US Entry Dilemma?

10 years ago I left the United States voluntairily with no apparent immigration problems after staying for 4 months. I was proceeding with an application for green card as my husband was american. However, I left before it was sorted and it looks like I left wth an overstay. 6 months after being back in Great Britain I asked he US embassy to stamp my passport to let me return though they wouldn't. Does anyone know if now 10 years later I will have any problems re-entering the US if I just get on a plane and go back for a fortnight - my passport is clean?
Thanks - I may sound silly though it was a very peculiar time in my life back then.

Trish D

Ring the embassy and ask.

engineer

Ask google... i did last week... i have visa issues too and i found several sites to give advise and clarity.... if you are totally clean you can have visa indemnity by applying as you enter... if there is anything at all that they can pick up. you will be arrested and deported... better to apply for your visa in the UK first, if only to save the airfare.

tianjingabi

You may have problems. Check with the US Embassy. They may be able to scan your passport and let you know if there are any holds on it. Or they may be able to help you remove any holds. There probably is a statute of limitations on those kinds of things, and 10 years sounds like a long enough time.

Good luck.

Maids Moreton

Why would you want to go back to the US when you are here in the UK?

LOL

why going there?/

ekcentrik

If you have your British passport and are only going as a tourist..i can see no problem.....good luck......

PS: Immigration officers are the only type of animal who does not use common sense.....very sad indeed

dognhorsemom

It would help to have a few more details, but absent those, this is probably what happened: You were in the process of adjusting status based on your husband's citizenship, but went back to the UK instead. Later you applied for a new visa. The consular officer saw that you were married to an American and had already tried (or started) to adjust status, and so refused you under section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (see the first reference below) that says "Every alien ... shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for a visa, and the immigration officers, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status." Meaning that we can't issue a tourist visa to someone who might be an intending immigrant.

Now here's the thing about the visa waiver (2nd reference): one of the rules says you can use it if you, "have not been found ineligible for a U.S. visa." That doesn't say WHEN you might have been found ineligible, and you refusal of ten years ago actually does count as an ineligibility.

Do we still have a record now that could stop you on arrival? Good question: 1996-97 is when the system went electronic, so it is possible but there is no way to know without checking on your full, exact name and date of birth.

It is very unlikely that, if you "just got on a plane" that CBP would have that record and would send you straight back home. But do you want to take a chance? "Very unlikely" doesn't mean "impossible."

Knowing what kind of refusal you have and if it's still in the system is important. If you want to contact me privately, I can run a namecheck for you and let you know: we do this all the time for people who walk into or call, so doing it for you and giving you the information is not out of line.

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