Like the title says my sister is going through a divorce and needs to move to the US since our parents live in the States under an L2 visa provided in a relocation package. She is over the age of 21 so she isn't considered a dependant to my parents. Is there any way she can move to the USA for a decently long period of time so that we have time to find a more permanent solution? I've read that she could apply for a B2 visa or something but the wait time in London is like 100 days or sum which isn't ideal for us, but I've heard the wait times in Dublin are short so I'm not sure if it's possible to apply from there as a uk citizen. We already moved all her stuff to the states but weren't aware that after the 90 days for the esta were up that she would likely have to stay 90 days in the UK to reapply for the esta so we're kinda stuck any help is greatly appreciated.
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6There is no provision in US law for your sister to move to the US. The B-2 visa is likely to be refused in this circumstance -- one condition for B-2 status is to maintain a home outside the US to which you intend to return, and your sister does not seem to meet this criterion. If she cannot obtain an employment visa as suggested by @Traveller (another possibility is student visa -- a common route for young adults who want to move to the US -- but either will take at least a few months to arrange) then she will probably need to find somewhere else to go.– phoogCommented Jul 5 at 5:54
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1I do not understand why you mentioned "divorce" in the title. Why do you think it is relevant? To me it seems it can just add uncertainty (need to change live). Maybe she can do as Elon Musk: go to Canada (which should be easier of UK citizens), settle there for few years and later move to the US.– Giacomo CatenazziCommented Jul 5 at 6:51
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3@GiacomoCatenazzi The relevance is quite clearly that she is suddenly without support in the UK, potentially facing a bunch of other problems, and would prefer to stay with her family, which is not unusual in this situation. The question actually says as much (we already moved all her stuff, etc.) and it explains why this wasn't planned at all. It also means that advice along the lines of “work for a few years in the UK and look for a highly skilled job in the US” doesn't really help the OP. None of this makes things easier but it's certainly highly relevant.– RelaxedCommented Jul 5 at 7:52
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4@GiacomoCatenazzi Yes it does make things difficult but it is therefore highly relevant. Consider what would happen if the OP left this information out of the question : he would get completely irrelevant advice. Then if a visa or entry gets refused and he asks about it without providing the details, he would get a ton of comments asking for more details, telling him it's impossible to answer without more details, or blaming him for not explaining that right away. So there is really no reason to chide him for writing this.– RelaxedCommented Jul 5 at 8:03
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3@Traveller Still worth mentioning that while the ESTA remains valid, it does not mean one can return to the US right away and use repeated "visits" to live there.– jcaronCommented Jul 5 at 8:26
1 Answer
Assuming that your sister is a UK citizen and not a US citizen then there is no way for her to move to the States like this. She needs to apply for a long term visa, like everybody else does. Saying she "would prefer to stay with her family" is not a reason for her to get special immigration treatment.
In fact you may have made life more difficult by moving her stuff to the States. She will be denied even a short term visa if US Immigration think she is intending to reside in the States, and she can be turned away at immigration for the same reason if she tries to travel on the Visa Waiver Program (VWP - often referred to as "traveling on an ESTA"). Moving her stuff to the States will likely be taken as "intending to reside". If your sister is asked at the border when she intends to leave the US she needs to have a good answer ready, and in the case of VWP it must be within 90 days.
The point is, your sister needs to be able to convincingly tell the CBP official about her plan to return to the UK (or another place not in the US) before the 90 days are up - where and how she will live there when she comes back. Having her stuff in Britain would help. Having it in the US will definitely not.
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1"Moving her stuff to the States will likely be taken as "intending to reside". Guess I'm playing devil's advocate here, but how would immigration know she 'moved all of her stuff'? That's certainly not a typical question I've ever heard of being asked at immigration control. And I don't know that they track shipping services and cross check.– ouflak ♦Commented Jul 9 at 11:18
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They wouldn't necessarily. But they will ask questions about when she intends to return to Britain, and maybe what her home address is in Britain. And if she can't convincingly answer those then she may get refused. And if it comes out that her stuff is in the States it will not go well. Not everyone can look a CBP officer in the eye and tell a lie ("I'm definitely going back to live with my husband in two months"). Commented Jul 9 at 21:25
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"But they will ask questions about when she intends to return to Britain, and maybe what her home address is in Britain. And if she can't convincingly answer those then she may get refused." But that would be the case if she'd just tossed all of her stuff into the local tip and boarded the plane with nothing but the clothes on her back and maybe a suitcase of the bare necessities for a short term stay. Now if she was trying to bring all of her stuff with her through the airport... that would be a raise-the-flag scenario that immigration would be looking out for.– ouflak ♦Commented Jul 10 at 9:18
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@ouflak Tossing all her stuff into the tip would be almost as suspicious as sending it to America. The main point is that her stuff is not in the UK, making it seem likely that she intends to live somewhere else. That's enough to raise a red flag to CBP. Having it in the US makes it worse. Commented Jul 11 at 22:49
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"Tossing all her stuff into the tip would be almost as suspicious..." Again, playing devil's advocate, but to whom would it be suspicious? How would anybody else on this planet, much less immigration control, ever know what she'd done with her stuff? Unless she's actually trying to bring everything with her (which has been tried), they would never know what the disposition of her worldly items was, except for that which she has with her. And the question, "what have you done with all of your possessions", is just not a question one gets asked at immigration control normal circumstances.– ouflak ♦Commented Jul 13 at 11:29