r/immigration

(24M) Indian citizen currently working in Singapore. Moved here in Jan 2026 through an internal transfer with the same company. Been with the firm for almost 2 years overall.

Applied for a US B1/B2 visa in Singapore for a short tourism trip (~10 days in July). Planned to take 1 week leave and combine it with weekends. Tentative itinerary was New York + Miami (though I didn’t get a chance to mention this during the interview). In my DS160, I had also mentioned one of my cousins who works in Seattle.

Interview was extremely fast paced (so I got very little opportunity to elaborate on some answers), probably under 2 minutes.

Q. have you been mistreated ever in Singapore or India
Ans: no

Q. how long have you been in Singapore
Ans: 5 months, I moved here in January

Q. were you working with the same company
Ans: yes, it was an internal transfer from India to Singapore

Q. how long have you been with this firm
Ans: completing 2 years next month

Q. why do you want to go to the US
Ans: have a short vacation of about 10 days. I’ll take 1 week leave from job and combine it with 2 weekends

Q. do you have family in US
Ans: no immediate relatives, but one of my cousins works at Amazon in Seattle. I might not even visit him given the huge distances

Q. are you afraid to move back to India at any point
Ans: no

Result: immediate refusal, and I was handed a generic document to go through.

A few additional points:

• Prior travel history includes Schengen visa (Denmark exchange program), UAE, Sri Lanka and Malaysia
• I was not asked for any documents
• Officer did not ask about finances, salary, hotel bookings, etc.

Trying to understand what may have gone wrong here. Do you think the main issue was:

• only being in Singapore for ~5 months,
• not looking “settled” enough yet,
• or something in my answers/interview style?

Also:

• does a B1/B2 refusal like this hurt chances of future F1/student visa or L1 visa applications?
• when would you recommend reapplying?
• and would it be better to reapply from Singapore or India?

I was deported in 2020 to Mexico after serving 2.5 years of my state sentence for involuntary manslaughter. I remember signing a paper to pretty much not fight my case and voluntarily deport. At the time I was just desparate to be free. But now I am wondering if I can ever go back even if it's just ad a visitor. Is there any chance whatsoever of this? Or just wishful thinking?

Good afternoon,

First I’d like to thank you for taking your time to address my question. And if you refer me to a paid legal advice I also would have no problem with it. I’m hoping maybe someone had a similar situation as I did and maybe able to help me.

I’m a 30M Filipino, California resident, and have been in the US for 20 years. I’m a registered nurse in the ER as my occupation and I’m married to a citizen, but I’m going through the traditional way of citizenship.

My green card has expired so I applied for naturalization. During the interview I disclosed a criminal arrest when I was 16 years old and completed 1 year probation and now the records were sealed/ expunged.

Meat and bones: I did not pass approval at the interview because of need of evidence request.
I’m submitting evidence with claims of “ No records.”
I have a letter form the custodian that my name search resulted in ,” no case file.”
Is this enough evidence to submit ?

I described the situation as best as I can during the interview but here is a summary just incase.
Sorry if I’m over sharing but I’m trying to be as transparent as possible for the sake of good data and hopefully some sound counsel.

Situation: I was in high school and my friend had a medical marijuana card. A handful of the high schoolers knew we always had marijuana on us and yes, we would sell it to them. On 4/20, it’s considered a holiday for those that smoke marijuana, and there was a classmate of us that brought a joint from us, that we received form a medical marijuana dispensary, and later on he would have an adverse reaction while attending to watch a high school football game. Later it was revealed he also had pcp, was intoxicated, and had other drugs in his system. ( just fyi, we also consumed the same products as the one we gave him and we were ok.)
The result of that was they obviously disclosed they bought the joint from us and they thought we had “ laced it.” Am meaning they thought we had tampered with the joint and added other drugs, which was happened occasionally in that community (Obviously we didn’t and the class mate was eventually ok.)

1. The next day my buddy and I got pulled into the principals office and a police officer did a wonderful job getting me to confess ( I was a terrible criminal.”
2. Our parents had to pick us up at the station , and I don’t recall if they had to pay a bond.”
3. Court wise, the attorney was able to bring it down to case of possession of 1 marijuana joint.
4. I did community service and 1 year of
   Probation was completed without incident.

