Christianorway
New Member
Hi good folks, hoping some of you might be able to weigh in on my issue here.
I’m Norwegian and have been studying in the US for about 10 years. I did a year as an exchange student in 03/04, did my bachelors and a minor from 05-10, and completed two masters 10-14. Had valid i-20s and F-1 visas for all my degrees.
In February of this year, I wanted to go back to see friends in Los Angeles after spending over a year in Norway due to a couple cases of severe unexpected family illnesses. I applied for ESTA as usual, and got a confirmation and approval almost immediately, bought my ticket and was looking forward to seeing old friends again.
When I showed up at the airport, the check-in agent told me I had been denied entry in ESTA, and she couldn’t let me board. I thought it was a bad joke at first, or a mistake, but she told me to reapply quickly, and I was denied. I got another denial before I gave up and went home, crushed.
The next few days I spent frantically trying to figure out what had happened, as I haven’t gotten as much as a speeding ticket in 10 years in the US. An officer with the USCBP worked with me to try to fix the case for days, but met a brick wall of bureaucracy and told me to apply for a tourist visa at the US embassy in Oslo.
Apparently, what had happened was that my school never reported me as attending in March of 2014, and without notifying me, I had become out of status. My address has always been updated, and I didn't get any form of notification that I was out of status. Not from any agency, nor from my school.
I brought all of my papers, copy of my correspondence with USCPB, my original diplomas, transcripts to show that I had been a full-time student etc. to the tourist visa meeting but I was met with a blue "denied according to 221 (g)" checked for additional administrative processing.
Over a month later, on the day of my 30th birthday I received a 3-year ban, a tourist visa denial, and was found ineligible for a non-immigrant visa based on section 212 (a)(9)(B)(i)(I) because of lawful stay for more than 180 days but less than one year.
The letter also included:
"Today's decision cannot be appealed"
"our office will not recommend your case to the department of homeland security to recommend a waiver"
In the past I’ve had no visa denials, no criminal issues, always been a fulltime student, and for my last degree I had a 3.9 GPA.
I graduated from my last masters in August of ’14, and left in October. My i-20 also covered this entire period, and I entered on an F-1 visa with D/S.
I had a long meeting with USCIS to discuss reinstatement of an OPT I tried to cancel, and they had me there for about an hour while looking into my case until after closing time. No one say a word to me about a ban, and there were three people looking at my documents simultaneously at several points.
The whole time, my school let me register for classes, the international office didn't contact me, and neither did USCIS although USCBP told me they had "been looking for me".
On a side note, I know we’re supposed to register each term with the international office, and if someone hasn’t, the international office sends several emails notifying students to do so. As I can recall, I’ve always gone in to register each term. This is done on a piece of paper though, which is put in a tray in the international office. Anyone who enters the office can access this tray freely, as it just sits on a table by the door. I don’t know if this has happened to me, and I guess it’s irrelevant at this point, but I wasn’t notified that I hadn’t checked in, so I wouldn’t even have known that this was an issue.
Anyone have any recommendations at this point? Is there any basis for challenging the basis of the ban and where could I do it? After the 3 years are up, is it fairly simple to get another tourist visa, or is it going to be an arduous process?
I’ve briefly talked to an immigration lawyer about the issue, and he seems to think I can apply for another visa, and challenge the decision based on the argument that the unlawful presence clock never should’ve started to tick, as there was no notification of a finding reported to me. I just figured I’d get some other opinions first, as I don’t want to set myself up for another major disappointment and a second visa denial. It’s just a devastating position to be in, feeling that I’ve ended up in this situation to very little fault of my own, and might not be able to even visit my closest friends or the places I’ve lived for the majority of my adult life.
The value of my education is suffering greatly as a cause, as I can’t even travel to the US on business for a Norwegian employer. I’ve thought about looking into a civil lawsuit if I can't even visit the US, but I’m not sure what responsibility a school has in keeping their international students informed about their immigration status and such.
