E2 renewal without attorney?

[InnVic]

hello from sunny vermont (102oF today!!!!) We are already planning our first E2 visa renewal for March 2007. Our initial application, though finally successful was plagued by a number of glaring errors and ommissions by a so called expert Immigration lawyer. On reflection we feel that we could put together our own reapplication without the need to incurr another $5000 cost, and wondered if any other members of this forum have any experience of "going it alone". We are both pretty savvy to the visa minefield and meticulous regarding preparation. We have planned 'overkill" with letters from local Senators and Chamber of commerce. We have exceeded our business plan and have documentation to substantiate every requirement of reissuance. Any info you can give would be appreciated

[chris]

Sunny Vermont,
So pleased to hear that you are going to paddle your own ccanoe on renewal and that you like us have found to your cost that so-called Visa Experts are not really as expert as they make out.
We have chosen not to renew our state dept E2 Visas yet, but do renew our I-94's via USCIS ourseleves (I-129 & I-539). Much of what we put to USCIS is exactly the same type of information that State Dept ask for and so far we have been successful on both renewal occasions. We are just putting in our 3rd renewal this month.
I don't think there is anything such as overkill with a renewal. If the information is pertinent and supports your case, then it is essential and not an accessory.
We too are part of our local CoC and we believe that offers a degree of legitimacy to our business, plus the fact it further confirms your ability as a 'leader' which State looks for in the E2. The letters from Senators add weight and should further validate your importance to the local economy and community. Any publicity material you have, include it. I believe that what matters is - is the business alive and kicking and running profitably, does it have an economic impact (employees or indirects), does it have potential and not dying. I may be considered naieve by some, but I believe our businesses should be subject only to the same level of business scrutiny that an equivalent business run by US citizens should. Otherwise you have discrimination and inequality, both of which are values the US seem to be vocal about upholding.

[InnVic]

Hi Chris

I'm confused....I know you have to renew the I-94 I understood, that you just need to leave the country and come back - we plan to pop to canada. We got a two year visa and the I-94 is valid for two years too. We have friends with a five year visa that found out just in time that their i-94 was about to expire...a timely trip to Quebec sorted that! phew... Has your E2 expired or were you lucky enough to get a five year one?? I understand you have a years grace after E2 expiration - but bearing in mind the processing times and the implication on driving permits,(and insurances ss numbers etc..) and the fact that I don't want to give the Embassy ANY reason for rufusal we are planning to get this sorted early. Our initial application was refused (why do they have to putit that way - why can they not just say we need a little more information...when we heard that word the bottom fell out of our world!) - they asked for copies of our profit and loss - which we HAD given to our attorney but he "forgot" to put in...doh! We figure if they are going to ask for more information then there is no reason why we can't just do this ourselves and save the $$$! One thing that does bug me though is the renewal visit to London. Does anyone know if we HAVE to go - can we just fedEx passports? If not can we make the appointntent at a convenient time for us? Our E2 expires march 2007 - we are mid skiseason and therefore cannot leave without substantial financial loss to the business. Also I understand we cannot sub,it application until 60 days before expiration - with a 24 week processing time. So if we submit in late Jan 2007 they MAY have processed and approved (hopefully) by July....well then we're in mid summer and no let up till late October - November would be the best time for us to return if we had to - but does that mean we are "illegal' till then? They really are doing nothing to help us make our businesses successful are they!

[charliesmum]

The visa is only a travel document and if you don't want to leave (or actually return to) the US, you don't officially need to renew it. You are not illegal without it.

The I94 is what you need to be here legally. You can renew it, either by going out of the country before it runs out, or applying to USCIS for an extension. It will be renewed for 2 years at a time. That is what Chris is talking about.

We began our renewal last September - it ran out at the end of September, but at that time the renewals were only taking 3-4 weeks. We are still waiting and have just submitted our 4th lot of paperwork. We have renewed our I94s, so are here legally but can't travel - even for an emergency. We did use a Visa Attorney, but are thinking of doing it ourselves next time.

I think we got caught up in the time between it being really quick and only needing Tax Returns and W2s (proof of employees) and now them wanting lots more information. We weren't told what we needed to send in - there was a lot of guesswork - but now their website does tell you what is needed in more detail and how to submit it.

