BVI to USA visa

[seansea]

I'm currently in the BVI and taking a boat to the USA. As a Brit I understand you need a visa if arriving in the states by boat as opposed to an ESta if coming by air. Now you have to visit a US embassy To get the visa and the nearest is Barbados which is the wrong way and Dom. republic or Nassau Bahamas but then it can take a few weeks or months to process. Anyone have experience of this process and how to go about it. I'm told if you just turn up they can impose a big fine.

 

[RobbieW]

Try Cuba - someone here reported recently that they got good service from US Embassy in Havana. Slightly raised eyebrows when they went into the US

 

[neil1967]

When we were refused entry to the US VI (arrived on a charter yacht) because we didn't have a Visa we were told (by US immigration) we could return to the BVI, get a ferry to the US VI, which is permitted under the visa waiver scheme, get a stamp in our passports, return by ferry to the BVI and then we could enter the US VI by yacht for (I think) 90 days on the basis of the stamp in our passports. As we were on holiday we did not try this, but you might want to explore this option by contacting the US VI and checking that if they stamp your passport it then applies to the US mainland as well.

Neil

 

[KellysEye]

>90 days ...they stamp your passport it then applies to the US mainland as well.

The possible problem is if they are going to the USA it only allows 90 days in USA territories. A full B1/B2 visa lasts ten years with unlimited entries in any US territory. It's well worth getting.

 

[BrianH]

I'm currently in the BVI and taking a boat to the USA. As a Brit I understand you need a visa if arriving in the states by boat as opposed to an ESta if coming by air. Now you have to visit a US embassy To get the visa and the nearest is Barbados which is the wrong way and Dom. republic or Nassau Bahamas but then it can take a few weeks or months to process. Anyone have experience of this process and how to go about it. I'm told if you just turn up they can impose a big fine.

Yes, I got caught by that in 2009 when trying to enter the US Virgin Islands at Cruz Bay, St John and was refused entry on visa grounds, having used the on-line (ESTA) US Visa Waiver Program - but this was only valid when entering on a commercial carrier, not a private yacht. Consequently, I had to sail back to Road Town, BVI, re-enter there, travel to West End where a ferry went to St John, enter as a passenger to get the passport stamped with a 3 month visa, get the ferry back to Tortola, taxi back to boat and sail back to St John to enter the boat. It would have been smarter to have stopped in West End rather than carry on back to Road Town, but I wasn't sure where the ferry went from.

And don't forget to get a Cruising Permit ($25), which no one told me about in St John and caused major problems when trying to clear in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

[Gerry]

Yes, got ours in Havana some 3 years ago. No problems at all,collected completed passports overnight!

Go to the US special offices in the Swiss compound. Quite a bit of queuing and you will need a US sized passport photos and your boat papers.

DO NOT try and enter USA without a B1/B2 visa by boat, you will be refused entry.

 

[AndrewB]

And don't forget to get a Cruising Permit ($25), which no one told me about in St John and caused major problems when trying to clear in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

I don't think the US Cruising Permit applies to the USVI. We first got ours when entering Puerto Rico, at Dewey in Culebra.

It is possible the Cruising Permit has now been replaced by the User Decal for foreign boats (and private planes). There was widespread rumour this would be brought in when we were last there in 2009. The Decal includes a transponder to enable Big Brother to keep track of your movements. No more sneaking off to Cuba!

 

[BrianH]

I don't think the US Cruising Permit applies to the USVI. We first got ours when entering Puerto Rico, at Dewey in Culebra.

Okay, maybe that is why no one mentioned it in the USVI. I was naïve enough to think the contiguous USVI and Puerto Rico were all administratively identical US Territories and could enter one and depart from the other.

I had waited an entire day for a visit from Homeland Security as instructed by calling the 0800 number for clearance at the Club Náutico de San Juan with a crew who had discount flights out of Puerto Plata in the DR in three days time. When they did arrive they looked like something out of a wild west movie - three black-clad figures with gun holsters on their hips, their English was so bad that my Spanish was better and so we used that. The interrogation was lengthy, every point had to be referred to a superior by mobile phone. One of the crew had a Hungarian passport - that needed ages before they were informed that Hungary was in the EU and eligible for the Visa Waiver Program, despite the entry visa stamp from St John.

When they found that we didn't have a Cruising Permit, that really caused a major problem and lengthy phone conversations. I was told that a Cruising Permit had to be bought and that could only be obtained from the Customs House, down in the old port area. Another hour later after the taxi driver had got lost, we met the only efficient person so far - a lady who said that if we were staying less than 24 hours then we didn't need a Cruising Permit. She also handled our clearance immediately.

So that endorses your point that it was only necessary in Puerto Rico.

 

[Jeannius]

Seansea... An acquintance of mine just got his in Nassau the other week. Seemed a painless process. See here... http://www.multihulls4us.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4566

I got mine in Barbados a few years back. That went smoothly as well.

I wouldn't try the turn up on the ferry, get the stamp, go back to the BVI and then assume all will be well route. It works in the USVI/BVI through blind eyes being turned. Strictly speaking, you should be returning the I94 form when you leave USVI to return to BVI. This then cancels the validity of the entry stamp in the passport.

Posted from Tortola!

 

[BrianH]

I wouldn't try the turn up on the ferry, get the stamp, go back to the BVI and then assume all will be well route. It works in the USVI/BVI through blind eyes being turned. Strictly speaking, you should be returning the I94 form when you leave USVI to return to BVI. This then cancels the validity of the entry stamp in the passport.
Posted from Tortola!

Mike, I'm sure that is the proper advice but I wasn't advocating that the OP do as I did, only that I had found myself in a similar situation and ignorance led me to try to enter. Also to correct his assumption that "if you just turn up they can impose a big fine", instead you just get refused entry, if my case is an example.

In fact, it was the very kind immigration officials in Cruz Bay themselves who proposed the solution -turning a blind eye indeed. They seemed used to the situation, clearly I wasn't the first to arrive thinking that acceptance and registration under the Visa Waiver Program applied generally and wasn't aware that one had to arrive as a commercial-carrier passenger.

I wonder what the OP did - it looks like one of the cases where someone comes on the forum with a question, gets advice and doesn't post again with a follow-up, leaving us (well, me) hanging in the air wondering what happened.

 

[capnsensible]

Im 10 years out of date with this, but.... got ferry from Sopers Hole BVI to St John. Got I90, went back, got yacht, cruised USVI with no hassle.

 

[TQA]

Yes the ferry from the BVI to the USVI ploy does work but only because the USVI immigration is turning a blind eye.

Do not arrive in PR or mainland USA, with a USVI issued I94, on a private yacht. PR will probably deny you entry and the USA will almost certainly deny you entry.

Also be very aware that obtaining a B1B2 visa is not a rubber stamp process. There is a whole list of things that the issuing officer needs to see e.g.

sufficient funds

a home address

ties back to your "home country"

I know off 3 families who treated this lightly and had their applications turned down. An expensive business! 2 of the three succeeded the second time around.

 

[dratsea]

In PR (Salinas) on Visa issued in St Johns, day trip on ferry. St J Immigration said valid 3/12 inc USA. Headed for Panama but can confirm it will work as far as PR.

John