Visiting the US after applying for a visa under another name

Upvote:1

People are not usually fingerprinted arriving at American airports. [EDIT: at a minimum, not VWP arrivals are fingerprinted, to compare with those obtained with visa.] I'm guessing you now have a passport that qualifies for the Visa Waiver Program and you are worried that you will be pulled aside for special treatment at arrival. If (we can't tell from your story) you were denied a US visa in Africa, you can not use the VWP without more lying (a bad idea), and depending on the circumstances you may indeed by blacklisted because of a falsified application. The problem is not that you used another name, as people change names, e.g. after marriage. The problem would be failing to disclose your former name, or applying under a fake name. We will need more details.

Suggestions: If you are eligible for VWP, can you get an ESTA without lying? If so, your chances are good. If you are not, you need a visa in advance like you got before. Fill out the application honestly.

[Additional suggestion: Bring your African passport, to explain (if you are pulled aside) why you have two name records. Don't volunteer it, though. And don't take travel advice from family when you can rely on Stack Exchange.]

Upvote:4

In order to travel to the US you will need to apply for an ESTA. One of the questions during the ESTA application is wither you have been refused a US visa in the past, which you will need to answer "Yes" to. Once you do this, it is most likely that your ESTA will be refused and you will need to apply for a US Visa.

Whether a visa is issued will depend on the exact situation and will be at the discretion of the consulate staff, but in most cases if you have been accused of fraud on a prior application then it will be an up-hill battle to get a visa approved, and will likely (at a minimum) require getting a waiver of ineligibility that will take 6 months or more to be approved.

If you answer "No" on the ESTA application, then your ESTA may be issued, but you WILL be fingerprinted at the US border, at which point it's likely your deception will be detected and you will be refused entry to the US, deported, and probably banned entry to the US for life.

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