If I were you I would think about sending in your renewal soon and if you get it back in time to go to England - yes you do have to go, there's no way round it - in October, then that's good all round.

Good luck.
Zoe

[InnVic]

I believed that you needed the E2 to renew the 1-94 (after any grace period or proof of application to renew) Our visa does'nt expire till NEXT March - and we have been told not to submit application till 60 days before expiration otherwise they will just return the pack (keeping the fee of course!) I found the link of the website and the detail is very useful (one reason why I'm not paying an attorney unless we have to!) maybe with the money we save we can fly back to London first class!

[chris]

InnVic,
It is always a source of confusion to most E2'rs about the difference between the E2 Visa and the I-94. Here's the quick 101. The E2 Visa is issued by the state dept and only allows you to travel to port of entry in the US and ask to be let in. That's all it does.
The nice man at USCIS Immigration decides whether to let you in and based on your E2 Visa will normally stamp you an I-94 good for 2 years. Armed with Current E2 Visa in passport, you can exit/re-enter the US as many times as you want, each time handing in your I-94 on exit and picking up a new one on re-entry. Most folks with current E2 Visa simply renew their I-94's by popping out the country and coming back in.
That only works if your E2 Visa is current. Ours is expired, so we are landlocked, but legal. Our VC expert screwed up for us and missed the date for renewal by mail, which you could do at the time, now you can't. We 'maintain our E2 status' with USCIS by renewing by mail our I-94 using forms I-192 and I-539. This is called applying for an 'extension of status'. You pay your fees, send them the paperwork and keep fingers crossed they will send you back your nice new I-94 good for another 2 years. 2 years is always the max period an I-94 can be issued for. You are proving to USCIS that you are still doing what you were let in to do on your original E2 status. I know folks make a deal about the E2 Visa BUT the I-94 once you are in the US IS THE form you must maintain legality with. Let it expire and you are Illegal. It is the more important doc even if it looks insignificant.
As far as the US Embassy interview, I'm afraid you have to make that trip if you want to renew your visa. No way round it. Children under 14 don't need to go to the interview, but they would still need to travel to the UK as their passports are needed by the Embassy for stamping. This 'apply in person' lark all started after 911 and was a knee jerk reaction to it. It was supposedly to beef up security and enable them to take your pic, eye scan, finger print, inside leg measurement, color of underpants, etc. However, I argue, how often does your fingerprint and eyescan change? They don't. So a sensible system would have us doing a once only trip, with ongoing renewals being done as they were within the US and by mail. But then again, we are living in a post 911 world and they (US) fret over everything.
Here are a few web sites you should find useful:
www.state.gov
www.travel.state.gov
www.unitedstatesvisas.gov
www.uscis.gov
www.london.embassy.gov
It's mighty confusing this visa lark and none of us really need it when you are trying to build up a business and a new life, but we are victims of a broken system. Maybe we should pick fruit in Florida instead and then we get greencards!

[InnVic]

Thats useful to know...Its just with elderly parents back at home you never know when you may have to travel so we should probably get it sorted.....or maybe we'll just get divorced and marry our neighbors (actually we've had two genuine offers from friends...but I think if I have to go the marriage route I'll hang out for Johnny Depp!)

[chris]

I do believe that 'booking' your embassy interview has more to do with when they will see you, than what is convenient for you. You might want to check that out.
You are right about having family still over the pond and if you are landlocked it can be an emotional strain. Try to think of it in the old days when the irish emigrated to the USA to escape the potato famine, when they said their goodbye's they really meant it.
I think that when you make the move here, family has to be part of that consideration, but I don't believe folks should be constantly zipping back n'forth to the UK for family. It defeats the object of wht you have come for. That may be a fairly hard attitude, but I think you have to harden a little when you 3000 miles between you and your family. I also believe the the across the pond road has 2 lanes and not just a one way!