Afterwards they said they sealed the records. Since they I haven’t interacted with that situation except for when I tell the story of how I was such a knuckle head when I was younger ( I still am but in different forms 🤣)

My efforts:

1. I went to my local courthouse and they referred me to the Juvenile court because they didn’t have any record from me.
2. The juvenile court told me that they didn’t have any records under my name. But they advised that maybe i can get my records unsealed if i really needed it. They then referred me to the probation department hoping they had records of me and also referred me to the “ custodian.”
3. I called the probation office that handled my case and told them my situation. The head of the probation was dumbfounded and asked, “ why would you want your records unsealed?.” And proceeded to tell me that if those records were sealed or expunged and after years have passed they sometimes physically destroy the files or they delete it from their records.

OP input: I think my mistake was I didn’t get any form of paper work form any of these interactions prior to going to my interview.

At the interview:

1. I passed the test for language and history
2. But was not recommended for approval to due to need for evidence regarding my criminal incident.
3. Instructed to complete N-14, request for additional information, documents, or form. The interview said I just need to submit some paperwork related to the incident or if no records, a paperwork that shows that.

Post interview:

1. I did my due diligence this time and asked any leads I could find. Nothing came up.
2. I was able to visit the superior court and obtain a legal document, a name search result, from the custodian of record for the superior court of California.
3. The search concluded, “ NO CASE FILE”

My question and big worry

1. On the custodian letter there is a section that states .” I have conducted a thorough search of all Court Records, excluding those that are sealed pursuant to California Rules of Court, Rule 2. 550, or are confidential by law.”
2. I’m worried that because it says it’s excluded sealed records they may want copies somehow ? I’m not exactly sure
3. Should I submit with this paper only or should I try to continue to inquire about filing a request for the sealed copy ?

Thank you for your time!
Please let me know if I can answer any question

Or

If I should list the documents I have ( sensitive info covered) if it’s going to help in anyway.

Thank you!!

I voluntarily left the US 5 years ago after overstaying my visa by 8 years.

I am 5 years into my 10 year bar.

I'm getting married to a USC that I met in my home country and recently met with an immigration lawyer.

My country's US Embassy is one of the hardest ones to get approvals from, but I'm also planning on doing a Working Holiday in the UK to be closer to my husband (3 hr flight vs. 16 hour flight from my home country). The lawyer informed me that there is a slight possibility that doing my visa interview in the UK could be beneficial for me and they might waive the I-601 if we prepare an iron clad I-130 package. He said not likely, but there is a chance. Also, by the time I even get to the interview stage, I'll be almost done with my 10 year bar (7-8 years/10).

Has anyone ever experienced not doing the I-601 with a bar?

Why haven't immigrants in the past or say today used planes to avoid immigration and other barriers? I'm refering to Mexico in recent times, obviously planes are a way to immigrate to the US but ships moving into Elliis Island were the norm.

I’m a 23yo woman studying for a bachelor’s degree in health care in the middle east. I’m expected to graduate in 3 years.. but my university degree is not recognized/accredited in any EU country where I’m hoping to live/work.

I currently have a Schengen tourist visa that expires in few months, and I’m not sure if I’ll have this opportunity again.
There are several reasons why I can’t see a future for me in this area, first my home country is forever in war, and I’m a resident in a religious country.. I’m non-religious and I’m in a long distance relationship with a non-religious man from the west, so marriage here is quite difficult (impossible without ‘pretending’), let alone meeting.
I long for the freedom I felt in Europe.. and all the future goals that I can’t achieve if I stay where I am now.

Right now, I feel stuck between two options :
1- I stay where I am, finish my degree, and find a way to travel somewhere after I graduate and I start from the 0 anyway (at +27 years old) because my degree may not transfer..
(The scary part is if things get worse where I am and my visa gets rejected in the future)
Or
2- I use the opportunity I have, I go to France and start over.

But, I don’t know how difficult it is regarding finding work / studying again as a refugee.. getting residency and how long it’ll take? Is it possible to build a stable life abroad from scratch.. eventually living normally as part of society?
I need your advice cause I’m really so lost.
(Ps. I was born in France, but I’ve never lived there + none of my family is French. So I know the citizenship is not possible but thought I would mention it.)

Am I eligible for Polish citizenship by descent with the following background?

1. I was born on April 13, 1980, in the Unites States.
2. My mother was born on June 04, 1950, in the United States.
3. My grandfather was born on March 25, 1927, in the United States.
4. My great-grandmother was born on April 29, 1900, in the United States.
5. My great-great-grandmother was born in September 1868, in Posen, Poland.
6. My great-great-grandfather was born in 1846, in Poland.

