I used to travel with ESTA from Europe to the US without ever any issue before starting my family sponsored petition. Then Covid came. After the pandemic was over I couldn't get the ESTA anymore, I tried twice, and both time it came back with travel unauthorised. I filed two redress enquiries which I never got any reply to, and then a FOIA via my sister who's American, and nothing, no reply, no explanation, no reason. All I was told was that I had to apply for B2 visa if I wanted to visit my family while waiting for the i130 processing. Has this happened to anyone else? If, yes, did you get any explanation? I never overstayed, never got so much as a parking ticket, nothing, never had any issue with the law in my life, so I'm still baffled. Expecially because they didn't give any reply and explanation. An immigration lawyer also told me that they never give B2 visas to green card petitioner, is this true? I just want to go visit my parents, I haven't seen them in almost 5 years thank you to anyone who can enlighten me on this.
No ESTA to visit family while i130 pending
- Thread starter Kris7
- Start date
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
Well I can tell you the lawyer is not factual as I and my family received B2 visas while we had i130s pending.
clearly they are concerned about something (maybe immigrant intent but can’t say for sure, sometimes it’s to do with other places you have visited) so they want you to get a visa, which will get more scrutiny than an esta application. Why don’t you just apply for one? Yes, if you do a search around the internet this has happened before, not uncommon.
incidentally which category is your i130 filed under?
clearly they are concerned about something (maybe immigrant intent but can’t say for sure, sometimes it’s to do with other places you have visited) so they want you to get a visa, which will get more scrutiny than an esta application. Why don’t you just apply for one? Yes, if you do a search around the internet this has happened before, not uncommon.
incidentally which category is your i130 filed under?
Hi! I'm in the unmarried daughter over 21 of green card holder.
I travel to many countries all year for work and I'm super careful with respecting visa laws so I don't know why all of a sudden I can't use ESTA anymore. I'm self employed and can work from anywhere and that immigration lawyer said that this means I don't have ties to my home country and between that and the fact that I have the green card petition pending it makes it almost sure they won't give it to me. I haven't asked a second opinion to another lawyer but I did fact check it online and i did find some mentioning that they're less likely to give it to one waiting for green card. If they were concerned with anything, like you're saying, they would have said something on the FOIA. That's what a FOIA is for, but they had nothing to say and I can't imagine why they would have any issue with a cultured law obeying European citizen who's got everything crystal clear and under the sun like myself. Honestly it's baffling.
I travel to many countries all year for work and I'm super careful with respecting visa laws so I don't know why all of a sudden I can't use ESTA anymore. I'm self employed and can work from anywhere and that immigration lawyer said that this means I don't have ties to my home country and between that and the fact that I have the green card petition pending it makes it almost sure they won't give it to me. I haven't asked a second opinion to another lawyer but I did fact check it online and i did find some mentioning that they're less likely to give it to one waiting for green card. If they were concerned with anything, like you're saying, they would have said something on the FOIA. That's what a FOIA is for, but they had nothing to say and I can't imagine why they would have any issue with a cultured law obeying European citizen who's got everything crystal clear and under the sun like myself. Honestly it's baffling.
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
I mean,you can spend time and energy trying to figure out why they’ve done this, or just apply for the visa.
its possible one of the many countries you travel to is deemed a security risk to the US, this is a reason for denying esta, but knowing the reason doesn’t change the fact of what you need to do.
its possible one of the many countries you travel to is deemed a security risk to the US, this is a reason for denying esta, but knowing the reason doesn’t change the fact of what you need to do.
