when is the right time to come back to the US on a B1/B2 visa..

A

antonioramil

New Member
hi.. i'm new here and very thankful i found this website very informative.. i would like to ask questions regarding POE..

first, which POE is the strickest and which ones are not the strickest.. because i have my first trip in the US last year(june2010) and i'm planning again of going back this year.. i don't want to experience being grilled by the immigration officer the first time i arrived in the LAX.. and just because i came from a third world country they inspect all my belongings at the customs.. i was the only one subjected to that that's why i'm asking what POE is more humane.. i have no plans of working or whatsoever in the US.. i just want to have a vacation and that's it..

second, i POE was in LAx in june 2010, then they gave me a 6mos stay up to december 13 of last year.. i left LA dec 6 and went home to my own country.. now my question is.. when is the right time to go back again in the US.. according to my friend who's recently in the US right now he personally ask the immigration officer regarding the appropriate time for coming back.. and the immigration officer said that at least 6mos or more from your last visit to the US.. is it true.. because i want to go back again this time on july or august maybe.. i went home last dec and if that's the case then i have stayed more than 6mos from my previous US trip.. i almost consumed my 6mos stay there but i didn't violate anything.. so you think is it safe for me to go back again this july or aug.. any thoughts please..

and last.. this is regarding POE again.. does the immigration officer in your POE know all your transaction (after he/she swipe your tourist visa) while you're inside the US? apparently for me.. i opened a bank account because i ask for some assistance from my parents here in our country. will it reflect in my US visa that i opened an account or is it just the POE that i have been or any unnecessary conduct that i have been through if ever there is will appear upon swiping my visa..

thank you so much and comments will be highly appreciated.. God Bless..
 
antonioramil said:
hi.. i'm new here and very thankful i found this website very informative.. i would like to ask questions regarding POE..

first, which POE is the strickest and which ones are not the strickest.. because i have my first trip in the US last year(june2010) and i'm planning again of going back this year.. i don't want to experience being grilled by the immigration officer the first time i arrived in the LAX.. and just because i came from a third world country they inspect all my belongings at the customs.. i was the only one subjected to that that's why i'm asking what POE is more humane.. i have no plans of working or whatsoever in the US.. i just want to have a vacation and that's it..

second, i POE was in LAx in june 2010, then they gave me a 6mos stay up to december 13 of last year.. i left LA dec 6 and went home to my own country.. now my question is.. when is the right time to go back again in the US.. according to my friend who's recently in the US right now he personally ask the immigration officer regarding the appropriate time for coming back.. and the immigration officer said that at least 6mos or more from your last visit to the US.. is it true.. because i want to go back again this time on july or august maybe.. i went home last dec and if that's the case then i have stayed more than 6mos from my previous US trip.. i almost consumed my 6mos stay there but i didn't violate anything.. so you think is it safe for me to go back again this july or aug.. any thoughts please..

and last.. this is regarding POE again.. does the immigration officer in your POE know all your transaction (after he/she swipe your tourist visa) while you're inside the US? apparently for me.. i opened a bank account because i ask for some assistance from my parents here in our country. will it reflect in my US visa that i opened an account or is it just the POE that i have been or any unnecessary conduct that i have been through if ever there is will appear upon swiping my visa..

thank you so much and comments will be highly appreciated.. God Bless..
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Well from my single personal experience Washington Dulles Airport is the best relaxed POE, the immigration officers were really nice.. my parents tell me from their experience that New York JFK is a very strict POE.
 
No genuine visitor to the US should ever spend more than 6 months in the US during any rolling 12 month window.

antonioramil said:
when is the right time to go back again in the US.. according to my friend who's recently in the US right now he personally ask the immigration officer regarding the appropriate time for coming back.. and the immigration officer said that at least 6mos or more from your last visit to the US.. is it true..
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Disagree

Triple Citizen said:
No genuine visitor to the US should ever spend more than 6 months in the US during any rolling 12 month window.
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With all due respect, I partially disagree with you on this. I am in a similar situation with my parents who are helping us with the baby. They take turns to come and help us with our 2 y.o. We are in a temporary situation where we have to live separately from each other. So, our parents are our life boat in this situation.

The situation is that my father now has to go back after already staying for 6 months. But we really need him to come back much sooner than 6 months. So, based on what you are saying, he is going to be turned back just because he stayed here for 6 months???