Looking for insight from anyone familiar with ICE removals/deportations to Turkey specifically.

My partner is currently detained in New Hampshire. He has a valid Turkish passport, is seeing his immigration judge today, and plans to withdraw his asylum case, accept removal, and likely waive appeal because his priority is getting back to Turkey as quickly as possible.

There is also a pending criminal case, but he never actually got to appear before the judge because he was detained at the courthouse, so there is currently a failure-to-appear warrant tied to that situation. Currently working with a lawyer to try and resolve that

I’ve been trying to research deportation timelines to Turkey and can barely find any information compared to higher-volume countries. Since removals to Turkey seem relatively uncommon, I’m wondering whether people in this situation are more likely to:
- wait for an ICE charter flight,
- be transferred multiple times first,
- or eventually be put on a commercial flight with escorts.

Especially considering:
- he’s not fighting removal,
- he has valid travel documents, and is fully cooperative.

I also physically have his Turkish passport if that matters for logistics/timeline purposes.

If anyone has personal experience, attorney experience, or has gone through something similar with a loved one, I’d really appreciate any insight into:
- likely timelines,
- transfer patterns,
- charter vs commercial flights, or whether waiving appeal actually sped things up in practice.

Thanks in advance

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand my situation and whether anyone has experienced something similar.

I previously had an F-1 visa for university in the U.S. I was academically dismissed for one semester due to health-related academic issues, which resulted in my SEVIS being terminated at the time.

Later on, I visited the U.S. on ESTA for a getaway. My ESTA stay was supposed to expire on April 16. I had flights booked for April 13, 14, and 15, but they were cancelled. On April 15, I became very unwell, got tested, and tested positive for COVID. About a week later I tested again and was still positive. Around 5 days after that I finally tested negative, booked the next available flight, and left the following day.

So overall I overstayed ESTA by around 20 days.

A few days ago I received an email from the U.S. Embassy stating that my visa had been “prudentially revoked” under INA 221(i) because information had come to light suggesting I “may be inadmissible.”

I’m outside the U.S. now and my school may issue me a new I-20/SEVIS soon, but I understand I’d likely need to reapply for a new F-1 visa.

My questions are:
•Has anyone here dealt with a prudential revocation like this?
•Were you able to get another F-1 approved afterward?
•How heavily do officers usually weigh a short ESTA overstay when COVID/medical issues were involved?

I know nobody can predict the outcome, but I’d appreciate honest experiences or advice from anyone familiar with similar cases.

Because is rush to pack up everything in such short amount of time.

I am in a situation that I believe many people from South Asian countries have been in, having their full name in the "Given Name" field on their passports.
When I immigrated to Canada on a study permit, I started seeing the issues with it, as every Canadian institute requires you to have a family name. So your name ends up being only your family name with no given name on Canadian IDs and documents. It is very painful to book flights, open a bank account, or check your credit score, as systems are not built for these exceptions, and you often have to spend long calls explaining your case.
Now I am waiting for my PR card, and I wanted to fix this by splitting my given name on my passport and other documents. I'd like advice from people who have gone through this process and what steps they took.

Is it renewing the passport with the split name and then updating all documents using it, or do I need an official name change document from the province?

I read a post in this community where a person received their eCOPR with a split name, and they were not able to get SIN/License/Health IDs updated, as the eCOPR name didn't exactly match the name on the passport. I was wondering if splitting the name on the passport would cause any issues.

Please share your experiences, as that would be very helpful. Thanks

People who immigrated from other countries with university degrees, do you work in your profession in the USA?

Hey everyone, I need some suggestion from you guys a bit.

I am a F-1 student here, recently i got a STEM OPT NOID in March 2026 for the classic MBA concentration vs major issue. Filed a strong response before the April 22 deadline with OHE documentation, Dean's memo, PDSO letter, and personal statement. Case is currently pending but i am having doubt about if it will ever gets approved.

I have three questions and would really appreciate anyone who has been through this:

1. Has anyone actually gotten their STEM OPT APPROVED after filing a NOID response? Especially for MBA concentration/CIP code mismatch cases. Would love to hear real outcomes — approved, denied, how long it took.

2. If STEM OPT gets denied and your 60-day grace period from OPT expiry has already passed — does your SEVIS auto-complete on the denial date? And if so, to get a new I-20 from another school do you have to physically leave the US and re-enter or can you get reinstated from inside the country?

