*Denied US B1 Visitor Visa...now I-601?????? *please help*

[margaritarocks]

Hello,

My brother in law was denied a US Visa today from one of the remaining European countries that still require a visa to enter the US.

Here's the situation:

He was young and stupid once and got arrested for being a passenger in a car with a *copious* amount of marijuana. He went to court and they tried him as a "user" and he got 5 years probation - no jail time. This happened 10 years ago. He is now older and wiser has a job, doesn't smoke pot anymore, etc.
When he filled out his visa application he admitted to the arrest and at the interview they requested the police report and court papers. He brought them the next day and due to the excessive amount of marijuana in the car they denied him a visa. (I thought we were allowed to learn from our mistakes and carry on in a law abiding way and not be penalized for something that was resolved by a court decision 10 years ago!) Anyhow, they said he would have to show more proof of continued ties to his country - ie: get married, have children, etc. (Who knows when that's going to happen...my goodness it's only just happened to me and I'm much older than him.) Why is it assumed by the US that people will stay here? Isn't it plausible that people just want to see and experience another country? He has no desire to stay here whatsoever. He only wants to visit my husband and spend sometime with us.
They gave him one option and that's to apply for an Ineligibility Waiver. Is it likely or unlikely it will be approved? Are we just throwing more money away? By the way he already bought his ticket which was a RETURN ticket for 34 days. Are there any short term visas - i.e 30 days maximum???

ALSO, his country is soon entering the Visa Waiver Program for the EU. Will all of this be moot once it goes into effect?

Can anyone offer any advice? He's my husband's kid brother and we are sooo upset over all of this. Would it have been worse if he lied on his application? What if any are the consequences of lying on the application. From what I've been reading online and in other forums it happens all the time.

Thank you so much!

[blueblue]

He was young and stupid once and got arrested for being a passenger in a car with a *copious* amount of marijuana. He went to court and they tried him as a "user" and he got 5 years probation - no jail time. This happened 10 years ago. He is now older and wiser has a job, doesn't smoke pot anymore, etc.

By 'copious' I assume you mean more than an ounce. Under current law that would make him permanently inadmissible. There is no waiver for this for an immigrant visa, but there is a waiver 212(d)(3) for a non-immigrant visa, form I-192.

(I thought we were allowed to learn from our mistakes and carry on in a law abiding way and not be penalized for something that was resolved by a court decision 10 years ago!)

Unfortunately, you can learn from your mistakes but under current law USCIS does not forget or forgive you for them, even if it is years later, even if you are now a saint.

Anyhow, they said he would have to show more proof of continued ties to his country - ie: get married, have children, etc.

It looks like they are also saying he does not have strong enough ties to his home country. Does he have a job, house, etc.? On this point, perhaps he just didn't bring enough proof to convince the officer of his intentions to return. Just the round trip ticket is generally not enough to convince them.

Why is it assumed by the US that people will stay here?

I would agree it is a rather arrogant assumption, but it is the one adopted in the law, flimsily arguable (IMO) based on the fact that too many others overstayed or just entered without inspection in the past. The law states that all visa applicants are ASSUMED to be intending immigrants and it is put on the visa applicant's burden to prove that they are not.

They gave him one option and that's to apply for an Ineligibility Waiver. Is it likely or unlikely it will be approved?
It is hard to say if it will be approved. You might want to do a search on the 212(d)(3) waiver and I-192 and the country he lives in. I would expect the bigger problem will be to prove his intention to return home after visiting, the CO has already indicated he hasn't proven that yet.

Are we just throwing more money away? By the way he already bought his ticket which was a RETURN ticket for 34 days. Are there any short term visas - i.e 30 days maximum???

Better to wait until the visa is in hand before buying any ticket, but not much to do about that now. Perhaps he could use it on the same airline to travel another place? There are no short term visas other than what you have already tried and the problems above still need to be resolved.


ALSO, his country is soon entering the Visa Waiver Program for the EU. Will all of this be moot once it goes into effect?

If he has a conviction, he would not be allowed to use the VWP without misrepresenting his history. Even if he tried that at this point, they have all his records about it so it would be pretty hard to lie at this point...well, maybe not hard to lie, but pretty easy for them to know he was lying. ;)

Can anyone offer any advice? He's my husband's kid brother and we are sooo upset over all of this. Would it have been worse if he lied on his application? What if any are the consequences of lying on the application. From what I've been reading online and in other forums it happens all the time.

If he was found to have lied (left off info on his entry doc about the conviction, marked never arrested on the VWP entry, etc.) he would be charged with misrepresentation. It carries another lifetime ban, but since he already has one for the conviction it will only make it harder to get the waiver if he did that.

Best option he has, and only one that follows the legal route is to get more proof of overwhelming ties to his country, apply for the visa again and the waiver. Don't add another black mark by lying.

Here is an attorney that is recommended for these waivers. Laurel recommended Dan Green in her chat for a (d)(3) non-immigrant waiver. I am posting his contact information below along with Laurel's statement from the chat and also the link to the chat. He is a member of the I2US forum and does post.

Laurel: You need a (d)(3) nonimmigrant waiver. Contact Dan Green. Does someone have his website handy?

http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showth...5410#post85410

Daniel Green, Esq.
www.hudsonvalleyimmigrationlaw.com
lawyer@hudsonvalleyimmigrationlaw.com
Location: 2 Pearl St., Kingston, NY 12401
Mailing Address: PO Box 3238, Kingston, NY 12402
Tel: (Office) 845-853-7302/ (Cell) 347-245-7078

[margaritarocks]

Thank you blueblue for your very informative reply

[baba27]

hi
i have the same situation but living in UK one (permant residency) they denied my visa on shoplifting one crime but five count 2 years ago.
I heard you can apply for I-192 only if you visa is approved i dont get, i got this information from us embassy canada.