UK citizen in the US

I was thinking in go back there with my ESTA

To clarify, you do not enter with the ESTA, you enter with the Visa Wavier Program. The ESTA is merely a pre-clearance for the VWP indicating whether you are on a watch list.

Since you were denied a visa, you cannot use the VWP. The ESTA will+ deny you. You cannot arrive by air or sea without an +approved ESTA. The visa denial is in their computers, so yes, they will know if you lie on your ESTA.

Gather papers to show ties to home, and try to get the visa again.

You seem to be saying you are an intended immigrant, not even a true tourist. I assume you didn't mention your gf in the interview, so it was a true lack of ties to the UK (incentives for you to return). Looks like the interviewer made the right call. Returning to the UK a couple of times a year isn't enough. But applying for a visa again seems to be your only option, and that would be worthwhile only if you can provide compelling reasons that you won't overstay your visa that you didn't before. Have you thought of having her move to the UK, or at least visit for long enough for you both to know you want to have a life together? Right now the odds don't look good.

Hello,

Thank you for the answers. I still have my visa waiver valid until the end of this year.

You are saying that I will not be able to go inside the US in the future? I know I cannot stay there for 6 months as my plan, but not be able to go there forever sound a bit too much!

In fact my line of work demanded that I visit the US couple time. If am sure I have been between 7 -10 times all these years.

How can I make my name clear, I am a good citizen and I wasn't thinking to immigrate there. Just spend a few months.

Many thanks

My son got his first visa to the US by applying to do a PhD at a US university. Might that be an option for you? They pay enough to live on, just.

I still have my visa waiver valid until the end of this year.

No, you do not have this. What you have is a pre-clearance under the ESTA program. This means that when you applied for ESTA approval, you appeared to be eligible to enter under the Visa WAiver Program and were not on any list of undesirables.

ESTA approval allows you to board an airplane or cruise ship and show up at a US immigration point and ask to be admitted under the WVP. You are not guaranteed admission, even with ESTA pre-clearance. Admission is always at the discretion of the immigration official.

If you have been denied a US visa, you are no longer eligible to enter under the VWP. In fact, if you re-check your ESTA authorization,you may find that it has been revoked. If it has been revoked, you will not be allowed to board your flight.

If you do manage to arrive in the US, it is very likely that your visa denial will be in the computer system and you will be denied entry.

I still have my visa waiver valid until the end of this year.

No, you don't. You may have the ESTA valid until the end of the year, but the Waiver itself is only valid for a maximum of 90 days. It is impossible to have a waiver valid until the end of the year, because that is well more than 90 days.

You are saying that I will not be able to go inside the US in the future?

I'm saying the visa denial makes you ineligible to use the Visa Waiver Program. You can still apply for visas. Having been denied a visa does not automatically make you ineligible to try again, unless you were barred for being ineligible in the first place (criminal history, deportation, etc.).

Edited by: bzookaj, who cross-posted with nutrax, but will still leave it up, and add:

If you do manage to arrive in the US, it is very likely that your visa denial will be in the computer system and you will be denied entry.

If you do make it to the US, and are denied, you will be sent back to the last airport you arrived from on the next available flight. If you are from London, but flew via Madrid, you would be sent back to Madrid. The next available flight may be the next flight, or it may be in a couple days. You will not be able to leave the airport.

America's down with illegals. It's cool. Just come and hang out, bro. Whatever you want goes.

Well, Thank you all!

I guess I will book another interview at the US Embassy in London to clarify this.

Many thanks for you comments!