I’m Norwegian and have been studying in the US for about 10 years. I did a year as an exchange student in 03/04, did my bachelors and a minor from 05-10, and completed two masters 10-14. Had valid i-20s and F-1 visas for all my degrees.
In February of this year, I wanted to go back to see friends in Los Angeles after spending over a year in Norway due to a couple cases of severe unexpected family illnesses. I applied for ESTA as usual, and got a confirmation and approval almost immediately, bought my ticket and was looking forward to seeing old friends again.
When I showed up at the airport, the check-in agent told me I had been denied entry in ESTA, and she couldn’t let me board. I thought it was a bad joke at first, or a mistake, but she told me to reapply quickly, and I was denied. I got another denial before I gave up and went home, crushed.
The next few days I spent frantically trying to figure out what had happened, as I haven’t gotten as much as a speeding ticket in 10 years in the US. An officer with the USCBP worked with me to try to fix the case for days, but met a brick wall of bureaucracy and told me to apply for a tourist visa at the US embassy in Oslo.
Apparently, what had happened was that my school never reported me as attending in March of 2014, and without notifying me, I had become out of status. My address has always been updated, and I didn't get any form of notification that I was out of status. Not from any agency, nor from my school.
I brought all of my papers, copy of my correspondence with USCPB, my original diplomas, transcripts to show that I had been a full-time student etc. to the tourist visa meeting but I was met with a blue "denied according to 221 (g)" checked for additional administrative processing.
Over a month later, on the day of my 30th birthday I received a 3-year ban, a tourist visa denial, and was found ineligible for a non-immigrant visa based on section 212 (a)(9)(B)(i)(I) because of lawful stay for more than 180 days but less than one year.
The letter also included:
"Today's decision cannot be appealed"
"our office will not recommend your case to the department of homeland security to recommend a waiver"
In the past I’ve had no visa denials, no criminal issues, always been a fulltime student, and for my last degree I had a 3.9 GPA.
I graduated from my last masters in August of ’14, and left in October. My i-20 also covered this entire period, and I entered on an F-1 visa with D/S.
I had a long meeting with USCIS to discuss reinstatement of an OPT I tried to cancel, and they had me there for about an hour while looking into my case until after closing time. No one say a word to me about a ban, and there were three people looking at my documents simultaneously at several points.
The whole time, my school let me register for classes, the international office didn't contact me, and neither did USCIS although USCBP told me they had "been looking for me".
On a side note, I know we’re supposed to register each term with the international office, and if someone hasn’t, the international office sends several emails notifying students to do so. As I can recall, I’ve always gone in to register each term. This is done on a piece of paper though, which is put in a tray in the international office. Anyone who enters the office can access this tray freely, as it just sits on a table by the door. I don’t know if this has happened to me, and I guess it’s irrelevant at this point, but I wasn’t notified that I hadn’t checked in, so I wouldn’t even have known that this was an issue.
Anyone have any recommendations at this point? Is there any basis for challenging the basis of the ban and where could I do it? After the 3 years are up, is it fairly simple to get another tourist visa, or is it going to be an arduous process?
I’ve briefly talked to an immigration lawyer about the issue, and he seems to think I can apply for another visa, and challenge the decision based on the argument that the unlawful presence clock never should’ve started to tick, as there was no notification of a finding reported to me. I just figured I’d get some other opinions first, as I don’t want to set myself up for another major disappointment and a second visa denial. It’s just a devastating position to be in, feeling that I’ve ended up in this situation to very little fault of my own, and might not be able to even visit my closest friends or the places I’ve lived for the majority of my adult life.
The value of my education is suffering greatly as a cause, as I can’t even travel to the US on business for a Norwegian employer. I’ve thought about looking into a civil lawsuit if I can't even visit the US, but I’m not sure what responsibility a school has in keeping their international students informed about their immigration status and such.