Thanks,
 
I never said that your father WILL be turned away. Your father MAY be turned back. Vistors who make frequent lengthy visits to the US always run the risk of being denied entry if the officer at the POE determines that the B-2 visa is being used to live in the US. It boils down to the interpretation of the admitting officer. There is a possibility your father may have an easy re-entry experience. There is also a possibility of the worst case scenario where he is refused entry and put on the first plane back.
Just for your information, USCIS does not like seeing alien grandparents playing the role of nannies to infants in the US. Some officers view it was "working" and "stealing an american job".

zuzkin said:
So, based on what you are saying, he is going to be turned back just because he stayed here for 6 months???
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Triple Citizen said:
I never said that your father WILL be turned away. Your father MAY be turned back. Vistors who make frequent lengthy visits to the US always run the risk of being denied entry if the officer at the POE determines that the B-2 visa is being used to live in the US. It boils down to the interpretation of the admitting officer. There is a possibility your father may have an easy re-entry experience. There is also a possibility of the worst case scenario where he is refused entry and put on the first plane back.
Just for your information, USCIS does not like seeing alien grandparents playing the role of nannies to infants in the US. Some officers view it was "working" and "stealing an american job".
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Thanks for clarifying. Do you think a letter from us will be of any help of why he is coming back so soon? Or is it better to get him a one time extension of I-94?
 
No, that will not help. At the POE, he should be able to justify his request for entry.

zuzkin said:
Do you think a letter from us will be of any help of why he is coming back so soon?
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An EOS for B-2 should only be filed for a life/death emergency in my honest opinion. Anything that could have been addressed by a better timed initial entry is not an emergency.

zuzkin said:
Or is it better to get him a one time extension of I-94?
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Triple Citizen said:
No, that will not help. At the POE, he should be able to justify his request for entry.



An EOS for B-2 should only be filed for a life/death emergency in my honest opinion. Anything that could have been addressed by a better timed initial entry is not an emergency.
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I know you respond to a lot of posts here. Have you ever came across cases like mine where a refusal of re-entry happened?
 
Triple Citizen said:
Yes. A few people I know personally have been refused re-entry. A couple of cases of refused entry on the very first visit to the US.
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What was the reason for re-entry refusal, and what were the circumstances (if you don't mind sharing)?

Thanks
 
The father of a friend of mine was refused entry for visiting his son "too often". Before he was refused entry, he used to visit his son every year and stay for 5 months each year. USCIS allowed him to do this for 5 years and denied entry on his sixth such attempt.

A friend's friend of mine was denied entry on her first visit. The POE officer got suspicious of her right from the start and sent her to secondary. Her story was "just visiting friends and will stay for 4 months". When her bags were searched, they found a copy of her degree and prospectuses from a few US universities. She was put back on the first flight back (expedited removal) and banned for misrepresentation.

zuzkin said:
What was the reason for re-entry refusal, and what were the circumstances (if you don't mind sharing)?
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Triple Citizen said:
The father of a friend of mine was refused entry for visiting his son "too often". Before he was refused entry, he used to visit his son every year and stay for 5 months each year. USCIS allowed him to do this for 5 years and denied entry on his sixth such attempt.

A friend's friend of mine was deneid entry on her first visit. The POE officer got suspicious of her right from the start and sent her to secondary. Her story was "just visiting friends and will stay for 4 months". When her bags were searched, they found a copy of her degree and prospectuses from a few US universities. She was put back on the first flight back (expedited removal) and banned for misrepresentation.
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Not to seem judgmental, but both cases have a little suspicious factor, especially the second one.

I am a US Citizen and planning on applying for green card for both my parents. This will be my father's second long stay. First time he stayed for 4 months and this time for 6 months. We only need him to come one more time for 6 more months and then we'll apply for GC.

One thing I do not understand: why an imm. officer would refuse my parent to visit me, a US citizen? From what I know, if you have a B2 and are an immediate relative of an US citizen, you can easily (relatively speaking) apply for adjustment of status. What difference does it make for imm.?

BTW, thanks for taking your time to reply.
 
