we got out B1 visa but the kids haven't

does anyone want to babysit for 6 months+!

this is how stupid this whole thing is.

we went upto the US Embassy 2 weeks ago. got there at 8am for our 9am appointment. the queue was already around the block! QUESTION. WHY DO THEY BOOK SO MANY PEOPLE IN AT ONE TIME?????

Waited in a good orderly line like the British are renowned for doing! at 9.45am we walked through the bag x-ray, and up the steps. oh i was getting very nervous never seen so many armed police in my life...... We were told to go up the steps to the left. so up we went, into this huge room, with massive fans that ruined the hard work that i put into my hair! LOL
again we stood in line, passing time chatting to the South Africans in front. then a really nice woman walked up the line asking to check all the papers, she asked if we had our pre paid envelopes, we and everyone else said no. and we were told that we had to get their special courier envelopes that cost 10.00. so most of the line had to go back downstairs. behind a very high (and i mean high) desk a little head peeped over, and said to my hubby that because we had 5 applications we would need 2 envelopes. costing 20 quid.

he then came back upstairs to join the queue. finally we got to a little window, where a nice man took all our paperwork, and asked why we had 2 envelopes, we told him that we were told to get 2, he said go back and get a refund, this my hubby did. he gave us a number and told to take a seat.
QUESTION, WHY IS THERE NEVER ENOUGH SEATS SO EARLY IN THE MORNING????????

ok we sat down, and realised after 2 hours of eating there over priced food and drink from the vending machines that the numbers on the tickets bear no relation to the order that you are called! QUESTION WHY DO THEY NOT HAVE MORE COUNTERS OPEN? THERE WERE 3 OPEN, AND ONE WENT FOR LUNCH.
finally i was getting excited, the tiredness had worn of, i could see this lady behind the counter flicking through our 'files' we were called, wrong cubical but as it was closed we said the the lady is it us you want, as i didn't relish going to find my chair, after the brawl that occured when we stood up. you really could make money from charging for the seats, (better not tell that to the US Embassy, they might do it, just to make a bit more money!)

we stood there for 5 minutes whilst we were interogated! why why why what when how. yes sir no sir three bags full and i will kiss your a**e just so that you will like us!!!! hooray we were told we had our B1 visas. we were free to go for 6 months to find a business so that we can BUY our way into the US.....

then the bad news our 3 children, ages 3, 6 and 12 were only allowed out on the visa waiver for 90 days, we asked why, and she said because they would be returning for their UK Schooling. QUESTION, I THOUGHT EVERY CHILD WAS ENTITLED TO FREE EDUCATION IN ANY COUNTRY BUT OBVIOUSLY MINE WEREN'T.
so my darling children, because of wanting a 'better life' are being penalised. and i think it is very bad. QUESTION WHY DID WE HAVE TO PAY 60 QUID PER CHILD FOR NO REASON?

our attorney is on the case, basically he has said, that we should enroll the children in school, then 80 days later leave the US for a nice cruise around the Bahamas, and come back in. BUT and a BIG BUT. if the immigration officers ask us if the children have been enrolled in school whilst we were here, and we say no and they find out through records, we can say goodbye to our visas.

so what is the answer? leave the kids home alone? leave them with long term babysitters, or take them with us, (silly question really, i couldn't be without them for a minute)

so we're in a catch twenty two position.

i scream HELP

(oh and sorry this is such a long thread)

Am cutting and pasting the regulations re B1 visa.

The Basic Business visa is the B-1 for temporary visitors going for business.

A temporary visitor for business must establish that he or she:

# Has a residence abroad which he or she does not plan to abandon
# Is coming to the United States for a definite temporary period
# Will depart upon the conclusion of the visit
# Has access to sufficient funds to cover the cost of the visit and return passage

Generally, a B-1 applicant may not seek gainful employment in the U.S. A B-1 visa applicant usually wants to go to the U.S. to consult with business associates, negotiate a contract, buy goods, participate in conferences, and similar activities.

I will be frank with you, B1 is a TEMPORARY visa and not one where you should be putting your kids into school. You are not comsidered a permanent resident on that visa and will have all sorts of other problems also with what you can and cant do. The E2 is the permanent business visa and buying a business is your goal, you could have flown out and found a business then returned and applied for an E2 and waited in the UK fo it to be issued like most everyone else does. Why use the B1 which is like a halfway house??

