In the realm of maritime luxury, the quest to offer yacht charter guests the perfect night's sleep has become an art form, one which luxury bed and linen supplier, CC Design, has fully committed to.
Crew looking to obtain B1/B2 visas to work on charter yachts in US waters are reportedly facing increased difficulty in being approved for the visa, with many agencies reporting much higher levels of shortened and rejected visa applications amongst its clients.
Jason Turner reached out to Yachting Pages and told us, “Myself and hundreds of crew are being denied B1/B2 visas, reasons are pretty much the same across the board: ‘vessel advertised as available for charter’.
“My captain, on both positions I just lost due to this, stipulated very clearly non-commercial use in US waters, also the management companies did the same — all documentation was the same I've been producing since 1989.”
There has been a tightening of how authorities look at applications for B1/B2 visas, though so far it appears there have inconsistencies in how the application process is enforced across different US Embassies.
Mark Ravnholt of Catalano Shipping Services explained to us, “Crew [boat crew] have to ask for C1/D visas as per visa rules. ‘Crew' means commercial ship’s crew: cargo, ferry, cruise ship... and this will give access to transit through the US to join or depart from the ship.
“Yacht crew should ask for B1/B2 (business/pleasure and above all for people arriving by a private mean of transport). Weather a yacht is commercial or pleasure registered, the means of transport does not have a fixed schedule and therefore it’s considered a private means of transport.”
It appears choice use of language can help, with Mark recommending the use of the words ‘voyages’ and ‘relocation’ instead of ‘cruise’ and ‘guest trip’, and no use of the word ‘charter’ at all. Mark also offered some general interview advice for crew looking to obtain B1/B2 visas:
The salient point is that yachts are regarded as private vessels as they are without a fixed schedule, so a B1/B2 visa – the more desirable visitor visa for many reasons – should be obtainable.
Mark went on, “I’ve seen crew from the same ship, with the same supporting documents, having had their DS160 prepared together on board to avoid discrepancy, some getting an OK and some getting a refusal.
“It is of utmost importance what you say at the interview. Do not tell anything but the truth, but leave out the wording leading to think you are a commercial crew member.”
In the realm of maritime luxury, the quest to offer yacht charter guests the perfect night's sleep has become an art form, one which luxury bed and linen supplier, CC Design, has fully committed to.
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