A Few Questions -Money-Immigration-Holiday

jonski

Hi ,

My first born is off to Florida on Friday , she got an offer to come over and stay with a woman on a horse related course for 3 months . This only came up last Thursday as she is coming to the end of a Fas course and was looking online for some work experience . The woman told her to come over on a holiday visa as thats what all the other students do . She won't be paid while she is there but I think she said that they get an allowance of $200 a month .

She is flying out from Shannon and after watching a few minutes of one episode of Homeland I am fairly confident that she is going to be interrogated going through Immigration ( maybe even waterboarding ) .

So I am wondering what kind of questions will she be asked ? does she need to have anything with her besides her passport ?

Also whats the best way to bring money ? she has a visa/debit/hole in the wall card ( banklink/pass card in my day ) should she bring cash ? convert it to dollars here or there ? . The bank told her this morning that just using her card would be a very expensive way of doing it .

Finally , it's for 3 months , it's very far away ....will she forget I am her father ?

ps: she is 21 but has never been away from home before . and we haven't traveled in donkeys years .

Thanks in advance

John

silja

She absolutely cannot get paid, she cannot work on the visa waiver program. Yes, staying so long- the max allowed on the visa waiver- she will likely be asked questions, to make sure she is only a visitor and does not plan to work/ stay. For example why and when is she coming back (wil she study in Ireland next semester, does she have a job waiting?)? How will she financially support herself?

Converting money to dollars seems to give you a better rate in Ireland.

If she finds a way of legally going, remember she can only stay 90 days- that is NOT 3 months, it is slightly less and they will be very serious about even a day's overstay. Best to book a flight for day 88, in case of travel delays.

jonski

She has her return ticket bought and paid for , she comes back on the 88th day ! , She actually doesn't have anything lined up for when she comes back , but she has had offers from different stables .

Should she bring a letter from one of them stating that they would have work for her when she comes back ?. She is also bringing money over with her to support herself ? would this be enough .

iusedtoknow

It really is not too likely that she will get through.

Even if she doesn't say what she is going to do, they will be interested in 1 thing: 88 days in 1 place. That will immediately raise suspicions from Immigration. The other thing is, if they have reasonable cause, they can search her bags - if they find proof that she will be working (ie bringing over books, riding boots etc) they will deny entry.

The visa waiver program is for tourism or for business. The business aspect allows for business meetings etc.

You cannot work, study or undertake work experience voluntary or otherwise on this visa waiver. There are separate categories for this (J1 etc).

I don't mean to scaremonger, but the law in America is very clear about this. Doing what she is, she will be breaking the law.

ProudDUB

I agree with that. You can not work if you are going to the US on the holiday visa waiver. If she works, and gets paid in room and board and cash, she is breaking US immigration law. She will be refused entry if found out. Even if the amount of money that she is being given as an allowance is very small, it is still pay of sorts. She needs to start thinking very carefully of what she will say if she is queried about that at the check point. She should not lie, but she needs to be very careful in what she says.

If she is going for 3 months, it is very likely that she will be asked how she is going to support herself for that amount of time. A bank statement showing that she has funds to support herself would be a good idea. If she can't do that, she could be in trouble.

Yes, she should bring something with her that shows she has a job or more work experience, or another course lined up when she gets back. Unfortunately for her, US immigration authorities will look at a single, jobless, 21 year old, who doesn't have a degree or a specialist skill, as a prime candidate to stay in the country, and try to work there illegally, especially someone who is going for as long as she is.

What they are looking for is proof that you have sufficient ties to Ireland, that you will want to come back to at the end of the holiday. A permanent job, a college course, a house that you own, a spouse and kids would be examples of those. If she doesn't have those, AND she is going over there for three months, unfortunately she will raise a lot of alarm bells at the check point.

The woman in Florida needs to start doing things the proper way & organize proper visas for her workers. It's not fair to put uninformed, clueless kids from other countries in this position. If your daughter is refused entry, she has to declare that if she wants to enter the US ever again. It could greatly reduce her chance of being allowed back into the USA ever again. I would hazard a guess that your daughter wouldn't be the first person to be taken advantage of like this.

jonski

Well she has about €4000 and she has the name and address of 4 different people/cousins that have said " come over and stay a few weeks with us" . She is part of the horse riding community here and she intends to ride horses over there because 2 of her friends have horses there . She will also have a letter from a stable owner here stating that she has a job here when she comes back plus a credit union book with her deposits showing she has left money here ?

iusedtoknow

jonski wrote: »

Well she has about €4000 and she has the name and address of 4 different people/cousins that have said " come over and stay a few weeks with us" . She is part of the horse riding community here and she intends to ride horses over there because 2 of her friends have horses there . She will also have a letter from a stable owner here stating that she has a job here when she comes back plus a credit union book with her deposits showing she has left money here ?

I really don't know what you want us to say here...

Going on vacation and riding horses with your friends is one thing, working in a stables and being paid for her services (even just a little bit) is another.

No one here is going to tell you to lie to immigration - it is morally wrong and if caught, will a)disallow your daughter from using the VWP ever again and b)result in a ban of at least 3 years.

jonski

Thats fair enough , I understand what ye are saying and I have explained all this to her , she has the option of just going over to stay with friends and family ( 3 of them have already contacted me on facebook saying " send her on over to us , she can stay here " ) and this is what I am suggesting to her .

Thanks for ye're help .

rockonollie

I'm also sure that ICE would love to know about this lady telling people to come over on holiday visas and then work for an allowance.

IF your daughter happens to be on location, with no valid work documentation, and ICE were to stop by (and contrary to belief, ICE do raid alot of businesses) your daughter would be detained as an illegal worker and held in an immigration detention facility until deportation can be arranged......there is currently a huge backlog in the deportation process and illegal workers are often waiting for 6-12 months in these detention centers before being sent home.