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As a holder of a weak passport (India), I'm surprised that the author hasn't used the most effective hack for "powering up" a passport: getting a US visitor (B1
by xaranke 8y ago
As a holder of a weak passport (India), I'm surprised that the author hasn't used the most effective hack for "powering up" a passport: getting a US visitor (B1/B2) visa.
A US B1/B2 Visitor Visa will generally get you into an additional dozen or so countries (sometimes more), as outlined here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_the_United_Stat... (see "Use for other countries" section). This list crucially includes Turkey, which the author could have used for applying for an EU visa from Istanbul instead of going home.
Not to mention that the US Visitor Visa will let you visit the US for up to 6 months at a time for the next 10 years for a reasonably modest fee of ~$200. Also unlike other countries you don't need to document a plan to visit the US and your visa remains valid even if your passport expires and you get a new passport.
Given all this, I'm not sure why the author hasn't made this (relatively) small investment.
If you're opposed to getting a US visa for ethical reason, you can also pull off the same (albeit to a lesser degree) via a Canadian/British/Schengen visitor visa (roughly in that order).
- vinni2 8y ago> Not to mention that the US Visitor Visa will let you visit the US for up to 6 months at a time for the next 10 years for a reasonably modest fee of ~$200. Except not everyone is lucky enough to get a 10 year visa. Applied for B1/B2 three times each time I got 1 year visa. It is a hassle to go the US embassy and beg for visa every couple of years. Also the lack of privacy in the consulate is appalling! A poor girl had to explain why she was arrested aloud everyone wating there could hear it! Edit: typos
- xaranke 8y agoWhich country are you from? Most visitors are eligible for a 10 year visa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_the_United_Stat... (see section "Validity period"). Unfortunately, the treatment might not be the best. In that case, you can probably apply for a Canadian/UK/Schengen visa and get 80% of the effect without much of the hassle. As for the girl, I'm not sure why she would think she would be let back in after being arrested in the US.
- Scoundreller 8y agoUsually arrests/criminal records are only problems if it would be an offence under US law. Getting arrested for drinking alcohol in Iran won’t/shouldn’t bother the US. DUI isn’t a serious offence in the US, so that’s ok too.
- the_svd_doctor 8y ago"DUI isn’t a serious offence in the US, so that’s ok too." It's definitively very serious, and can be enough to get a visa denied.
- poulsbohemian 8y agoI'd like to agree with you, but I once found myself as the only person in a mid-sized firm who didn't have one on my record. It was an eye-opener.
- kevin_thibedeau 8y agoAnd they all went through hassles and spent a lot of money to resume a normal life.
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoThat's a highly understated way of putting it.
- raitom 8y agoGot my H1B with a wet reckless offense (still a DUI I think). No question asked at the embassy. I even figured out later that I went to the embassy while having a warrant (lawyer never went to court because he died 2 days before). It doesn’t mean you need to drink and drive or that it will apply to you, I think I just went crazy lucky that day at the embassy.
- 8y ago
- flak48 8y ago> Also unlike other countries you don't need to document a plan to visit the US Is it even feasable to enter on B2 without a return ticket? I have no intention of overstaying my visa or even staying longer than a month, but I would love the flexibility of traveling in the US without a deadline or plans.
- xaranke 8y agoBy law US airlines are required to let you cancel your trip upto 24 hours after you book it for a full refund. See https://bkpk.me/easy-return-tickets-for-international-travelers/ https://bkpk.me/easy-return-tickets-for-international-travel... for more info. In the past I've used this to great advantage by booking the outward and return legs of the journey separately. You can then cancel the return leg ticket and book a replacement later. At the airport present tickets of both the original outward and return legs; as long as you don't overstay a visa there shouldn't be a problem. Obligatory note that this should not be taken as legal advice.
- snotrockets 8y agoa one way international ticket usually costs about 80-120% as an equivalent class round way ticket, due to different price buckets.
- xaranke 8y agoYou have to be flexible somewhere - either on date or price. Another option is traveling on a low-cost carrier who generally sell outbound and return segments separately.
- ddebernardy 8y agoCan't you change your return ticket once your there? As long as you don't overstay you should be fine.
- xaranke 8y agoVery rarely, most of the times there is a hefty change fee unless you bought a refundable ticket.
- zcbenz 8y agoOne of my India friend has applied for a B1/B2 visa for multiple times and did not get approved, even though he had already traveled to quite a lot countries. I also got rejected a B1/B2 visa for 3 times (I'm holding China passport), and I finally flew and moved to U.S. after my company sponsored me a H1B visa. The B1/B2 visa is truly the hardest visa to get for most third world people.
