Help am i inadmissible?

Trekti

New Member
Hey :)

I was first in the US this summer to visit my girlfriend, And then i tried going back there like 2 months ago and i was deemed inadmissible because they went through my phone and found some incriminating stuff regarding cannabis. But i have no criminal record or anything. I addmited to having used cannabis in the past,
Am i inadmissible for life? Or when we finally get married do i have a chance of entering the US again, Because from what i have read i am inadmissible even if i just admit to have had anything to do with drugs. Im planning on getting a lawyer after we are married.. But i literally read that i am inadmissible just because of what happend unless i get a pardon which ?Rarley* happens so is it even worth getting a lawyer do i have a chance?
 
Waiver, not pardon, possible when you’re married but not certain, assuming it was only possession of a small amount of marijuana. Anything hard and certainly anything to do with trafficking is a permanent inadmissibility.

CBP doesn’t make a habit of routinely going through people’s phones, something must have made them suspicious.
 
Hey :)

I was first in the US this summer to visit my girlfriend, And then i tried going back there like 2 months ago and i was deemed inadmissible because they went through my phone and found some incriminating stuff regarding cannabis. But i have no criminal record or anything. I addmited to having used cannabis in the past,
Am i inadmissible for life? Or when we finally get married do i have a chance of entering the US again, Because from what i have read i am inadmissible even if i just admit to have had anything to do with drugs. Im planning on getting a lawyer after we are married.. But i literally read that i am inadmissible just because of what happend unless i get a pardon which ?Rarley* happens so is it even worth getting a lawyer do i have a chance?
Were you denied entry specifically due to the controlled substance violation ban (INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II))? Or were you denied entry under the generic reason of failure to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent?

Using drugs only leads to the ban if it were illegal where you used it. If it was legal, then it should not lead to the ban. Note that this is a lifetime ban, and an immigrant waiver is only available if the violation was a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana (if it was multiple offenses, or more than simple possession, or more than 30 grams, or a drug other than marijuana, there is no immigrant waiver). And even if that condition is met, for an immigrant waiver for this ban, you would need to show your spouse would suffer "extreme hardship" if you can't be in the US, or the violation was more than 15 years ago and you have rehabilitated.

If you were just denied for immigrant intent, that does not affect your ability to immigrate.
 
Were you denied entry specifically due to the controlled substance violation ban (INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II))? Or were you denied entry under the generic reason of failure to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent?

Using drugs only leads to the ban if it were illegal where you used it. If it was legal, then it should not lead to the ban. Note that this is a lifetime ban, and an immigrant waiver is only available if the violation was a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana (if it was multiple offenses, or more than simple possession, or more than 30 grams, or a drug other than marijuana, there is no immigrant waiver). And even if that condition is met, for an immigrant waiver for this ban, you would need to show your spouse would suffer "extreme hardship" if you can't be in the US, or the violation was more than 15 years ago and you have rehabilitated.

If you were just denied for immigrant intent, that does not affect your ability to immigrate.

I also admited to having sold marijuana in the past because they had evidence on my phone (Note i dont have a criminal record)
Theres another viloation other then (INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II). 212 (a) (7) (i) (l) I dont know what that one means. Anyway they told me im no longer eligible for the Visa waiver program. And that i must be in possesion of a valid unexpired visa with all the appropriate waiver to any and all fufture entries.? Does that mean im banned because they tell me i can apply for a visa technically.
 
I also admited to having sold marijuana in the past because they had evidence on my phone (Note i dont have a criminal record)
Theres another viloation other then (INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II). 212 (a) (7) (i) (l) I dont know what that one means. Anyway they told me im no longer eligible for the Visa waiver program. And that i must be in possesion of a valid unexpired visa with all the appropriate waiver to any and all fufture entries.? Does that mean im banned because they tell me i can apply for a visa technically.

The only way to properly find out if you are banned is in fact to apply for a visa and see what the outcome is.
You don’t have to have been convicted when it comes to dealing narcotics by the way - the visa /cbp officer just has to believe that you’ve done it. So, the fact that you admitted this to a CBP official in the face of evidence on your phone is unfortunately probably going to be a major problem for you. There is very little leeway given when it comes to drugs by US immigration, and trafficking is non-waiverable. Again, the only way you can find out for absolute sure is to apply and see what they say - if you’re inadmissible they will also inform you whether or not a waiver is available- but at this point you should probably be considering whether your girlfriend needs to move to your country rather than the other way round.

