Help needed with getting to the USA/Nonimmigrant Visas
Please visit our forums for the latest announcements and discussion.
|
Hello all, I'm having a major problem at either getting into the USA, or obtaining a Visa to get into the USA for anthrocon from the UK. Ok, first of all some background. I last attended AC in 2003 using the visa waiver scheme. That went ok, I came to the USA without problem and left after AC finished. Before I did, I applied to get a ticket for the following years' AC (2004). Unfortunatly firstly because of financial reasons (I became unemployed!) I never managed to get to AC04. Having no employment and having trouble finding employment I eventually worked something out with a friend who said they could either employ me, or maybe I could find work there (in the USA) with the right visa. I tried in 2004 to obtain such a visa, but was refused one as the immigration people didn't recon that I'd return, and because of my unemployment. Now fast forward to this year. Some months back I decided to call the US embassy in london as I wanted to know if I could use their visa waiver scheme since I'd had a visa refused by them. They gave me contradictory information: one person stated that I'd be waved through, another said "no no, you must come to the embassy, you'd get turned back". So just a few days ago I did just this and got turned down again for a holiday (b2) visa. I rang them twice because the information I received seemed to contradict the information on their website. The embassy's attitude seemed to be very poor and the guy who interviewed me seemed to be quite arrogant, and really honestly didn't seem to care. When asked I said I was going to see friends, he seemed to say or mumble something about "who and where" (the where was actually indicated on the official paperwork that I had to fill out!) but then just decided to tell me "that you're not exactly forthcoming with information", and rejected my visa application. When asked what I should do next he just stated that I should use the visa wavier scheme and that they would question the rejection and want to know all about it. The snag is that I have no gurantee that I would get through, I could still be turned away (which would be an expensive option I can't afford!). Also I have no way of knowing just what they might ask me. Does anyone else here know what to do, or has anyone else here (I am in the UK) had such poor treatment? The US embassy in london seems to be very unhelpful and unfriendly. SP |
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Technorati
Icerocket
Blog: [Link]
Instead of telling them you were going to visit friends, why didn't you just tell them you were going to be attending a conference?
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: Montreal , Quebec , Canada
I think you should have told them that you were going to a convention , have fun share art , learn stuff.
Seeing friends is UBER-generic and may sound suspicious..
and it's kinda weird that it seems so complicated to get a visa to go to the USA ..
Dis you have trouble with the law before?
-------------------
I love you all ..
except for the people I don't like..
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkFirst of all, they didn't ask for anything like this. There isn't anything on their website which mentions this sort of thing -- I just stuck to providing the details that they wanted on the website, that's the impression I got. And I wa s guessing saying that seeing friends would have been more sensible than saying "I'm going to a furry 'con!". I figured they would have found that more suspicious because they won't know what on earth a "furry" is. I also thought that I'd probably have to explain what AC was and soforth, and they would have just taken that as something I'd made up on the spot. Talking about a furry 'con to another furry works -- talking about it to someone who knows nothing would surely raise eyebrows to say the least.
Just saying "a convention" wouldn't have worked I thought too because they'd have likely said "what convention?" which would entail mentioning "furry" and then doing what I pointed out above.
Seeing friends just sounded like something any person would do under perfectly normal circumstances. I mean don't other people do this? Oddly they refused to even look at other documentation I could have provided.
The guy who interviewed me never looked at my employment contract, and neither did he look at a photocopy of my birth certificate which has both of my parents' names on it -- things which showed strong ties to the UK.
When I asked for a specific reason why I received a rejection notice, I didn't really get much of an answer apart from the bit about the waiver scheme and that whoever's on the other side will want to know about it and question it.
I've not had *any* trouble with the law, either in the UK or USA, nor any other country. Absolutely none not once.
But should I take the risk and try using the waiver thing or not? I don't know what they'd ask. If I had to guess they'd presumably ask me about where I am going again but I can't be sure of that , it's my guess.
SP
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkLocation: Ardmore, PA
Website: [Link]
Blog: [Link]
Instead of saying "furry con", you can say "anthropomorphics convention". It's the same thing, just sounds nicer.
Whenever I cross a border going to con, I also make sure to print out the webpage of whatever con I'm attending. That way, if questions are asked, I can produce the printout to show the customs agent.
I can't comment on the waiver issue, though. I'll leave that to more knowledgeable people.
--
My LJ - My Website
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkI wish they'd have mentioned something like printing out a webpage like that! But I did put down the address and location of the 'con hotel on the paperwork ( form DS-156) as it asks so I don't understand why they didn't just use that.
SP
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkI just tell people its an ART convention.
- Login or register to post comments
permalinkOne more thing -- I'm really desperate to make a decision on all of this, as I can only hold the flight I have booked provisionally 'til friday.
SP
- Login or register to post comments
permalink