To think that the ESTA application programme to get into the US is a bit hair-raising?

[pointythings]

Was doing applications for me and DDs to go to Disney in 2 weeks (and yes, I really should have done it earlier, I know!) and at the end I got.... Application Pending. ! Have always, always been approved straight away, was having all kinds of visions of not being able to go.

When I checked half an hour later we were approved, but it really wasn't good for my blood pressure...

Tee if my DH gets ILR he will no longer be eligible to work on the base where he works or get healthcare there. It would cost us insane amounts of money to change his immigration status - not only would he lose his job, we would also lose the ability to shop on base and get (tax free) petrol there, get subsidised holiday childcare there and would have to pay council tax (the US pays this for us at present). We've done the sums and we would lose out to the tune of £ several 1000 a year. He may make the move when he retires though.

It still irks me that he has to pay so much though, because he does not use the NHS - but obviously does pay VAT on the things he buys on the UK economy. I get that we can't have two classes of non-EU immigrants though, it would be discriminatory.

Math DH is a US citizen only, does not have dual nationality. So far he has always been allowed to come with me and the girls through non-US immigration. The reason we want the DDs to travel on their Dutch passports this time is because of the horrendous problems they had at the UK end last year - on the whole I'd rather suffer US immigration than the UKBA.

And I have every intention of printing off my ESTA as well as doing one of those lovely green forms they do on the plane. I imagine that Orlando is probably one of the better US airports to travel to right now in terms of terrorist vigilance...

Out of curiosity, does anyone know what happens when someone with 2 warrants out for their arrest (when they left the UK) enters the UK a few years later as a citizen of another country with a new passport?

If the warrent still stands then they will be subject to a possible arrest.

What pisses me off at US airports is that they'll have half a dozen immigration desks open for US citizens, but only one for the rest of the world. I was stuck in a queue of hundreds the other week at Boston, and they wouldn't didn't open another desk.
Fortunately, (sort of) I was wobbly with a recently-broken leg and, through chatting to an official about transfer times, she whisked me to the front of one of the 'American' queues.

US Border Controls are also taking longer than average at the moment due to sequestration. Basically due to failure to agree a budget all Government agencies have had to undergo massive funding cuts which means a lot of people have been made redundant/had their hours cut back.

The upshot is that there are fewer people working at US immigration so queues are longer and it's taking more time to get through.

Thank you Sock, that's good to know. Just hope that they are still standing then....I doubt it, but you never know.

Don't want to hijack the thread but does anyone have any experience of applying for a visa with a criminal conviction?

I would love to go to Vegas with DH but he has a conviction. I obviously don't want to give too many details on here & out myself but he did serve a sentence so would obviously go against him but has not offended since and was about 10 years ago.

I'm not making excuses in any way, or looking for sympathy, he has always assumed he wouldn't be able to go but if its a possibility, I might look in to it.

How complicated is the process?

It's always fascinated me how it all works...not that we ever would but what happens in the situation the other poster gave where someone doesn't declare a conviction & apply for a visa...how do they (border control) find out & what happens to those that try & blag it?

Do US immigration have access to criminal convictions info or is it all done at the airport this end?

Do not try to blag it.
When you fill in your name and details on your form the USCIS will check everything.
travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1262.html#misrepresentation
'Attempting to obtain a visa by the willful misrepresentation of a material fact, or fraud, may result in the permanent refusal of a visa or denial of entry into the United States.'

Section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act - Criminal and Related Grounds for exclusion.

Getting a visa does not guarantee you will be allowed to enter the US. This is determined by the officer at the port of entry.

I'm a dual national as are my children. I had to renew their passports a little while ago and the consulate staff were NOT happy when I refused to apply for social security numbers for them! I always find the consulate/embassy staff to be particularly difficult but I always seem to run into very friendly immigration staff when entering the US. It might be because British DH comes through the US citizen line with us and I end up shrieking to the immigration officer that we have an ALIEN in our party. They generally find this amusing (and quite often think I'm the alien because of my accent!) and then chat and joke with the kids.

The ESTA is a pain though- I stand over DH's shoulder as he completes it to make sure he does it right!

Thank you Math that's very interesting, I will have a proper look later.

We would NEVER try & blag it, aside from being the biggest worrier in the world (I would be sweating so much at check in, they'd think I was a drug mule I'm sure...), the financial risk would be too much for us both.

I would be heartbroken to save up for Disney or Vegas or some other big holiday and then not get to go because i hadn't got the right paperwork!

It's just always fascinated me how all this stuff works & wondered what happens to people like the poster upthreads ex who is going to blag it?? Is it just that you get turned back so you've got to be willing to lose your holiday or do they get arrested or something?

You would lose your holiday and the price of your plane tickets (maybe you could recoup this if you got insurance) but you would also run the risk of being permanently excluded from the USA so if you needed to go there for business you would be stuck.

DH has to have a visa for the US because he was arrested for possessing cannabis aged 14 and accepted a caution. This doesn't even show up on his enhanced CRB but he still had to apply for a 10 year visa. They always take him aside for questioning on entry too and comment on his Spanish surname and ask if he still takes drugs (he's 33 and didn't even get to smoke the cannabis he was arrested for possessing).

They also refuse to accept we can be married and hence processed together as a 'family' because we have different surnames.

We have this too, lurker - Mu Dutch passport is in my maiden name. I routinely carry both my marriage certificate and my US base ID (which is in my married name) with me, it saves hassle. No-one has ever asked for it, but still...

That is one of the reasons I didn't change back to my maiden name when I divorced.

Ah, I see pointy, military! Now it makes sense.

Yes, why not get your children their SSNs, Taz? They will indeed need them someday.

At sanford in June, they had every immigration desk open and we were through quickly.

The only place I felt intimidated was JFK when I arrived to work for 3 months.

Groovee they've always been very quick at Philly International except for the first time in '95, and since they've upgraded the terminal it's better still.

I remember Orlando as being quite good when DH and I went, but with the alert status at the moment all bets are off.

Math I've got used to carting my marriage certificate around as the Dutch authorities aren't amenable to issuing passports in married names - presumably because they can't be bothered with the hassle of changing them when people split up. Oh well.

We went through Philly really quickly last year, and Raleigh/Durham has upped its game since they finished the new terminal. It's luck of the draw really, I suppose. At Boston, we were unfortunate to have disembarked just after a 747 from Tokyo; none of the passengers seemed to speak English and the immigration official certainly didn't speak Japanese so we were set to be there for days while they all pointed and pulled faces at each other.
Was advised on here not to risk a 90 minute transfer window at JFK recently!

Natashabee and Tee, my children are what is known as "Accidental Americans". They have no connection to the US whatsoever other than the fact that I lived there as a child/teen. When they are older I will explain the full tax implications of retaining their US citizenship and it will be up to them to decide whether or not they remain American. If they decide to remain American they can apply for their SSN's. They only have US passports because we travel to Orlando every few years and they can't legally enter the US without them.

I intend to renounce my US citizenship within the next couple of years. I have some inheritance issues which are easier to sort whilst I remain American, but once they are sorted I'm renouncing. As a permanent expat it's just hassle to be honest- there's no advantage to having it.

Oh, and you don't need a SSN to file federal taxes anyway. Assuming my kids live an average British life I can't see them actually needing a SSN for anything. If they want one, they can sort it themselves when they are older.

pointy I thought that if your children were eligible for US passports then it was mandatory for them to be used to enter the US do surely they can't use their Dutch ones?

I'm talking rubbish you do need a SSN to file returns, otherwise my posts stand!

MadameJosephine --I am American with a Dutch kid and he always enters America with his Dutch passport.