[InnVic]

Evening Chris Well it may be two lanes but when your parents are nearly 80 they are not going to get on a plane, and as the dutiful daughter I would at least like the option of attending to them if needed without forfeiting my livelihood. My greatgrandparents moved from Ireland to Newcastle upon tyne during the potato famine. The difference then was that they couldn't afford - or didn't expect to travel. We live in the 21st century where world travel is the norm. The E2 visa is afterall "temporary" - we personally do not plan to 'grow old bones" here (even though we love this place and the lifestyle we have) and the ability to travel back to ol' blighty (on occassion - just to remind us why we're here!) is something that should be a right. We do not plan to be "zipping back and forward all the time" but we'd like the freedom of choice. We don't "hate" England but we were dissilusioned with the opportunities there and felt the need for a different experience. We have no kids - so we can afford sto be reckless - hence the E2! This may last three years of thirty - so far so good but we have a whole list of things to do and places to see and depending upon how accommodating the US embassy is at time of renewal will obviously have a big impact on our decisions. I do not expect the Embassy to see me on demand - I thought that if, say our application was approved in August - but we couldn't travel to the Uk until October we could schedule an appt then...that surely is not too much to ask (oh hang on I'm talking about the Embassy!) I don't expect an easy ride - I do expect rational treatment.

[Kriz1]

I don't think I would be happy to be landlocked...I don't plan on going back to the UK any time soon..all my family come here..and the USA has so much to offer you really don't need to go to any other country to get a lot out of traveling...but I know if my freedom to travel was taken away...I would get itchy feet...

[chris]

InnVic & Kriz,
My Mother is 94 every additional year is a gift from God. When we moved to Florida in 2000, her age and health were part of the overall equation, but as a parent of 2 boys who are now 7 and 10 and who really know nothing else but the USA, our focus had to be us as a family unit and not the family we were leaving behind. That's not being mean or uncaring, simply a reality statement about 'our' lives, not the rest of the family's lives. My UK based brothers and sisters all have their own lives and families and do their own thing to suit them, not necessarily us. We also knew the chances of Ma travelling were slim to non-existent. We have had several deaths in the family in recent years and not been able to go back for the funeral, etc that hurts, but the alternative could hurt even more.
I don't enjoy being landlocked, but the alternative of going through the gruesome farce called Visa renewal at the London Embassy is more than I want to endure or put my family through at this point in time. Had our VC 'expert' at the time not screwed things up for us our E2 renewal at that time would have been dealt with, but he screwed up and we lost the chance to renew within the US. Now all renewals are done overseasas most know. Taking Kriz's comment about the right to travel - you are dead right. We should all have that right of travel, but once again I return to the Embassy farce. When it becomes better than a lottery I will consider it. I know Kriz that you contribute to several forums and you know the horror stories of Brits going through the E2 application & renewal process - it is just plain wrong and inhumane. When you have toiled to get a business going, build a home, settle kids in school, that is starting a new life whether you define the visa as temporary or not. It is certainly no vacation. Many E2'rs know full well that the visa is 'temporary' and will never get them a green card, but it for many the only option in order to make a life in the USA. 'Temporary' is as long as you or the Embassy want to make it. Few E2'rs jump up and down with glee at the prospect of having to put their whole life on hold at renewal time and stop/restart on the whim of an embassy paper pusher in London. I think we would all agree we wnat a rational and fair system adopted for everyone. A recent posting about an E2 approval described how the folks travelled all the way to London, waited in line for hours and their 'interview?' was precisely 5 minutes. If getting a family to travel 3000 miles plus the cost plus the hassle for 5 minutes is not a disgusting farce I do not know what is.
My comment about the toing and froing was meant in the context of what I see and hear with other Brits, some of whom spend an absolute age and wad of cash going through the visa process to get to Florida only to spend an inordinate amount of time and money dodging back and forth to the UK seeing family. I cannot understand that mindset. If the UK family mean so much, stay in the UK, have Florida as a vacation destination, buy a 2nd home, but don't call it home when it's clearly not. Home is where the heart is and I wonder if for some their heart is really still in the UK.

[Kriz1]

Don't get me wrong..I came here to get away from family...the reason I'm not going back to the UK to visit which I would love to do is family...its just being land locked...no matter how much I love a place...once I'm stuck there I get a cold sweat...it happens to me every summer when the Cape is like a prison you can't get away from because it takes 5 hours to get off of...there are still many places outside of the US I want to see..I may never see them..but thats down to me...I'm not being told I can't do it....

