Does anyone have any experience with USA holiday visa?

[USA19891]

Hi

I am British and in the past have been granted the ESTA but U couldn’t use it as my husband wasn’t granted the visa. My dream is to travel around America. I am married and I obviously want to travel with my husband. I have no other friends or family who would have the money to holiday over there or the interest to be honest. The issue is my husband is not British and they denied him a holiday visa (b2) twice in 2018 and 2019, I can’t remember if I asked him to apply for a third time in 2020 I’ve lost count. We live in London and he is here on a spouse visa and he will be able to apply for British citizenship in 2023. We don’t have any children yet obviously I want to travel around and enjoy some holidays together before we start a family. We didn’t own any property at the time when he applied but we will own our first house soon. His employment is fine. I just don’t understand why they kept refusing him. The people called his name and asked him a couple of interview questions, didn’t even look at the documents (however they might have looked at them before hand), then said sorry but it’s a no. He did ask them what is the reason and they said they can’t say but to try again next time !!! So they are happy for him to keep applying but why? Is it so they get money every time? Because it was expensive the fee. The first trip was meant to be to LA, we are both employed and have the money. All itinerary provided and I literally cried when they said no. I genuinely thought they would say yes to him. We’ve travelled all around Europe and to the Maldives but America is my dream. We plan to travel to LA, New York, maybe when we have children to Florida, and then another big dream of mine is to go to the Bahamas. But the Bahamas he needs a visa for with their embassy but lets say that was granted, would flying over or near the US cause any issues? Lastly it says that even when he’s British he will now never be allowed an ESTA because he’s been refused before, he will have to apply for a visa for every trip. If it was just one holiday like a few nights in New York I could probably say to my sister to save up and we go together or even pay some of it for her. But it’s the bigger picture of the fact that I know me and my husband will make so many memories and it’s more than one holiday. So I either have to go alone or don’t go at all. Unless the issue can be solved in the future for him. Does anyone know if it will likely get accepted once we have more roots here such as a property, British Citizenship and maybe a child registered at school? I think that’s what one of the interviewers was hinting at, more stability in our home country so that he is less like to run away to the US. It’s a joke though, as if I would want to do that, I have my whole life here including my husband, we have no ties to America. I just really want to travel there but I would never want to live there. Obviously they don’t know that for sure, I understand that. Has anyone been through this before?

Thanks

Where is your husband from? That might be key in working out why they won't grant it

Also, he might have a similar / same name to someone on a banned list - this happened to a friend of mine

Had he been denied entry in the past? Tried to get in on the wrong visa?

What has been your H's reaction to these refusals?.

What is his home country?. That could have something to do with repeated refusals. His name may actually be on some "no fly" list; that has happened to others as well including US citizens.

He is from Albania, he’s obviously upset for me because he knows I really want to go. But for him he would happily holiday in Europe. It’s me who wants the more expensive long haul holidays 😂. The guy who interviewed him the first time was very polite and said to him to just keep applying. It’s really odd that they won’t give people a rough idea of why they said no. He did receive the same letter each time it’s just a generic refusal letter I think it stated not enough ties to the UK. But that can obviously change, once we buy property or open a business or have our children who are settled here. Just genuinely wanted to travel before we had any children and most of that travel is in the US. It looks like it won’t be granted if ever, until a few more years.

His name is really unique and from his country I doubt it that anyone has the same first and last name but, who knows

They are so paranoid these days aren't they? DD went on a school trip to New York three years ago. One of the teachers, who is from Manchester and looks and sounds Mancunian, but has a Spanish name was detained in immigration for several hours, and all the students had to sit and wait until he was released. He did have all the right paperwork BTW.

If he is Albanian I suspect he will get far more help about how to get into the US from Albanians.

Regarding Bahamas. It’s pretty dull tbh so I wouldn’t bother. We flew via Miami which would be potentially problematic. However there are (or def were) direct flights to Nassau from the UK.

The first time I applied for an US visa I was a student in London. I had EU passports, but not from a country that’s partnered with ESTA.

They were very thorough in verifying my ties to the UK, and my home country respectively. I had to provide studentship records, rental contract, names of my (part-time) employers and explain in great detail the specific purpose of my visit to the US.

I currently hold a 10-year long B1/B2 visa but like I said, it wasn’t granted on a whim.

How has he been proving his ties to the UK so far? Does he have a full-time job and is he a tenant, pays council tax etc?

His name is obviously flagged - is there any change of any connections with other family members or connections that might be dodgy? Maybe it’s better to concentrate on what you CAN do right now rather than fretting over what at present is not possible.

Chance not change

@EileenGC thanks for replying yes we both rent a 1 bedroom apartment together for 2.5 years now but previously we rented a house with his brother and wife but had all tenancy agreements and stuff. We both work full time with companies on permanent contracts everything is paid on time, all documents were provided literally every little thing. They didn’t even look at them. Just said no after talking to him for a few minutes. Second time it was a no straight away just the usual questions first of what’s your purpose of the trip etc. Then sorry but we aren’t granting you the visa. Again he asked why and they wouldn’t tell him. It’s like they already made the decision but had to see him face to face to give him the answer. If they bothered to look through the file of documents and itinerary first then told him no that would be different but they didn’t even ask to see any of it. Just his passport and visa confirmation payment and appointment booking on arrival.

