

Can I carry 2 passports ( Indian passport with valid US visa and valid Australian Passport) ?

hope to hear from you guys soon. :confused:

Cheers,

You lose your indian citizenship as soon as you gain Australian (India does not alow dual citizenship). So forget your Indian passport.

See the detailed discussion here for some pointers.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...-passport.html

How did you land yourself in this mess? After all, you had to apply for these various visas and passports yourself.

What I know is this: Every country has different rules. India will not allow you to keep its passport if you become citizen of another country (but as long as you don't go to India, other countries won't care and the issue may not come up for a while). The US doesn't care if one has other passports, but anyone who holds a US passport must use it to enter the USA. Etc. I don't know what Australia's rules are, and if you can hold an Australian passport but travel from/to Australia on a different one.

Clearly, you need the advice from a competent immigration attorney familiar with Australian and US laws, not from members of an Internet forum dedicated to frequent flyer miles and airline status. :)

However, nobody can help you until you figure out yourself what you want. Where do you want to live and work? Which country's citizen do you want to be? :) What is most important to you - Australian citizenship, immigrating to the US, or Indian passport? As everything may not work out, you need to decide your priorities and proceed from there.

What are your plans - are you going to live and work in Australia, or in the USA? Whichever it is, I'd give priority to your status in that country. Let others fall where they might.

But again, talk to a good attorney and be willing to pay for his advice.

BTW, welcome to FT!

Visa Confusion
 

Yes, I'm planning on appoint attorney before I get my Australian Citizenship. I am also thinking to cancel my Citizenship application ( if they can do ) or put my application on hold for few months...

Your thoughts will be much appreciated.:confused:

Just curious - do you mean that the immigrant visa is stamped in your passport? Or do you have an I-551 stamp (temporary evidence of greencard), from previously entering the US using the immigrant visa? I thought that immigrant visas were in the form a large envelope containing your file, with a one page visa attached to it (that may not be the case, I'm just going on what I recall from several years back. In my understanding they're one-time use, effectively converting to a greencard on entry to the US).

In any case, even if you already have the I-551, I'm don't know how that would be handled by the US if your country of citizenship subsequently changed. :(
I agree with the advice to talk to an immigration attorney. Good luck.

do you mean that the immigrant visa is stamped in your passport?
Yes, it is stamped in my passport:D..

do you have an I-551 stamp (temporary evidence of greencard), from previously entering the US using the immigrant visa?
I haven't been to USA yet but planning on going soon.:(

I thought that immigrant visas were in the form a large envelope containing your file, with a one page visa attached to it (that may not be the case, I'm just going on what I recall from several years back. In my understanding they're one-time use, effectively converting to a greencard on entry to the US).
I have got everything with me.

Do you mean pasted in your passport?

No. Green cards are a separate process.

koolguy: There are many types of "immigrant visas". Which type do you have?

How did you wind up with both Aus and US immigration status? Either you want to live in the US or AUS...

if u dont have an I-551 stamp or green card then u do *not* have an immigrant visa to the US :)

Uhhh....no.
An immigrant visa is not the same thing as permanent residency. It is a visa that lets someone come to the US with the intention of establishing residency, but it does not guarantee that an LPR or citizenship will be granted. It's a means of ENTRY.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigra...ypes_1326.html

How long are you going to stay in the United States? If less than 90 days you can enter the Unites States with your new Australian Passport under the Visa Waiver Program. You only have to fill out the ESTA form online at least 72 hours before flying to the US.

Please notice that under the Visa Waiver you are not allowed to take a job or to study in the United States and if you stay longer than 90 days it can cause serious problems with US Immigration.

I would be careful about this. As others have suggested, you need the advice of an immigration attorney that is well versed in US immigration law, and perhaps a separate one regarding Australian law.

My concern about taking the above quoted advice is that now that you have a US immigrant visa, it may not be possible to legally enter under any other status without first canceling the immigrant visa (or having it automatically canceled when you enter on another status). Because of the special situation with your possible change of nationality, it may not be caught, at least not right away, as the US may have no way of knowing that the Indian and Australian passports are for the same person (will your Australian passport have the exact same name as your Indian one?). Also, there's the matter of fingerprinting upon entry that may end up revealing that the Indian national and Australian national are the same person. And even if it's not caught right away, if you plan to apply for permanent residency status once you arrive, and/or eventually naturalize, this issue is likely to come up. And once you present yourself at a US Port Of Entry and apply for admission with a certain status and nationality, you can't undo this historical fact later and it might come back to bite you. Be careful.

Steve M, aktchi and bneoma are right, you need the advice and services of an immigration attorney. Flyer Talk is great for lots of things, including general travel advice and FF programmes, but this is not the place to seek guidance on complex immigration issues like yours. Get a professional.

mpc1