- Zombieball 8y agoWow I never would’ve thought this. As a Canadian, when I travel to the US for work / vacations I sometimes get my passport stamped with a B1/B2 visa (it is very common to cross the border with no Visa stamp in your passport). I found this stamp more of an annoyance!
- usepgp 8y agoCanada is easily considered a first-world / powerful passport country. https://www.passportindex.org/comparebyPassport.php?p1=ca&p2=us&fl=&s=yes https://www.passportindex.org/comparebyPassport.php?p1=ca&p2...
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- Scoundreller 8y agoCanada is fairly special for entering the US since they don’t even fingerprint you.
- briandear 8y agoThat visa is hard to get not specifically based on third world status, but based on the statistics of overstaying those visas. Substantial home country ties, such as a business or owning property vastly increase the chance of getting that visa.
- xaranke 8y agoHaving other long-term visas and not overstaying them also helps.
- grecy 8y ago> your visa remains valid even if your passport expires and you get a new passport This will soon be the case for me - can you explain how that works? Do I just bring my old and new passports to the border and show them both? >A US B1/B2 Visitor Visa will generally get you into an additional dozen or so countries It can work the other way too. Due to a mix up with dates I had to get one cancelled (and a new one issued) so the original in my passport has a huge red "Cancelled without prejudice" stamp across it. The border guard at Honduras was not happy - he figured if I wasn't allowed into the USA he didn't want me in his country. It took many, many hours to explain I had another perfectly valid USA visa.
- dreamer_soul 8y agoMy passport expired last year and I kept it with me for the US Visa. I just brought up with me 2 passports and they didn't ask me why. They realized that the one with the Visa is expired and just used it to check the visa and compare the name no questions asked.
- xaranke 8y agoCorrect, you just show up with both. For the second, generally make sure the documents you are using for entry are valid at time of entry; in particular a lot of countries require 6 months validity on passports.
- Aramgutang 8y agoComplicating things, some countries will not issue a new passport before confiscating the expired one. I know multiple people who reported their expiring passport as stolen, just to be able to keep it (usually for purposes of having proof that they've held certain visas in the past).
- xaranke 8y agoHmm, interesting. In my experience they just cut off a corner and put a large red EXPIRED stamp on the info page.
- davchana 8y agoGetting US Visitor visa is not that easy; All the decision making things are evaluated beforehand; & applicant is seen for 30 seconds only. Unmarried, less than 40, earning moderate money, does not help. I visited Schengen 10+ times, & in betweb those visits, US refused me twice on seperate occasions.
- senozhatsky 8y ago> Not to mention that the US Visitor Visa will let you visit the US for up to 6 months at a time for the next 10 years for a reasonably modest fee of ~$200. It depends. A multi entry B1/B2 validity period may differ from 1 year (Belarus, Afghanistan, etc.) to 10 years [0] And, yeah, I hold a very weak passport too. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_visa#Validity_period_and_duration_of_stay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_visa#Validity_period_and_dur... -ss
- nafizh 8y agoThis assumes B1/B2 visitor visa is easy to get. I am a passport holder from a third world country. Currently, living in US. My wife got pregnant, and my parents wanted to be there when the baby was born. They were rejected for B1/B2 visa. My father is retired, and we are not super rich so I assume the visa officer thought they will not return once they are here. On the other hand, parents of my friends who are from the same country, and retired but kind of super rich are coming in all the time just to have fun. Anyway, fortunately, my parents have no desire to live in US, and are living happily in their third world country.
- xaranke 8y agoI'm guessing that being Muslim might have had something to do with it. I'm sorry they couldn't join you regardless.
- umanwizard 8y agoIt is in general very difficult for people from developing countries to get tourist visas for the US, including majority Christian countries.
- lostlogin 8y agoThe religion of the country makes a difference? Wow.
- umanwizard 8y agoHuh? That’s not what I said.
- lostlogin 8y agoWhat does the comment about ‘majority Christian countries’ mean?
- 8y ago
- kamaal 8y ago>>US Visitor Visa will let you visit the US for up to 6 months at a time for the next 10 years Its entirely at the discretion of the customs officer at the Airport. Sometimes they don't give you anything more than a few weeks.
- baby 8y agoThe 6 month thing is a myth. My gf tried to come for 4 months in 2016 and they changed that for 1 month at the border. It was a pretty traumatic experience. Had to change tickets and get married.
- xaranke 8y agoRight, it's up to 6 months at the officer's discretion. Unfortunately statistics are not in your favor; visiting your girlfriend has a much higher chance of overstay than a regular tourist, in such cases if you can present proof that you're returning for good after a certain time that might help. For more detailed discussion see: https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/61825/is-it-a-good-idea-to-mention-to-the-usa-immigration-officer-that-im-visiting-my https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/61825/is-it-a-goo....