Well for starters, every visitor is a potential immigrant. Thus the more avenues a visitor has to a green card, the likely he will stay back. Being the parent of a US citizen and asking for a "temporary" stay in the US thus is tough to justify.
Secondly, this may come as a surprise to you and others, USCIS prefers not to adjudicate B-2 based AOS applicants. They would always prefer the State department to do the bulk of the work via the consular processing route :)



zuzkin said:
One thing I do not understand: why an imm. officer would refuse my parent to visit me, a US citizen? From what I know, if you have a B2 and are an immediate relative of an US citizen, you can easily (relatively speaking) apply for adjustment of status. What difference does it make for imm.?
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Triple Citizen said:
Well for starters, every visitor is a potential immigrant. Thus the more avenues a visitor has to a green card, the likely he will stay back. Being the parent of a US citizen and asking for a "temporary" stay in the US thus is tough to justify.
Secondly, this may come as a surprise to you and others, USCIS prefers not to adjudicate B-2 based AOS applicants. They would always prefer the State department to do the bulk of the work via the consular processing route :)
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I see your point. But why are you saying that it would be "tough to justify" a temporary stay for a us citizen's immediate relative? Maybe that parent does not want to live here in US, and just wants to visit his/her kids from time to time. When kids have their kids, they may want to help a bit in the beginning and help. If they wanted to get a GC, there is nothing impeding them do just that. Under the law, any US Citizen has the right to reunite with their parents. Maybe in the case of your friend's father, the officer refused entry and told him to apply for a GC if he stays for that long and frequent.

On your second paragraph, I personally read on their website that the family based B-2 does have the right to an AOS. Whether they prefer or not, it is a different question. I think they should follow the law as we all taxpayers do.
 
Far too many folks have intentionally misused the B-2 visa to bring family in for the sole purpose of filing for adjustment of status. This situation has negatively impacted genuine temporary visitors.
 
No offence meant, but you need to get off your high horse. I too am a US citizen but I also understand how things work in the USCIS world. Visitors on B-2 are allowed to AOS if certain conditions are met. That in no way guarantees that such AOS applications have to be approved. Depending on circumstances and case facts, USCIS can easily accuse the visitor of fraud and/or misrepresentation at the POE or at the US consulate. If USCIS goes this route, the onus is on the AOS applicant to prove otherwise.
Now consular processing eliminates this risk. If there is a "visitor" who already has the intention to AOS even before entering on B-2, wouldn't it be better to go down the CP route? B-2 based AOS should be left for those who had a genuine, post-arrival, spur of the moment decision to reside in the US.


zuzkin said:
On your second paragraph, I personally read on their website that the family based B-2 does have the right to an AOS. Whether they prefer or not, it is a different question. I think they should follow the law as we all taxpayers do.
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zuzkin said:
I see your point. But why are you saying that it would be "tough to justify" a temporary stay for a us citizen's immediate relative? Maybe that parent does not want to live here in US, and just wants to visit his/her kids from time to time. When kids have their kids, they may want to help a bit in the beginning and help. If they wanted to get a GC, there is nothing impeding them do just that. Under the law, any US Citizen has the right to reunite with their parents. Maybe in the case of your friend's father, the officer refused entry and told him to apply for a GC if he stays for that long and frequent.

On your second paragraph, I personally read on their website that the family based B-2 does have the right to an AOS. Whether they prefer or not, it is a different question. I think they should follow the law as we all taxpayers do.
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You seem to be confused on a fundamental issue. There is no "right" to adjust status or to be issued an immigrant visa.

Adjustment of status is a 100% discretionary decision without ant right to an administrative appeal and is not reviewable by any federal court. While an applicant might be able to renew their request to an Immigration Judge that is not an appeal.

Matter of Patel, 17 I&N Dec. 597 (BIA 1980) reminds us that an exercise of discretion is a matter of administrative grace for which one must must be worthy. On the other hand, when one is entitled to something as a matter of right especially a legally enforceable right, no amount of ineffective assistance of counsel or bungling by the Government is insurmountable when the case reaches a fair and just jurist.

"The grant of an application for adjustment of status under section 245 is a matter of administrative grace. An applicant has the burden of showing that discretion should be exercised in his favor." At p. 601​


SEE: Entitlement vs. Discretionary Relief or "Administrative Grace"
http://www.ilw.com/articles/2012,0202-Whalen.shtm
 
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