There’s lots of information about ESTA etc on the US Embassy website, so you might find something useful there, but I notice that they say that they never give detailed reasons for refusals. If the refusal letter said he didn’t have enough ties to the U.K., that’s probably all the explanation you’re going to get - I guess the fact that he’s still on a spouse visa and doesn’t yet have indefinite leave to remain counted against him.

@VanCleefArpels literally nothing that I could think of. The whole family is pretty boring and same for myself actually. We all work hard and come home to relax at the end of the day, we don’t go out causing trouble or have ties with people who do. Just normal people so I can’t think who he would have ties with that’s flagged up. The letter literally says not enough ties to the UK. I thought that being married to someone British would have been a big enough connection. It could be a combination of him being on a spouse visa plus us not owning anything that would guarantee our return to the UK. So that can be improved over time hopefully. They knew he was travelling with me and I hoped that with me being British they might trust us to come back to the UK after our holiday.

@TalesOfDrunkennessAndCruelty it totally makes sense to be fair. I suppose once he’s settled here permanently we might have a better chance for the holiday.

Just didn’t want to wait, I’m 30 and he is 32, so time is getting on. Soon we will want to have a baby. I want to travel now while we are free to enjoy it together but it looks like we will need to wait until he gets settled status at least.

If they aren't even looking at the documents it sounds like they have information around him that they do not like. Do you know enough about his life in Albania like was he ever convicted of anything. If there is definitely nothing then he needs to contact someone in Albania, like an equivalent to a DBS check to see if anything comes up.

I'm a Brit who lives in the US. The lack of owning a home would be a big influence. He's moved country once, so why wouldn't he move again? Lots of people enter the US for a short trip then just never leave. They want to see solid economic ties to the UK that mean you wouldn't possibly consider staying in the US.

I'm not an immigration expert, but from news discussions etc. People entering legally then just staying beyond their visa is a fairly big problem. Traveling with you actually makes it more of a problem as you could be planning just to stay there together.

@Biscuits1 yes I’ve been to Albania many times and he has had DBS checks and background information checked on each visa renewal due to our spouse visa. They are very thorough so there are no worries there, we also have our own lawyer. Nothing has ever been flagged up.

Im British but I was born in a foreign country and my dad is foreign as well and mum is English. But I have lived in the UK since I was 1.

@KickAssAngel I can see where they are coming from yes of course that’s probably what they are thinking. It’s just a shame because it’s not true. It’s me who wants to travel to the US and honestly if I had friends who shared the same passion as me I might just travel there with them. But I don’t. So my husband is the only person who I could holiday there with, unless I go alone which won’t be much fun. I could take my sister but she’s only 20 and I would need to pay for her as she doesn’t have lots of money.

So after he becomes British and we have a baby and a house, does anyone think they would say yes? If it’s to do with ties to the UK which they are stating it is.

No one can tell you what they'll decide. They could change the rules any time. His citizenship won't make much difference, nor will having a baby if you travel with them. It's things that prove your life in the UK is so firmly established that you wouldn't possibly consider leaving. Owning a house is influential as most people have a lot of money invested in their home and wouldn't walk away from that. Owning a business would have a similar effect.

You said that they didn't tell you why they said no, but lack of ties is the reason. Financially, he could walk away and never return, so he's a risk of overstaying his visa. It doesn't matter if you're with him, that just means you're likely to stay there, too.

The letter said due to lack of ties to the UK but the persons interviewing him wouldn’t say anything further. So what I meant was, they gave no indication of how we can change that so that he does have enough ties to this country. I would have hoped they could explain the reasoning but they wouldn’t.

İ would say it's because he's not rooted in his own country and not fully rooted in the UK yet. İ would say once you own a house together, you would have a lot more chance.

He has indeed been given a reason; its the not enough ties to the UK. His previous rental agreement with his brother and wife would have also gone against him as has not being given indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Albania is not listed as one of the countries covered by the ESTA/Visa Waiver Programme.

By the end of 2022, all Albanian passport holders wishing to travel to any of the countries that belong to the Schengen Zone will need to apply for and obtain an ETIAS.

ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorization System and is a new system implemented to register visa waiver travelers when they enter and exit Schengen countries.

Although it is part of Europe, Albania is not a Schengen Zone member country nor part of the European Union at the moment. It is for this reason that Albanian nationals, although they are European citizens, will require an ETIAS visa waiver when they plan to visit countries that belong to the Schengen Area.

You probably need an immigration solicitor to help. If he doesn't have ILR snd they don't consider him settled they will think he's too a high risk of staying. The US is vast and people can easily disappear into it. Or they have information about him that will always make him a no.