I know this all seems a bit anachronistic right now with marijuana increasingly legal across the US, but at federal level it’s still illegal.
 
For clarification see section C, on controlled substances here https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-2006.html - the wording is clear that a conviction is not needed (there are a couple of other inadmissibility factors elsewhere in that document that only arise from a conviction, but this is not one of them)

(C) 2aCONTROLLED SUBSTANCE TRAFFICKERS- Any alien who the consular officer or the Attorney General knows or has reason to believe--

(i) is or has been an illicit trafficker in any controlled substance or in any listed chemical (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), or is or has been a knowing aider, abettor, assister, conspirator, or colluder with others in the illicit trafficking in any such controlled or listed substance or chemical, or endeavored to do so ....
 
If you are inadmissible as a trafficker, that is a lifetime ban with no immigrant waiver.

INA 212(a)(7)(i)(l) just means you were denied entry that particular time for immigrant intent. It doesn't affect your ability to get an immigrant visa. If you were also removed after being denied entry, you would have a 10-year 9A ban that can be waived; if you were allowed to voluntarily depart, then you do not have that ban. None of this tells us whether you have the ban for being a controlled substance trafficker, however.
 
If you are inadmissible as a trafficker, that is a lifetime ban with no immigrant waiver.

INA 212(a)(7)(i)(l) just means you were denied entry that particular time for immigrant intent. It doesn't affect your ability to get an immigrant visa. If you were also removed after being denied entry, you would have a 10-year 9A ban that can be waived; if you were allowed to voluntarily depart, then you do not have that ban. None of this tells us whether you have the ban for being a controlled substance trafficker, however.
Isnt there a specific section for drug trafficking. It just said on there that i was inadmissble for drug use etc.. Not trafficking. Because before the interview he said tell me the truth if you want a chance to enter the US again because we have everything from your phone. And i admitted everything in the interview and he didnt put the trafficking on me so what does that mean i think he showed mercy on me?
 
Isnt there a specific section for drug trafficking. It just said on there that i was inadmissble for drug use etc.. Not trafficking. Because before the interview he said tell me the truth if you want a chance to enter the US again because we have everything from your phone. And i admitted everything in the interview and he didnt put the trafficking on me so what does that mean i think he showed mercy on me?
Drug trafficking is INA 212(a)(2)(C). But they don't have to deny you for all the reasons you are inadmissible; they just need to cite one, and they chose to cite failure to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent. We don't know whether a future visa officer or immigration officer will find you inadmissible under drug use and/or trafficking bans.
 
Drug trafficking is INA 212(a)(2)(C). But they don't have to deny you for all the reasons you are inadmissible; they just need to cite one, and they chose to cite failure to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent. We don't know whether a future visa officer or immigration officer will find you inadmissible under drug use and/or trafficking bans.
Whenever i decide to apply for a K-1 VISA or a b2 or whatever it may be will they look up the interview i had and deem me inaddmisble is that a common practice they do? Or how does that work he did cite the drug one - (INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II)) And the INA 212(a)(7)(i)(l).? But not trafficking
 
Whenever i decide to apply for a K-1 VISA or a b2 or whatever it may be will they look up the interview i had and deem me inaddmisble is that a common practice they do? Or how does that work he did cite the drug one - (INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II)) And the INA 212(a)(7)(i)(l).? But not trafficking

When you apply for another visa, there will be a question asking if you have ever been denied entry and if so to give details. You can expect that the consulate you apply at will look up the denial and see the notes the officer made about your denial. They would probably have the denial come up on their systems anyway, which seem pretty good on that front.

As a reminder, the only waiverable drug offense is a single instance of possession of <30g of marijuana, but again, you won’t know anything for certain until you actually apply.
 
Applied for us citizenship, passed interview, but had pot confiscated before. I was never charged nor even fined. Will this affect my application?
 
Top