VISA problems, advice please!

my friend and I have booked a roundtrip, flexible return flight from NY-south america. She is from spain and needs to fly here first so we can catch the flight from NY to south america. We will probably be in south america longer than three months, so the american embassy is saying she needs to get a visa in order to get a return ticket NY- spain after we come back from south america. she would like to get a one way ticket, but they dont allow it.

So, we thought about booking a roundtrip flight from spain to new york just so she can get here and get the tourist visa, then leave for south america with our roundtrip tickets before her scheduled return date to spain. they told her she cant do this at the embassy but maybe jsut because they have to say that? Has anyone tried this? will we have a problem if we try it? It makes sense to me to say that she changed her mind and decided not to return to spain, instead go to south america, but i dont know about the rules

Please let me know what you think, if you have any experience with this or any knowledge of visa rules i would greatly appreciate it.

thank you!

A couple of things are unclear:

She is from spain and needs to fly here first so we can catch the flight from NY to south america.
--you have, of course, looked into the possibility of her flying directly from Spain to South America and meeting up there. That would be even cheaper for her. You have apparently eliminated that possibility. Why? Because you already booked other tickets, via the U.S., before sorting out the visa situation?

So, we thought about booking a roundtrip flight from spain to new york just so she can get here and get the tourist visa, then leave for south america with our roundtrip tickets before her scheduled return date to spain. they told her she cant do this at the embassy
-The Consular Section at the Embassy in Madrid said she could not get a visa if she had a roundtrip Spain-NY r.t. ticket and a second ticket r.t. for NY-South America? why would they even know about that second ticket? Because she be permitted just one entry into the U.S. on her visa? Maybe she should request a visa interview at the embassy and ask there (of course, in some places the wait is extensive, which could complicated your purchase of tickets). Is she in Madrid? If not, maybe she could also try the Consulate in Barcelona in case she can find someone more knowledgeable or helpful.

You do not say how much time she plans to spend in the U.S. If just transiting to get to South America, aren´t there transit visas?

Why would she need a US visa for a 3 month + stay in South America? There's been lots of problems with people visiting adjacent countries and re-entering the US, but I don't believe South America falls under that definition. She can enter on a visa waiver on the way over, and another on the way back. Many people trasit the US between Europe and Latin America because often it's the best/cheapest option, with a relative lack of direct flights. I'm just curious, why does the embassy say she needs a visa?

She may be eligible to enter the USA under the Visa Waiver Program and not need a B1/2 tourism visa. However, she must meet those requirements. You can research this on the US government site: www.travel.state.gov look for Traveling without a visa.

If she has a criminal conviction, if her passport is not machine readable, if she has been denied entry to the USA, and some other reasons are things that would not allow her entry under VWP.

they are saying she needs a visa because she would book her flight from Europe to NY on June 27th and the return NY- Europe would be more than three months later because we would be in South America for longer than three months. But her passport will get stamped when she leaves for south america with me on July 4th so she won't be staying in the States so it seems like she shouldnt need the visa right?

The travel agent suggested booking a flexible roundtrip Europe to NY flight, so she can say she is returning before 3 months when she arrives, so she can have the normal tourist visa, and then when we leave for south america, she can change the date and leave NY a few days after we return from South America. Do you think this will work? thank you for your help

I think #2 has it right:<blockquote>Quote
<hr>She can enter on a visa waiver on the way over, and another on the way back. <hr></blockquote>This is really a case of two entries and two exits. It shouldn't matter whether she spends three weeks in South America or three years. Just be sure to hand in the form to the airline personnel when boarding the flight to South America. Sometimes they fail to take them, meaning there would be no proof that your friend ever left.

Many people transit through the USA on their way to South America "entering" under the Visa Waiver Program, and then return more than 3 months later under a separate Visa Waiver Program entry. If they is your travel agent, then she is not correct.

I don't think she needs any visa if she meets the requirements of the VWP. Maybe check with the airline. They are the ones that initially check the passports for validity to allow you on the plane.

The flight to South America within 90 days is proof for the immigrations folks that you won't be staying longer. Just make sure she has a copy.

Normally when countries require it, you need proof of a return OR onward ticket. They want to make sure you're going to exit the country before your visa/stamp expires. They don't care whether it's back to Spain or onward to South America. You shouldn't have any problems.

I'm finding it a little hard to understand your situation, but I think:

on the outward journey she will be OK for a visa waiver with a one way ticket Spain-US and the outward leg of a round trip ticket US - South America.

on the return journey there will be problems - she has a ticket South America - US but no ticket home to Spain. Therefore no visa waiver this time - a visa will be needed.

Wow, I worked for the State Department, but after all of this, I am confused. I really would verify this with the U.S. Embassy in Madrid or Consulate in Barcelona. I am still not clear as to why she is buying an open-ended airline ticket, as that usually costs more and may (may) cause visa problems. Your travel agent sounds, well, confused (like me).

thank you everyone for your responses, I did look into the visa waiver program and I phoned the US border patrol and they said she would be eligible for a visa waiver, but when she phoned the US embassy in Spain, they said she should not book a flexible roundtrip ticket from Europe to NY.

Again, we are leaving from NYC to go to South America July 4th and we have fliexible return tickets to south america, so we may not return until december, who knows. she needs to buy a ticket to NY for late June, just before we leave and also a return back to Europe at the end of our trip, after she returns with me to NY. The embassy said she might have problems if she buys a flexible return, but I don't see why because if she comes into the States on June 27 and does the visa waiver, she will leave 2 weeks later, should be no problem, and she will adjust her return date to Europe depending on when we comes back from south america and will again apply for a visa waiver. They said she is eligble for the visa waiver as long as she can show them her onward ticket to south america. but some officials also said she cant have a flexible ticket, why should it matter if she will never be in the states longer than even 2 weeks and wont even be trying to get a visa with the visa waiver program?

So, we are unsure if she should buy 2 one way tickets, one to come to NY in late June and another in october to go back to europe, just to have a return although we dont know if we will be back by then, she may have to miss it. Financially makes more sense to buy the flexible..

please tell me if you think we will have a problem. and thanks again everyone i really appreciate it

If she doesn't want to buy a return ticket from NY to Madrid, she should just get a tourist visa. It's really not that big a deal, and it's probably cheaper than buying a ticket with a 6 month open jaw.

The rules for the Visa Waiver Program is that you must have documentation that you are leaving the USA by air within 90 days of the date of arrival. If your friend has a flight ticket from NY to South American that leaves within 90 days of her arrival in NY, then she is fine.

The return would be the same. She can re-enter under a different WVP entry if she has an ticket departing within 90 days of her return to NY. It appears to me the problem is the "flexible" ticket she has returning from NY to Madrid. She will need to have a return to Madrid that is within 90 days of entering the USA from South America. If her ticket does not have a travel date, then there may be a problem. I would just suck it up and but a round trip with confirmed dates.

The two trips( going to South America, and returning from South America) do not relate to each other, because she will have fulfilled the VWP requirement of departing the North American continent ( which includes Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands).

If you were flying through NY directly to Mexico, Canada, or the Caribbean islands, it would be a different story.

"The rules for the Visa Waiver Program is that you must have documentation that you are leaving the USA by air within 90 days of the date of arrival.

No, the rules say no such thing. You can actually read them right here:

law.justia.com/us/cfr/title08/8-1.0.1.2.21.html

For arrival by air, the rules say the ticket-out must have a validity of at least one year and be issued by an airline that's agreed to the Visa Waiver program.