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Hello,
my name is Manuel Henkes, I'm 22 years old and I'm a German citizen. My goal is to immigrate into the United States because I love the country. I've been looking up stuff and the best ways about immigration since I was 15 years old and my intention of this thread is to get different view points and inspiring options. Under following circumstance, which route would be best for me to take to immigrate?
July, 2012: completed high school in Germany (Abitur)
August, 2012: Road trip through the USA lasting one month under ESTA
Oct-Dec, 2012: Completed boot camp in Germany, then got out to do an internship in the USA
Dec, 2012: Travel to USA under ESTA to do an internship (christian charity program); neither me nor the organization knew about any visa requirements
March, 2013: Tried to extend my ESTA by applying for B1/B2 visa to complete the internship and brought invitation letter. Obviously, I and the organization were still ignorant about the fact that I would at least need a J1 visa. On top of that, I overstayed in the USA by accident because I did not know the stamp in my passport has the final saying. I thought since ESTA lasts 90 days, I can stay 90 days but at the port of entry, the officer put in a certain date that was 88 days. Despite my overstay, there was no problem leaving the country and the ESTA was still valid. At the consulate, my B1/B2 obviously got denied because I applied for the wrong visa. I do not know why the officer gave me 214(b) refusal, though. I guess I didn't show any strong ties and on top of that she said I applied for the wrong visa. I was so frustrated I applied for an interview a week later and showed proof of strong ties. I didn't really know how to show strong ties since I didn't have a job because I just graduated from high school and besides I knew I wanted to live in the USA and I didn't want to come back to Germany. The only thing I could show them was the ties to my mom and dad living in Germany and that I lived at their place. My interview did not even last a minute. I walked up there and she didn't even say hello, she just said "I can't give you a B1/B2 visa". This time I said I just want to visit friends (which was true I didn't want to complete the internship anymore I just wanted to see my girlfriend that I got during the internship). All she said was "I do not believe you".
April, 2013: Since my visas got denied, I decided to travel to the USA under ESTA being ignorant about the fact that ESTA is not valid after a visa denial. I got interviewed by border control at the port of entry and they tried to give me a visa because they saw it was all an accident and there was no intention of breaking the rules or anything. However, their boss said there's nothing he could do... They wrote into my passport: 212(a)(7)(A)(i)(7) which stands for I wasn't actually admitted to the country (since visa got denied which makes esta invalid) and so they sent me back to Germany. Depression caused me to apply for another interview again with the interview paper from border control that explains why I got denied entry and a job offer from the German military to show I have strong ties. No success. (3rd time 214(b))
August, 2013: Enlisted in the German Airborne Infantry for 4 years
June, 2014: Started an accredited 100% online degree in B.S. Computer Engineering Technology at a University in the USA.
Now, I'm a full time employee and a full time Student.
Now that I have explained my background, I would like some help to realize my goal. I've learned to be more flexible with my American Dream because of the complexity of the immigration process.
My main goal was to become an officer in the U.S. military. However, you need a Green Card to enlist and obtain citizenship during your service to become an officer. The military cannot sponsor you a green card and I have no relatives or family that could sponsor me so the only option I have is the lottery that I've been applying for since I was 16. I have "family" in the USA that loves me like their own son and we even tried sponsorship by adoption but I was too old. I do not want to just marry somebody to get a green card.
My plans had to change because winning the lottery is... well... unlikely
There are two plans I currently have:
1) Apply for jobs in the USA at companies that sponsor foreigners (H1B etc.). It's "easier" for STEM related students to find a job. I have always been interested in the STEM field (especially computers) and my German 3 year pre-University diploma (Abitur)s' major was Information Technology. I will graduate from University in 2017 and that's also the year my enlistment is over. My current GPA is 4.0
2) Continue my education in Computer Engineering to a Master level in the USA by applying for F1 student visa. This way, I could do OPT and get a job offer eventually and transfer from f1 to h1b and maybe to green card later.
I know my situation is complicated and I thank you for reading all this and for your help. I know there are many complications like financial support etc and I'm confident I can make it all. What I'm really scared of is the interview at the consulate because of all the bad experiences I had there. I know just because I got denied several times under 214(b) doesn't mean I will always get denied. Reading the requirements for F1, I see I can meet all the requirements. However, some of the officer's questions at the consulate are related to my ties to Germany and I honestly don't know how to pass these questions without lying. I do have a job (as long as my enlistment lasts) which is a pro, I do have my own apartment which is another pro and I have family and friends here which is another pro. However, when they ask me if I want to come back to Germany, the truth is that I do not want to come back. I really do not want to lie and I'm a bad liar anyway so I wonder if I would pass the interview. When they ask me if I come back to Germany, I could probably say I've always wanted to become an officer in the military (which is true, just not in Germany) so my goal is to go back to the military after graduation.
What I don't understand is why there is OPT when the consulate does not want you to stay in the USA after graduation?? Would it be okay to say that I want to do OPT so I do not want to leave right after graduation (I could say OPT would look good on my record when I go back to the military)?
