B1/B2 visa catch 22

[Seven Spades]

My son is in Antibes trying to get work as crew. Many of the jobs at this time of year require a B1/B2 visa because the boat will move to the caribbean for the winter. We have looked at the application and it requires the name of the boat and proof of employment.

This is a classic catch 22 because the jobs require applicants to have a B1/B2 visa. Is there a way around this? Is there another way to get a B1/B2 visa without proof of employment?

 

[TQA]

Talk to a crewing agency. This is a common problem, it relates to being able to support yourself.

It is much better to apply for the BI/B2 in the applicants country of origin.

 

[laika]

I got my current B1/B2 when doing a delivery as mate. Essentially unpaid (apart from "bonus" and flight back) and not really "employment" but allowed me to fill in all the relevant details like where we were going and how long for. Don't remember what evidence I had to supply (email from the delivery company? Sorry I don't recall) but it was accepted. Even though I only needed it for a week they gave me a 10 year visa.

Given that delivery companies are always wanting unpaid crew getting a place on a delivery shouldn't be hard. Especially during hurricane season.

Received wisdom when I was applying was that it was easier to get a visa in the azores: far more relaxed than the US embassy in London which feels a bit like being processed for Guantanamo. I gather crew often jump ship in the azores so making his way there and getting a gig with a desperate delivery skipper might get results.

If he's not got a job now, an extra couple of months won't harm and he'll have something useful on his cv.

 

[RobbieW]

... Even though I only needed it for a week they gave me a 10 year visa....

Although nominally 10 years the US visa effectively expires with the passport its stamped in - at least I wouldnt risk trying to enter with a visa in an out of date passport.

Support the idea of getting visas outside London, I did it in Lisbon - a much more streamlined experience in 2011, booking appointment to returned passport in 7 days.

Also, the visa process is about having sufficient funds for your stay and exit from the US. A job may be useful but if you can show evidence of other funding it shouldnt be a problem. I wasnt employed when I got mine but I can show income.

 

[Heckler]

Although nominally 10 years the US visa effectively expires with the passport its stamped in - at least I wouldnt risk trying to enter with a visa in an out of date passport.

Support the idea of getting visas outside London, I did it in Lisbon - a much more streamlined experience in 2011, booking appointment to returned passport in 7 days.

Also, the visa process is about having sufficient funds for your stay and exit from the US. A job may be useful but if you can show evidence of other funding it shouldnt be a problem. I wasnt employed when I got mine but I can show income.

Mine was for ever, until a jobsworth decided I should use the visa waiver prog. I carried my expired passport with me as the visa was still valid. Used it for years after the passport expired.
Stu

 

[Seven Spades]

Mine was for ever, until a jobsworth decided I should use the visa waiver prog. I carried my expired passport with me as the visa was still valid. Used it for years after the passport expired.
Stu

i Had one of those life time visas but the US government cancelled them. They are no longer valid even though they say valid for life.

 

[TQA]

The B1/B2 visa does not expire with the passport it is contained in. Just ask for your old passport back and carry both when you go through immigration. I did this for seven years without a problem.

The US embassies in Barbados and the Bahamas both had notices on their web sites which stated that if you were not a citizen then you should apply in your home country. That was last year. I know of several non citizen yotties who still applied and were refused. This included a French family of 4 who applied 3 times and got refused each time. Insufficient evidence of their ability to support themselves was the likely reason.

 

[Skylark]

According to the UK US Embassy website FAQ a visa in an expired passport can continue to be used unless it is marked "indefinitely" in which case it can't. My last US visa was issued in the early 90s and is marked indefinitely. Seemingly then, those issued more recently have a defined time validity period.

I've just started a B1/B2 application and immediately became stuck by the numerous catch 22 questions! The on-line application will not forward beyond the current page until all of its questions have been completed. A bit of a buggar, eh?

 

[Seven Spades]

Please let us know if you progress further.

 

[SteveSarabande]

I heard that applications for b1/b2 on charter yachts are being refused, best get a job on a private yacht

 

[KellysEye]

We didn't need proof of employment when we got B1/B2 visas, initially for chartering and visiting US islands and then long term live aboard. We renewed them once and at no time were asked about employment.

 

[AndrewB]

Isn't B2 a tourist visa? As Kellyseye says, you don't need proof of employment - indeed it forbids employment in the US. But if he is crewing on a foreign flagged vessel, would that count? Well I'd chance it, apply for the visa as a visitor arriving by non-scheduled carrier, and if there is a problem on arrival sort it out there. Too good an opportunity to miss!

