What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? country: France
Hello,
I am a french citizen, and I have a few questions about how to try to get a cancelled tourist visa back, because I believe I was denied entry to the US, deported and my visa cancelled by a CBP agent for no legitimate reason.
First I would like to share with you what has happened to me the last time I tried to enter the USA:
Being a holder of a B1/B2 visa, I spent 6 months in the United States from September 2007 to March 2008, without overstaying in the US. I was working as a volunteer on organic farms most of these 6 months (WWOOF program), that way I had food and shelter in exchange of volunteer work.
Because I couldn't stay longer in the US I decided to fly back to France for about 15 days and then come back in the US to "renew" my stay allowance. So I came back flying to Atlanta airport last April, hoping that everything would go fine with the TSA (or CBP) agents. I've read and heard a great many times about people being denied entry that I was quite paranoid about it. I didn't bring with me anything that could show I had ties with people in the US.
My idea was to tell the agent that I was coming back for another 15 days in the US to visit a french friend who was working in Florida. It might sound silly now but I was convinced the agent would not let me in if I told him I planned to stay for maybe another 3 or 6 months.
So I told the border agent that I was coming as a tourist. When asked when and how long I stayed last in the US, I didn't lie and told him I was there just two weeks ago. I also told him I had been backpacking around. He then asked me who I was visiting and I gave him my friend's address. He asked me how much money I had and I showed him the couple hundred dollars I had, and showed him my credit card. He then decided to take me to an office where other foreigner's files were being checked before allowing entry.
There I waited a little while, before another agent grabbed my file, read it and called me to the desk. He asked me the exact same questions the other agent did. Then he searched my hand luggage, and asked me to go pick up my checked bag. He searched it as well, and didn't find anything relevant.
The he asked me about plane tickets. I showed him a printed electronic return ticket, that I had "forged" in case he asked. I want to give a precision here: this might look like a big mistake on my side, but no one can tell whether this kind of ticket is a real one unless it is checked within the airline sytem. I took the risk and the agent didn't check further about it.
He asked me if I could log in to my e-mail account, and I thought he wanted to check the plane ticket. I told him my parents actually bought it, therefore it wouldn't show on the screen, and logged in my private account to show him.
As soon as I had entered my password, he turned the computer's screen towards him and told me to sit back down. He took the phone and called a french translator. They both spent about half an hour reading my personnal messages. From this, the agent found out that I had been working on a farm. He found the phone numbers of two other volunteers, and he called them. They apparently told him that it was possible for us volunteers to make money working on farmer's markets.
After the CBP agent was done investigating he called me back at the desk. He concluded from that that I had worked illegally in the US. I denied having worked for money, and explained to him that I was only volunteering in order to stay in the country for cheap. He said I had lied to him, not telling him I was on a farm. I actually didn't talk to him about my volunteering before, but didn't lie about it.
I sat back while he was writing down on some form. He asked me to sign a paper stating that I had worked without a proper visa. I first refused to do so as there was no proof that I had worked. He pressured me to sign, telling me that if I didn't, he would ban me for five years or for life from the US territory. I then accepted to sign the paper.
The officer cancelled my visa, and I was deported back to France the same day.
The following are written on my passport:
A# followed with 8 digits, WD, ATL (the airport I flew in), the date it happened, and 22CFR41.122(4)3 (this is I believe the piece of law that I supposedly broke).
My questions are:
-Is there any way that I can get my visa back, by maybe filing a complaint to my embassy or to the DHS, TSA or CBP? I found pages about this on the CBP and DHS websites.
-If I cannot get my visa back, what chances do I have getting a new one?
-I would gladly take any other advice on this issue. I don't know if it would help, but I read I could get information on what information the CBP kept using the Freedom Of Information Act.
I thank you in advance for your help.
Hello,
I am a french citizen, and I have a few questions about how to try to get a cancelled tourist visa back, because I believe I was denied entry to the US, deported and my visa cancelled by a CBP agent for no legitimate reason.
First I would like to share with you what has happened to me the last time I tried to enter the USA:
Being a holder of a B1/B2 visa, I spent 6 months in the United States from September 2007 to March 2008, without overstaying in the US. I was working as a volunteer on organic farms most of these 6 months (WWOOF program), that way I had food and shelter in exchange of volunteer work.
Because I couldn't stay longer in the US I decided to fly back to France for about 15 days and then come back in the US to "renew" my stay allowance. So I came back flying to Atlanta airport last April, hoping that everything would go fine with the TSA (or CBP) agents. I've read and heard a great many times about people being denied entry that I was quite paranoid about it. I didn't bring with me anything that could show I had ties with people in the US.
My idea was to tell the agent that I was coming back for another 15 days in the US to visit a french friend who was working in Florida. It might sound silly now but I was convinced the agent would not let me in if I told him I planned to stay for maybe another 3 or 6 months.
So I told the border agent that I was coming as a tourist. When asked when and how long I stayed last in the US, I didn't lie and told him I was there just two weeks ago. I also told him I had been backpacking around. He then asked me who I was visiting and I gave him my friend's address. He asked me how much money I had and I showed him the couple hundred dollars I had, and showed him my credit card. He then decided to take me to an office where other foreigner's files were being checked before allowing entry.
There I waited a little while, before another agent grabbed my file, read it and called me to the desk. He asked me the exact same questions the other agent did. Then he searched my hand luggage, and asked me to go pick up my checked bag. He searched it as well, and didn't find anything relevant.
The he asked me about plane tickets. I showed him a printed electronic return ticket, that I had "forged" in case he asked. I want to give a precision here: this might look like a big mistake on my side, but no one can tell whether this kind of ticket is a real one unless it is checked within the airline sytem. I took the risk and the agent didn't check further about it.
He asked me if I could log in to my e-mail account, and I thought he wanted to check the plane ticket. I told him my parents actually bought it, therefore it wouldn't show on the screen, and logged in my private account to show him.
As soon as I had entered my password, he turned the computer's screen towards him and told me to sit back down. He took the phone and called a french translator. They both spent about half an hour reading my personnal messages. From this, the agent found out that I had been working on a farm. He found the phone numbers of two other volunteers, and he called them. They apparently told him that it was possible for us volunteers to make money working on farmer's markets.
After the CBP agent was done investigating he called me back at the desk. He concluded from that that I had worked illegally in the US. I denied having worked for money, and explained to him that I was only volunteering in order to stay in the country for cheap. He said I had lied to him, not telling him I was on a farm. I actually didn't talk to him about my volunteering before, but didn't lie about it.
I sat back while he was writing down on some form. He asked me to sign a paper stating that I had worked without a proper visa. I first refused to do so as there was no proof that I had worked. He pressured me to sign, telling me that if I didn't, he would ban me for five years or for life from the US territory. I then accepted to sign the paper.
The officer cancelled my visa, and I was deported back to France the same day.
The following are written on my passport:
A# followed with 8 digits, WD, ATL (the airport I flew in), the date it happened, and 22CFR41.122(4)3 (this is I believe the piece of law that I supposedly broke).
My questions are:
-Is there any way that I can get my visa back, by maybe filing a complaint to my embassy or to the DHS, TSA or CBP? I found pages about this on the CBP and DHS websites.
-If I cannot get my visa back, what chances do I have getting a new one?
-I would gladly take any other advice on this issue. I don't know if it would help, but I read I could get information on what information the CBP kept using the Freedom Of Information Act.
I thank you in advance for your help.