Please share some ideas and advice. Also, if you see a route that would be even easier for me to take, I would highly appreciate that. (MAVNI is not an option btw.)
my name is Manuel Henkes, I'm 22 years old and I'm a German citizen. My goal is to immigrate into the United States because I love the country. I've been looking up stuff and the best ways about immigration since I was 15 years old and my intention of this thread is to get different view points and inspiring options. Under following circumstance, which route would be best for me to take to immigrate?
July, 2012: completed high school in Germany (Abitur)
August, 2012: Road trip through the USA lasting one month under ESTA
Oct-Dec, 2012: Completed boot camp in Germany, then got out to do an internship in the USA
Dec, 2012: Travel to USA under ESTA to do an internship (christian charity program); neither me nor the organization knew about any visa requirements
March, 2013: Tried to extend my ESTA by applying for B1/B2 visa to complete the internship and brought invitation letter. Obviously, I and the organization were still ignorant about the fact that I would at least need a J1 visa. On top of that, I overstayed in the USA by accident because I did not know the stamp in my passport has the final saying. I thought since ESTA lasts 90 days, I can stay 90 days but at the port of entry, the officer put in a certain date that was 88 days. Despite my overstay, there was no problem leaving the country and the ESTA was still valid. At the consulate, my B1/B2 obviously got denied because I applied for the wrong visa. I do not know why the officer gave me 214(b) refusal, though. I guess I didn't show any strong ties and on top of that she said I applied for the wrong visa. I was so frustrated I applied for an interview a week later and showed proof of strong ties. I didn't really know how to show strong ties since I didn't have a job because I just graduated from high school and besides I knew I wanted to live in the USA and I didn't want to come back to Germany. The only thing I could show them was the ties to my mom and dad living in Germany and that I lived at their place. My interview did not even last a minute. I walked up there and she didn't even say hello, she just said "I can't give you a B1/B2 visa". This time I said I just want to visit friends (which was true I didn't want to complete the internship anymore I just wanted to see my girlfriend that I got during the internship). All she said was "I do not believe you".
April, 2013: Since my visas got denied, I decided to travel to the USA under ESTA being ignorant about the fact that ESTA is not valid after a visa denial. I got interviewed by border control at the port of entry and they tried to give me a visa because they saw it was all an accident and there was no intention of breaking the rules or anything. However, their boss said there's nothing he could do... They wrote into my passport: 212(a)(7)(A)(i)(7) which stands for I wasn't actually admitted to the country (since visa got denied which makes esta invalid) and so they sent me back to Germany. Depression caused me to apply for another interview again with the interview paper from border control that explains why I got denied entry and a job offer from the German military to show I have strong ties. No success. (3rd time 214(b))
August, 2013: Enlisted in the German Airborne Infantry for 4 years
June, 2014: Started an accredited 100% online degree in B.S. Computer Engineering Technology at a University in the USA.
Now, I'm a full time employee and a full time Student.
Now that I have explained my background, I would like some help to realize my goal. I've learned to be more flexible with my American Dream because of the complexity of the immigration process.
My main goal was to become an officer in the U.S. military. However, you need a Green Card to enlist and obtain citizenship during your service to become an officer. The military cannot sponsor you a green card and I have no relatives or family that could sponsor me so the only option I have is the lottery that I've been applying for since I was 16. I have "family" in the USA that loves me like their own son and we even tried sponsorship by adoption but I was too old. I do not want to just marry somebody to get a green card.
My plans had to change because winning the lottery is... well... unlikely
There are two plans I currently have:
1) Apply for jobs in the USA at companies that sponsor foreigners (H1B etc.). It's "easier" for STEM related students to find a job. I have always been interested in the STEM field (especially computers) and my German 3 year pre-University diploma (Abitur)s' major was Information Technology. I will graduate from University in 2017 and that's also the year my enlistment is over. My current GPA is 4.0
2) Continue my education in Computer Engineering to a Master level in the USA by applying for F1 student visa. This way, I could do OPT and get a job offer eventually and transfer from f1 to h1b and maybe to green card later.
I know my situation is complicated and I thank you for reading all this and for your help. I know there are many complications like financial support etc and I'm confident I can make it all. What I'm really scared of is the interview at the consulate because of all the bad experiences I had there. I know just because I got denied several times under 214(b) doesn't mean I will always get denied. Reading the requirements for F1, I see I can meet all the requirements. However, some of the officer's questions at the consulate are related to my ties to Germany and I honestly don't know how to pass these questions without lying. I do have a job (as long as my enlistment lasts) which is a pro, I do have my own apartment which is another pro and I have family and friends here which is another pro. However, when they ask me if I want to come back to Germany, the truth is that I do not want to come back. I really do not want to lie and I'm a bad liar anyway so I wonder if I would pass the interview. When they ask me if I come back to Germany, I could probably say I've always wanted to become an officer in the military (which is true, just not in Germany) so my goal is to go back to the military after graduation.
What I don't understand is why there is OPT when the consulate does not want you to stay in the USA after graduation?? Would it be okay to say that I want to do OPT so I do not want to leave right after graduation (I could say OPT would look good on my record when I go back to the military)?
Please share some ideas and advice. Also, if you see a route that would be even easier for me to take, I would highly appreciate that. (MAVNI is not an option btw.)
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