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Isn't B2 a tourist visa? As Kellyseye says, you don't need proof of employment - indeed it forbids employment in the US. But if he is crewing on a foreign flagged vessel, would that count? Well I'd chance it, apply for the visa as a visitor arriving by non-scheduled carrier, and if there is a problem on arrival sort it out there. Too good an opportunity to miss!

I wouldn't recommend entering the US with a questionable visa, you risk immediate deportation and being classed as an illegal immigrant and barred from returning for ever!

 

[Heckler]

I wouldn't recommend entering the US with a questionable visa, you risk immediate deportation and being classed as an illegal immigrant and barred from returning for ever!

Especially after putting it on a public forum!
S

 

[laika]

Isn't B2 a tourist visa? As Kellyseye says, you don't need proof of employment - indeed it forbids employment in the US.

For visiting "for pleasure", yes, B2. Visiting "on business" is B1. A "B1/B2" which covers both is generally what gets issued to yacht crew and what the OP's son would need. B1 is not about being employed in the US, it's about being employed elsewhere and *visiting* the US for business purposes:
https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/visit/visitor.html
In my non-sailing life the B1 part is what I would use to visit the US for meetings with american colleagues.

You really, really don't want to arrive with the wrong visa. We arrived in St. John on a delivery, 2 Brits and a French woman, all papers and visas in order, all of us polite, and they were going out of their way to be <^^£$.

 

[KellysEye]

>Isn't B2 a tourist visa?

Get a B1/B2 it covers everything, unlimited entry in any US territory for unlimited time for 10 years.

 

[BobnLesley]

Get a B1/B2 it covers everything, unlimited entry in any US territory for unlimited time for 10 years.

Did you actually obtain/utilise one, or are you just guessing (incorrectly) and blowing smoke as usual?

The B1/B2visa is valid for ten years, so not completely untrue and as others have noted already, it does not expire with the passport; as with ours, the UK passport office will return your old passports and on subsequent returns to the USA, simply present both.

It is good for multiple but not 'unlimited' entries and it most certainly does not allow you to stay for an 'unlimited time', indeed, it was stressed to us that whilst Homeland Security Officers 'generally grant entry for a period of six months', this is not guaranteed, we met several people who were only granted shorter periods on arrival and a few who were granted longer than six months. The decision as to how long, or indeed 'if' you are allowed to enter the USA rests with the Officer who processes your arrival - so be polite to him/her. Similarly, having left the USA there is no set period that you have to out, before you can return, but as a rule of thumb, a weekend in Canada or Mexico is not going to cut it; the term we often heard used, was that you had to make 'a meaningful exit from US Territory'. Again, nothing's guaranteed, but it seems that 2-3 weeks elsewhere's generally acceptable before returning.

One thing that does need to be borne in mind when planning visits, where 'first entry is not with a commercial carrier' ie: a private yacht: Besides the USA, you will need this same B1/B2 to enter the US Virgin Islands & Puerto Rico. If (as we did) you arrive in the USVIs, get checked-in and granted a stay of 6 months, if you then go directly on to Purto Rico (there is nowhere in between), then you've not left US Territory, so are still running on the USVIs entry and original grant of six months. If you then continue directly on to the USA, it's still the same entry/grant; if you want a 'new' six months when you arrive there, then you must check-in somewhere else (Dominican Republic, Haiti, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas) along the way.

 

[john_q]

The B1/B2visa is valid for ten years,

If you have a UK passport, the B1/B2 is valid for 10 years. If you have an Australian passport it is only valid for 5 years so be sure and check what corresponding agreements exists between your country and the USA

 

[BobnLesley]

If you have a UK passport, the B1/B2 is valid for 10 years. If you have an Australian passport it is only valid for 5 years so be sure and check what corresponding agreements exists between your country and the USA

What, the USA issues B1/B2s to Aussies? I thought that the whole idea of that long and complex application form was to weed out the sheep stealers, vagabonds and other Larrikins?

 

[KellysEye]

I was wrong about unlimited time on a B1/B2 but you can extend it to a year.

The maximum duration for extension you can ask for is 6 months. Also, you can not apply for a visitor visa extension as many times as you want. The maximum you can stay on B1/B2 visa is 1 year