[victoria]

Have to admit I'm not certain it's the same with an E2 but for other visas you can effectively get an appointment when you want one (after your visa has been approved) by using a firm in the UK who keep tabs on how long interviews are taking - they will then call & make an appt say 6 wks before you want it & you can pretty much get the day (& time - I needed it in the afternoon to make sure I could get from Heathrow to the Embassy & they managed to change it from a 9am to a 12.30). Costs about 150 quid.

[charliesmum]

We are hoping that if we get our renewal through in a few weeks - well we can dream can't we and we have been waiting 11 months nearly - that we can go to the Embassy during the week of Thanksgiving, when the kids are off school for a week. I know it may not happen, but that is what we are working towards. I hope I can book the appointment 6 weeks ahead (or whatever it is at the time) and go on the Monday or Tuesday and then be able to travel back the beginning of the following week. I believe they are only shut on the actual Thanksgiving Day - the Thursday - so in theory that could work.

My parents have both died and Steve's Dad lives here in Florida and his Mum in Canada, so we don't have the same pressures as some do. My Aunt is 89 and hasn't been too well for a while now and I can't wait till I can go and visit her. She is very understanding about our situation though, and I talk to her each week when I phone about it.

The days of the renewals being done quickly seem to be well gone - unless you have a very 'out of the box' business, which your Inn could well be classed as. I think you just have to accept that it will take months, not weeks, to come through and plan for it. If it is quicker, then great!!

Zoe

[InnVic]

Oh dear..I seem to have opened a whole can of worms here :-)...and still no wiser on E2 renewal without attorney (we've been told not to even attempt it...of course that was by an attorney!)
Our last attorney misled us. We were told the renewal was just a formality. All research on the US immigration web site until recently made little or no mention of renewal. I think we may have considered an alternate route into the US if I had full awareness of this archaic process at the start. But we're here now and what we have is worth the additional effort and stress required to stay.

The 'right to travel" and hence the E2 thing is not so I can go back and forth to the UK regularly...I will probably do the occassional duty visit every couple of years. But I want to have the option to go and come at will if I so desire....we're so close to Canada here I'd like to explore there sometime - without a visa I can't. I figure an E2's like having medical insurance. If you don't have it..come the day you need it you'll wish you sorted it out earlier.

[chris]

InnVic,
Don't feel you've opened a can of worms, just healthy discussion and debate and we all learn something from it.
If you do your research thoroughly and follow the guidelines that the State Dept set out, you should be OK and you will have learned an awful lot. I know that I gave you some useful websites at state and USCIS + the London Embassy. Another very useful site I found for E2'rs is the US Embassy site for Canada. The Consular Office that deals with E2 Visas is in Toronto. Their site has an absolute wealth of information about what constitutes the E2 Visa and the various criteria. Unlike the London Embassy you can also email them with questions and by golly they reply! I asked the obvious one, which was could we renew our E2 there (the State Dept states that Visas can be renewed at ANY Embassy or Consulate outside the USA, subject to some restrictions. Canada and Mexico cannot process E2 applications for TCN's (Third Country Nationals). However they are helpful. The Bahamas until recently would process renewal E2, but they too strongly suggest you do it in your home country. All roads lead back to Blighty I'm afraid. If you do get cold feet and decide to use a VC, might I suggest you walk along with them and ensure you have copies of everything they do and submit. Thay way, further renewals should be simply more of the same. Keep you questions coming and don't worry about the can opener!

[InnVic]

HI Chris - thanks for the encouragement...your right it is healthy to talk - even if only to vent ones spleen against this illogical and irrational system.

I believe that we are capable of putting together a renwal application of similar (if not better) quality than most so called immigration experts. ( and checking everything several times before submisssion!!) But as we all know when it comes to dealing with these people there is often no rhyme or reason behind their decision. Why can they not simplify the system for renewals? Like everyone else we submitted our business plan - surely all they need to do is to check and have verified that you are working it. Surely if your plan was good enough to get you into the country (we gave a seven year plan - hoped we'd get a 5 year visa....I know :-)) then if its still on course then why should you have to jump through hoops to stay. Maybe its because none of us allowed for "interuption to business due to petty burocracy" that they have to moniter for deviation off plan!
P.S the web site links were very useful - I had already check some of them but too much information is probably just enough in this scenario. Also the head up on Toronto is useful - its only a four hour drive from us...maybe I could try some bribery and corruption and offer "romantic getaway weekends" (with caveat of course!) to immigration officials!