3. Is filing a Motion to Reopen/Reconsider or an AAO appeal worth it after a denial? Has anyone had success at that level for STEM OPT cases?

Any real experiences or advice appreciated. This has been one of the most stressful things I have ever gone through and just trying to understand all my options. 🙏

Work is taking me overseas (it's about time to leave anyways) and I have most of it figured out. I'm moving with two Brazilian friends and one US friend to Sao Paulo. Most of my stuff is moving with the Brazilians due to import taxes, I'm selling everything else. I'll be working a remote job in the US to provide a decent income, but I'm unsure if that will cause any tax/legal issues. I just know I can earn a lot more and be more stable doing it this way. As far as I see it, I'm paying taxes in the US so why would they care, and I'm spending the money in Brazil, so why would they care?

The only other (and possibly the biggest) problem is my dog. He's 8 years old and has never flown before, and there's no way I'd be going if I couldn't take him. People who have moved with dogs, how did it go? Any advice?

Any other useful bits of info or experience is appreciated 😄

Most people aren’t against immigration in principle. They’re against being told that housing shortages, GP waiting times, school places, low wages and strained local services have absolutely nothing to do with adding large numbers of people faster than infrastructure can absorb.

You can be pro-immigrant and still think a country needs limits, planning and honesty.

But online, the second someone says that, they’re treated like they’ve said something monstrous. That refusal to discuss trade-offs honestly is exactly why the debate keeps getting nastier.

So here’s the actual Question:

At what point does “welcoming” become “reckless”, and why are we not allowed to talk about that like adults?

My wife is from the Netherlands. She was on a J1 visa for 2 years until we got married in December. We have gone through the process and just had our marriage interview.

During the interview the UCSIS lady told us it could take 1-2 months for the marriage to get approved, and from then 4-6 months for the green card to arrive. But she told us that once the green card says it’s on its way, my wife can leave the county by getting a stamp on her passport, without having her physical green card yet.

It has been over a month and it still says we haven’t even had our interview online. My wife called to get an update, and the person on the phone told her that the stamp thing is not true, and that she can’t leave the country for 2 years. Said that nobody who gets their marriage visa can leave the country for at least 2 years. She is very scared and confused now.

Does anyone have more information? We thought that once she gets the marriage interview approved she could get the stamp and leave the county

Hello,

As the title suggests, I am posting here because I have questions on my standing.

Context: I came to US in 2002, got daca in 2012(or 2013 I don’t remember), and left US in 2013 after graduating high school for personal reasons. I was 18 years old. In 2025, I applied and received ESTA because of flight transfer in USA. During the application process, I checked all the ‘no’ boxes, which I now recognize may count as lying. I stayed in US for less than 24 hours.

I am well settled in my current country now, but I have started a serious relationship with an American man which has made me want to know if my actions have hurt any possible chance in a possible future in US with my partner. This doesn’t mean we will (nor do I particularly want to atm) but considering my partner has family in America and we don’t know what the future hold in the next 10-20 years, I would like to know my standing.

So my questions:
- Did I lie on ESTA and have that hurt my chances at a possible future settlement in the US?

- If I want to travel to US in the future to visit family, would I need to apply for tourist visa instead?

Thank you in advance! US and immigration seem to cause a lot of fear right now, and I hope your endeavors work out smoothly!

Hi yall. I’m an American citizen who has been living legally in Australia for the last two years with my partner of six years. We’ve just been given the green light from the Australian government to marry. My question is: would my partner and I be able to get married in America on an ESTA? His intention would not be to immediately stay in America (he has strong ties to his home country and understands that these things take time - we always knew that going into this), but would eventually like to move to America. I’d like to have the wedding in America because I have a few family members that won’t be able to travel due to health, and unfortunately because of this we also don’t have the time to wait for a k-1 approval. I’m normally a resident of Pennsylvania if this helps, as I know it may differ state to state. Appreciate any insight!

I am a European citizen. I recently spent 89 days in the United States visiting friends I met during a J-1 internship I completed last year. I graduated in June last year and I’m using this year as a break before entering the job market , it’s basically my gap year.

I am currently in Mexico for two months, and I already have a return ticket to California on July 14 because I plan to spend another one or two months with my friends. I am not doing anything illegal there, I’m simply spending time with them, surfing, and going out in the evenings.

I also already have my return flight booked back to Belgium in September.

Do you think it is risky to return to the United States after only two months away? I understand I may be questioned at the border, but my intentions are genuinely innocent.