Applying for a US Tourist Visa

Are there any Uk citizens reading this forum that have actually applied for a Visa since 9/11? Having just looked in detail at the requirements I'm shocked at the possible time its going to take me to get this sorted out - a 400 mile round trip to London, 4 hr interview, plus goodness knows how long just waiting around, £60 for the priviledge, plus a further £10 to have my own passport returned to me. It'll be worth it - but it doesn't make me feel a valued tourist!

One problem I forsee is that since we are planning a roadtrip for 6 months, starting in and around San Francisco, we will not be able to specify a lodging address on the visa application - has anyone else hit this problem and have you any advice??

www.uk-2-usa.com

Or you can e-mail the administrator of that site at admin@uk-2-usa.com.

He has a link to visa requirements and lots of other information for you.

Personally, I do not know much of anything about USA visa requirements. I can say this much, though. You are very welcome to come visit us, and you will find us a friendly bunch. However, for obvious reasons, we're a bit touchy about our borders right now, and that probably won't relax any time soon. So please forgive us that and come anyway! When you get to Phoenix, look me up and I'll buy you a beer at the George and Dragon! Bob

Thanks Bob, had a look at the site you suggest, some useful info on there.

I'll get in touch with the US Embassy soon and check out exactly what they need.

If we pass through Phoenix, we may just take you up on that offer....be nice to do more than just follow a tourist trail.

My partner and I applied for our B2 visa from the UK and are now in the USA having arrived 2 months ago. Yep - the visa is a hassle to get, and we too were worried about not having an address but it was no problem. The visit to the embassy was also a hassle, took 4 hours, most of which was waiting. Make sure you fill in the form precisely and that you have the correct photos (diferent from regular passport pics), and most importantly proof of funds. Armed with this it was no problem (except the rage inside at the cost of it all). At customs in New York we breezed through without return tickets or addresses other than our hotel.
Now two months into our 5 month trip around the USA and having a great time. Everyone is super friendly and welcoming. I love it and would stay if I could.
Good luck

Huey,

Thanks for the post -- such info is very hard for us US citizens to acquire and we really appreciate the news!

Mark

Thanks for the info Huey. How far in advance of your trip did you apply for the visa? I'm also curious as to whether you are using a rental car for the trip and if so would you recommend the company you are using? I've been in touch via email with some of the bigger names asking for quotes for 6 months one way rentals and not having much luck at the moment.

Hope you continue to enjoy your trip - very jealous - just another year left to work here before we start ours!

hi there
i have just found this forum and i thought i would write in about our eperience with obtaining a b2 visa.
my wife and i want to go touring america for 5 to 6 months, and we have applied for our b2 visa 3 times now and each time been refused for not having enough ties to our home country, we are both u.k citizens, we don't own a property but we are renting a part of my mums house, we both work, we have sufficiant funds already in a u.s account, all our families live in the u.k and we do not have a criminal record.
the most recent time we applied i asked the officer exactly what he thought ties to the u.k should be, he answered ''well you don't go to church on a regular basis and you don't belong to any organisations''
would anyone out there have any ideas what else these people need to see.
i appriciate any feed back
thanks

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pocketarnie

i have just found this forum and i thought i would write in about our eperience with obtaining a b2 visa.

---

Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! There are a number of UK roadtrippers active on this Forum and hopefully one of them might have some good ideas.

Mark

Let me start by saying this is total speculation, and I have almost no knowledge about what the requirements are to visit the US.

I belive that British Citizens can visit the US for 3 months without a Visa. I also assume that between its much more liberal imigration policies and its historical connections to the UK, that it would be much easier to get permission for a longer visit to Canada.

So, perhaps you could get a Visa to Canada for 6 months or so, and then from there make two separate visits of less than 3 months to the US.

Like I said, I don't know anything about immigration rules, so its very possible that whatever law allows you to visit without a visa only allows you to make such a visit once a year or something like that. But if I were in your shoes, that is something I would look into.

Per the United States Department of State at travel.state.gov:

"Travelers coming to the U.S. for tourism or business for 90 days or less from qualified countries may be eligible to visit the U.S. without a visa if they meet the visa waiver program requirements...

Currently, only 27 countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program, as listed below:

(from table)

Andorra, Austraila, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zeland, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom."

With that said, they do have a full list of requirements for the Visa Waiver Program here. It would be best to speak with a representative from the US Department of State at an Embassy or Consultate nearest your locale in Great Britain. They would be able to let you know of your options, eligibilities, and other legal issues.

Good luck.
-Brad

I had an acquaintance run into a similar problem.

The issue is that a long tourist visa is typically used as a backdoor way for someone to come to the US and then disappear as an undocumented (illegal) immigrant. It's a very common ploy that the customs & immigration folks have to look out for. 6 months is a long enough time for someone to get an apartment, find a job and then essentialy become a permanant undocumented resident. Some of the things they look for are folks that are cutting their ties to their old community, don't have any reasons to return, don't have close family to return to, etc.

When I went back and reread the message it sounds like the folks looking to come for 6 months basically were tripping all of the red flags that the customs & immigration folks are watching out for.. To wit:
- They don't own property in the UK, and no long term leases or agreements for residence in the UK
- Have already shifted their funds to a US-based account
- No local community ties to return to (the questions about attending a local church or school, or etc in the UK)

Everything looks like they are intentionally cutting their emotional ties to where they live in the UK. It looks like there's no reason for them to return home -- which trips the red flags

So.. while all of these would also be things that would pretty much make sense on an extended US tour, there's also nothign that would indicate the person isn't planning on doing the tourist visa to undocumented resident route.

Is there anythign they can point to? Such as returning for wedding of a cousin in the UK? or applying for a job in the UK? or looking at property somewhere in the UK or elsewhere? They need to be able to express some long term plans such as return to the UK to attend school, start a job, buy a retirement house, stay near immediate family (mother, father, sisters, brothers, kids, grand kids, etc.), build the retirement house, etc...