[chris]

Go for it.
Despite their grim reputation, I do believe that a heart beats somewhere in the US Embassy London. Personally, I think that a Visa Officer may actually think more of an applicant if they have bothered to do the stuff themselves rather than cut a check for a VC to do it. Someone once told me about their Visa Interview at the Embassy some years ago and they had taken photos of the business, etc. They told me they all ended up on their hands and knees on the floor, visa officer included, perusing all the photos they had brought and obviously the sheer enthusiam for the enterprise had infected the official. As you wade through the rules, you will find the FAM rules (they are in hyper links on the London site for various aspects of the E2 Visa) very helpful - they are THE rules. The one thing it makes very clear on the E2 adjudication process is that there is a large element of judgement on the part of the Visa Officer, rather than simply a YES/NO tick box scenario. I think if that enthusiam comes through in the paperwok, it can't help but be a +ve plus. Coupons for romantic weekends I guess will work too!

[charliesmum]

We have said lots of times if the Visa Officer would come and see our business working, we would be approved in an instant. Steve said paying the fare would be way cheaper than the renewal has cost us so far!!

I don't think you can lose doing the renewal yourselves - you just have to go above and beyond whatever they are asking for on the website and present it in the right way.

Our VA just told us that she sent our further info in without it being in a binder, as she thought otherwise they would put it along with all the other original applications. The Embassy sent it back for the binder to be changed!!! Have they got time for all that. I am now worried that we could be at the bottom of the 24 week pile and not in a 'we've seen these guys 3 times already' pile.

Zoe

[Sharon]

Hi Zoe

I am sorry to say I think you are right

Whilst the E visa's are now taking 24 odd weeks. Do they send a referral and when they get your reply put you to the bottom of the pile, then start a second count of further 24 weeks?

Can you or have you sent an e-mail to American embassy to ask what happens to your file when they get your reply for further information?

Sharon

[charliesmum]

The only time our VA sent an e-mail, they ignored it completely.

I really had thought we would hear quickly this time - 24 weeks will take us till the end of January, 16 months since our visa expired!! Are we going to be setting a record?

I suppose we must give them the chance to respond sooner than we are fearing, but I will be sending letters to higher places if that doesn't happen.

Zoe

[SarahG]

Hi everyone

I need to prove to a mortgage lender that the I-94 in my passport is more important than the expired E2 visa (we are in the same position as Zoe with an expired E2 but with application pending). We have valid I-94's that allow us to remain until March 2008 but the mortgage lender keeps putting emphasis on the E2.

I have explained to them that we are still "in status" with valid I-94's that allow us to keep working. They seemed to understand and said they would put that to the underwriters as long as I give them a copy of our I-94's.

I would also like to be able to give them a link to an official website that explains the importance of the I-94 but having search the USCIS which links to US Customs and Border Protection I cannot find anything.

Has anyone else had this problem (proving you are still legal)? Or does anyone know the correct link for explaining the I-94?

Thanks in advance

Sarah

[chris]

I don't know if I'm stating the obvious here, but can I make the suggestion that when the embassy lackies ask for more information, that when it is sent in that in big letters on the covering letter it makes the request that the file IS NOT sent to the back of the line but that it maintains its original place in the line.
On the binder, if I've said this before my apologies, but the London Embassy guidelines on E2 visa does actually describe how paperwork should be presented. It states it should be bound at the top not down the side (we have used Prong Fasteners fromm Staples) and the paperwork should be tabbed with the tabs showing at the bottom of the paper not the side. You would have a contents page as well. We have used this method for the I-94 renewal as well and not had a problem. The Prong Fasteners are not the easiest thing in the world to remove/add papers, so if they ask for additional paper information, I can only guess that you present the extra paperwork in the same format. If you are able to enclose photos of your business and its activities (we do) then it can only serve to help.
I guess the lackies are too lazy to open fasteners and add paper. There's paper pushers for you.