They have to educate everyone in the US without questioning status, they have so many illegals that it would mean a huge uneducated sub class if they didnt. So yes provided you are in catchment zone they will register your kids, But by putting your kids in school on a B visa, you could jeopardise your eventual E2 as your attorney said. Having said that, there was an instance on a TV programme recently of someone doing just that on a visa waiver even where that didnt happen and their E2 was granted!!!

What are you to do?? Well if I was you, I would fly out for the limit of the kids visa waiver, find a business in that time and then go home to wait for the E2 to process. Galling but if you try and circumvent the processes, you could come unstuck. You might not but is it worth the risk?

OH what a palava!

Technically I think your children may now need the visa s they were refused it, not that that makes much sense, but one of the questions asked on the visa waiver form is if you have ever had a visa cancelled or been refused a visa for any reason then you have to contact the embassy for advice, so if you answer no on the form , it could be attached to your childrens passport details on the computer and when they try to enter they could actually be refused.
I have no idea how they get round this but I know of other people who have been put in the same situation as they applied for a visa thinking it would make travel easier and then told that they didnt need it as they were eligible to use visa waiver.

I just cant wait to go through all this, [msnmad]

The kids have not been denied a visa, Steph, it just wasnt granted because they werent eligible. There is a subtle difference.

well we are going on the 10th august, can't wait. after watching something on tv tonight concerning a young family wanting to move to florida, we had to watch to see how the relocation people did it. and weren't surprised when they said that she had dual nationality, and when they got married he applied for his visas, and got them. so it was pretty straight forward for him. it makes me angry that programmes do not show how hard it really is for normal people who want a better life to do this. we have sold everything in the hope of making a new life in the US, and i am starting to feel that unless i am somebody famous they do not want you. ok we have some money from the sale of our house, and are wanting to invest and buy a business and employ americans, but it should never be this hard. maybe the british goverment should be the same and stop just about anyone and everyone coming into the country who do not want to invest. looks like i am blurting off, and may upset the politically correct people. so i better shut up.............................................

The USA doesnt stop everyone coming in though!! Just us Brits have a problem. And dont say too many of us, have you seen the number of hispanics and they are still coming in and being offered green cards while we struggle. Now I had better shut up as well!!!

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by floridavillasrus
well we are going on the 10th august, can't wait. after watching something on tv tonight concerning a young family wanting to move to florida, we had to watch to see how the relocation people did it. and weren't surprised when they said that she had dual nationality, and when they got married he applied for his visas, and got them. so it was pretty straight forward for him. it makes me angry that programmes do not show how hard it really is for normal people who want a better life to do this. we have sold everything in the hope of making a new life in the US, and i am starting to feel that unless i am somebody famous they do not want you. ok we have some money from the sale of our house, and are wanting to invest and buy a business and employ americans, but it should never be this hard. maybe the british goverment should be the same and stop just about anyone and everyone coming into the country who do not want to invest. looks like i am blurting off, and may upset the politically correct people. so i better shut up.............................................[/quote]




Could not agree more about that bl**dy couple last night. They had it easy, dual citiizenship, he got a job, they should have planned it better not getting such a big house to start with etc etc. I was so annoyed when the said they were coming back.....PATHETIC!

We meet four of the criterias on the US Visa site for hopefully obtaining visas and are off to the Embassy soon to see where the land lies(2nd income/Management positions/sought after skills and cash for a business....oh and by the time we want to try to move, degrees to, but we also have 20 years plus experience in our choosen professions. No dounbt someone will tell us none of it is guaranteed...which we know..

You think this was bad?
We went to the embassy on Friday for exactly the same reasons as the above, but with two children. We were concerned that we would get B visas and that the children would not. We shouldn't have worried. They wouldn't give any of us a visa! They said that because we were going to look for a business to buy on E2 that they could not give us B visas and that we could look for a business on Visa Waiver and then apply for E2.
Why did they give B visas to this couple and then not to us?
Of course, they took a total of £250 off us with absolutely nothing in return.
It's a joke.