Q&A with Marcus Kosins: J-2 visa and ESTA denied
I have a J-1 visa and my daughter was denied a J-2 dependent visa since she would turn 21 soon after her scheduled entry into the US. Recently she wanted to travel to the US on the visa waiver program and so she applied on-line to register for ESTA, but that was also denied, probably because of her prior visa denial. My daughter now wants to visit the US as a tourist. Can she get a B-2 tourist visa?
A recent visa denial for any reason at a US Embassy or Consulate appears to result in denial of ESTA travel authorization, which means that person cannot use the visa-free Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to enter the US. ESTA is short for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. All persons must successfully register for ESTA online if they want to travel visa-free to the US using the VWP. Interestingly, this reason is not listed on the US Embassy in Tokyo’s website as one of the reasons a person can be found ineligible to register for ESTA. Nevertheless, several of my clients have also been denied ESTA when the only other possible explanation is that they had previously been denied a visa at the US Embassy or Consulate.
The unfortunate reality is that because of the ESTA denial your daughter’s only option now is to obtain a B-2 visa if she wants to enter the US as a tourist. In order to do this she will have to submit a visa application and supporting documents to a US Embassy and have a visa interview at a US Embassy.
Will my daughter be continuously denied ESTA in the future?
We cannot answer whether your daughter will be denied ESTA continuously due to her earlier denial of the J2 visa. We do not know if the US government will change this ESTA rule in the future, but given the current rule the answer to this question is yes. One very positive thing I can say is that we have been regularly able to successfully get 10-year B1/B2 visas for our clients in Tokyo who were denied ESTA registration due to prior visa denials. So if you daughter does have to apply for a B visa, there is a good chance she will be able to obtain a ten year B visa. That is, if she is applying for her travel visa at the US Embassy in Tokyo or the US Consulate in Osaka. So if she is able to do that then she would not need to worry about ESTA for 10 years. Remember, if your daughter has a B visa she does not need to register under ESTA. ESTA is only required for foreign travelers using the VWP.
For more questions and answers visit US Immigration Q&A with Marcus Kosins.
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マーカス・カズンズ  カズンズ外国法事務弁護士事務所 |
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I’ve been looking all over for this!
Thanks.