[chris]

SarahG,
Here's a couple fo links which may help.
Go to www.unitedstatesvisas.gov. Look under 'what is a Visa?' on the left. The section there explains in laymen terms about POE with your visa and how its CIS who decide if you get and how long you stay.
The second link is to www.uscis.gov. When you get there go to FAQ's. Then select Non-Immigrants. Then select How do I extend my stay in the US. Then select What does the law say.
The latter explains the procedure for remaining legal in the US (the extending your stay by keep on renewing your I-94, which I think is what you are doing.
That and copies of DOS E2 Visa in the passport plus copies of the I-94 should do the trick.
I don't know how a 2 year I-94 helps get a 30 year mortgage, but then a temporary non-immigrant visa is in the same boat as well. Good luck. We are 6 years inn Florida, E2 Visa expired 2002 and have done I-94 renewals ever since. Landlocked, but I don't have to lose sleep about the London Embassy (not ye anyway!

[SarahG]

Thanks Chris for those links. Exactly what I need.

I agree with your comment about the 30 year mortgage and that is what I have said to 3 mortgage brokers since our E2 expired. But they are so blinkered into the importance of the word "visa" that they put all the emphasis on that. I did say to one Broker that if we had a renewal for 5 years that still doesn't mean we are going to be here to pay off the mortgage in 30 years but their response is that there isn't a box on the application form for expired visas. The boxes are US Citizen or LPR, Non-Resident Alien, Resident Alien. For Resident Alien you have to give a copy of a Valid Visa (not homeland security document). So we tried to be Non-Resident Alien and that won't work unless you have an address in the UK and "live" in the UK. Fine but when they want the paper trail for the deposit and it shows an active US bank account it kind of gives away that you are living here.

But they have now found us a 4th mortgage company, Sun Trust Mortgages, who are apparently sympathetic to residents with expired visas but who have every intention of renewing and are continuing their businesses (Builder's words not mine).

It is Sun Trust who said they will now listen to our argument about the I-94's and with the supporting paperwork from the links Chris gave above we are a little bit more positive.

Chris, its encouraging to hear that you have been able to extend your I-94's without problems. I would still like to be able to travel outside the country though - we had our first cruise to the Bahamas in March (to renew I-94's) and thoroughly enjoyed it and would love to do it again but cannot without the E2.

Thanks

Sarah

[chris]

SarahG
I can understand the frustration about the mortgage situation. We got our mortgage on our present home when we were still in the UK and it was based on our earnings, etc there. However, We remortgaged after I believe 2 years of living here and managed to reduce our rate by about 3 percentage points. For the 2nd remortage we used a company in California called Millenia Mortgage who did a good job and were 'creative'. Once you get the mortgage, in the US they will usually sell it on within 1 or 2 months and our mortgage was sold on to Homecomings which is part of GMAC, which is part of GM. The selling on bit was all new to us. In the UK - once with the Halifax you stay with the Halifax for the next 25 years. Here, totally different. We had visions of the mortgage being sold on to the mafia!!! Usually the bigger the mortgage company the less flexible they are.

[SarahG]

You made me laugh about the mafia comment because the sales person for the builder rang us up after we were told they couldn't find a mortgage for us and said "we have found someone who will give you a loan" and we had visions of the mafia! But it just turned out to be Sun Trust :)

[chris]

This is a comment for Zoe on her E2 renewal. I'd read in other postings that you were going down the E2 Visa renewal trail and also renewing your I-94's as well. I was totally gobsmacked in your last posting when you mentioned that your E2 Visa has been expired and the renewal process still plods on. I am a loss to know what your VA is doing to expedite the renewal for you. Even with the 24 weeks posting for 'Applications' that length of time for a renewal is abhorrent to say the least. Peter Stanhope posted the statement in 2004 made by the US Govt on the ending of the renewal process in the US, why they did it and what arrangements were for future renewals of E2's outside the US. In that US Govt statemnt it categorically makes it clear that specific arrangements would be made for the 'Renewal' of said Visa's by Embassies/Consulates abroad because of their change of arrangements. Clearly putting renewals in the same pile/line as fresh applications is not specific arrangemenst and your VA needs to review that legal statement and take someone to task. A - he is supposedly a Visa expert and B- he is supposedly an Attorney. If he's charging you a chunk of change then I would be seriously putting him on a results oriented fee structure or finding someone else.

[charliesmum]

Chris

I am surprised you have only just realised how long the renewal process has taken us, as I have spoken about it lots of times before on here and the other forum we both go on.

Our first application went in a few weeks before our visa ran out last September, as our VA had dealt with another one a few weeks before that had been processed very quickly. We assumed ours would be the same.

Our first request came for further info about a month later. Looking at what they were asking for, we thought they had confused us with a new application. When we sent in the next - 2nd - lot of papers, our VA wrote and specifically said this was a renewal. We were asked again in December for more info and our 3rd set of papers went in at the end of January. This time we waited for ages, but fully expected an approval. We were really devastated when we got a further request for extra info in June, but those papers - 4th - have now gone in.

We are very confident in our VA and feel sure that if there was anything she could have done to have speeded the process up, she would have done so. The Embassy don't even answer e-mails anymore. Maybe some VAs have a better relationship with the Embassy, but we wouldn't change to someone else now.

If you know of a way that we could get a quicker resolution to our problem, then please tell us what it is, but I think the reality is that when you send your renewal in - as I believe you said you were going to do - you will have a longer wait than you think. Unless the promise from the new Visa Treaty Officer comes true and things do start moving again for everyone.

Zoe

[chris]

Zoe,
I guess I forgot how time flies. God that's nearly one year since the E2 expired! That's obscene!
I mentioned Peter Stanhopes recent post on 8/8 about Visa Renewal. He quoted the statement issued by Maura Harty the Asst Sec for Consular Affairs about the discontinuance of visa renewal in the US and the new arrangements for us all, by going back home to do it. In that statement it says and I quote ' In order to mitigate the inconvenience to applicants, we will direct all Visa adjudicating posts to accommodate on a PRIORITY basis applicants who would have benefitted from our visa reissuance service'.
As an E2'r in the US you would have used that service were it not discontinued. According to that statement you should be dealt with on a priority basis because of that.
I am in total despair these days with the London Embassy and the whole damn mess that's called US Immigration. I'm not even contemplating putting myself and family through a living hell just yet, which is what you are doing and even I'm now getting more disillusioned with this whole damn place. Europe, whether it be UK or the mainland has an increasing pull by the day. Maybe I've just had a bad day.
I do however, feel that you should be literally sat on your VA after such a length of time and some pretty pertinent questions need asking of the Embassy if the processing of your application is taking so long. If they have a problem with your case, get them to bring it out in the open, get over that hump and move on. If they have a big problem and feel your applcation can't be approved, then they should do the honorable thing deny it and then at least you know where you stand. I don't know who your VA is, but I feel that some of them won't rock the boat/rattle the cage because they want to preserve their standing with the Embassy and you suffer as a consequence. If they are Attorneys, by the nature of who they are and what they do, they sometimes to have to upset their adversary in order to win.

[charliesmum]

The thing is Chris, that you don't get denied finally. Our VA told me that they have to say you are denied because you haven't provided proof of 'whatever' and you can respond to that with more proof, so it can actually go on forever. It's not like an original application where it's yes or no.

As I said before, the Embassy won't respond to e-mails and definitely not phone calls, so I imagine it's very hard to complain. Our VA asked a senator to enquire why our case was taking so long and I don't believe he got a response either. I also feel that if we rock the boat too much we may regret it - they seem to have a downer on pool companies at the moment and even though we know that our business is legitimate, we are having a hard time convincing them. We may try and write ourselves in a few weeks if we have no response, but it has only been 2 weeks so far for this set of paperwork. It then has to be posted to our VA, which can take another 2-3 weeks.

It is a ridiculous situation, but we have had our I94s renewed and apart from the not being able to travel scenario, it doesn't upset us that much. We don't worry every day - it comes up in conversation every time I ask Steve if we can test drive a new car (he always says wait till we've got the visa - good excuse), but it doesn't really affect our business too much.

We love living here and like so many others have no desire to move back to England - actually we wouldn't, we'd go somewhere else. A lot of you say you feel disillusioned with the US because of the visa situation, but we don't. We keep our heads down, let our kids enjoy their school time and take what Florida has to offer. If we can be here till our kids are 21 or finished college and then they can go on to get good jobs, with the hope of being sponsored for green cards - failing that they'll have to get married!! - we will be happy.

Zoe

[kebab king]

Hi Zoe

Can I ask you a question? You said in your previous post:

Our VA told me that they have to say you are denied because you haven't provided proof of 'whatever' and you can respond to that with more proof, so it can actually go on forever. It's not like an original application where it's yes or no.

Do you know what would happen if, say, an applicant was asked for further info and they didn't provide it? Is the application refused out-right, or does it just 'sit on the side' (as it were) pending?

(Thanks for your advice about the Driver License, sorted now!)

Andy

[charliesmum]

Andy

I'm not sure what would happen to your paperwork if you just didn't respond to the request for more information.

I talked to our VA about this, when I heard that another of her clients had been asked to go to a Pre-Approval Interview in London - also for a renewal. She said they had been denied because they didn't prove they were a 'full and operating' company. Apparently, what they actually wanted for final proof, was copies of cheques for invioces and then copies of the bank statement with them on. They were told "anyone can print out a few invoices". Luckily these people had B visas in their passports, so had no problem getting back into the US. I said if that happened to us we would have to come back on Visa Waiver and that could cause us real problems. She told me that if we were asked to go for a similar interview, she would advise us not to go, for that reason, and she would tell the Embassy the same. I said well surely that means they would just tell us to leave the country as we had no visa and that was when she explained about the difference between the visa and the I94.

I suppose if you apply for the visa to be renewed, it's better to see it through to the end - however long that is!!!! Just keep answering their requests. Although I am more hopeful, with the change of personnel, that we will have a positive reply and quicker than we expect.

I'm glad you got your driving licence - we also got our daughter's learner permit there and she is now driving happily - Ahgggg!!! We also got our I94s back quicker than I expected from the dates on the website, so hope your's are the same.

Are you going to Susie's on Sunday?

Cheers
Zoe

[kebab king]

Hi Zoe

I cannot make Susies on Sunday due to having a prior commitment. Hope to meet up with you in the future.

Andy

[chris]

Zoe,
On your application are you make greta emphasis that you are not in the same mould as the US 27 pool companies that focus on short term rentals. I know you've said in the past that your customers are Mr American residential and that your business is Lakeland. Surely it is grossly unfair of the embassy to tar everyone with the same brush?
I agree with the point about not attending a pre-interview in London. Honestly, I think to do that you have to have a slate missing. A friend of ours is in the E2 pipeline in London and he has said he will only travel to London on the basis of a concrete Yes. We are in the same postion as you on the Visa/I-94 and I wouldn't leave the US where I'm legal to go to London to maybe get my visa and maybe get back in or not. It's too much of a gamble.
I'm glad you're being +ve though, but it's very trying. It's for that reason I'm reasonably happy keeping things the way they are with just the I-94 for now, I don't think I could put up with what you are having to go through. I would have thrown in the towel by now.

[charliesmum]

Yes we have really emphasised on each set of paperwork that we are not dealing with Management Companies and working on tourist pools, but, you're right, we have been put in this 'in the box' section. Well I assume we have anyway, as we have sent every bit of paperwork we can think of. We got a letter of recommendation from the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce and they even wrote that Lakeland was a town in it's own right and not part of Orlando or Tampa.

Steve also has a Pool State Contractor's Licence, which cost him over $4000 to get and that had no sway.

I reckon they look to check off things and as soon as they hit something they can't find, they send it back.

We stay positive as there's no point in being otherwise or we'd drive each other mad.

Fingers crossed.

Zoe

[InnVic]

Hi Zoe
I've read some of your posts and this treatment you've received concerns me. Jon and I understood (maybe naively) that if you followed your business plan, if your investment was still in place, if your profit/income was "more than marginal that if you employed US Citizens or created "indirect" employment, if your business continued to be viable and you hadn't become an axe murderer (or any criminal conviction) then there "should" be no problem with renewal.
Are you saying that the embassy are looking at your application as if it were from scratch? Or are there changes from your original plan/approval that is causeing the problems. Just curious... if it is that they are just being pedantic then i would seriously consider changing your attorney to a hard hitter.