Point of Entry Experience

[Norman and Dijani 0]

Hello,

My fiancee is concerned on how she will be treated when she arrives here in the US. She has traveled here before on a different type of visa and has been hassled on a few occasions. I tried to explain to her that customs and immigration is concerned with the fact that people are trying to come into the uS on temp visas and then will stay, but since she is coming here on a K-1 with the intention to get married and stay, this should make the situation pretty easy. Does anyone have an experience with this? How differently were you treated when coming in on your K-1 then you were on say a tourist or student visa?

[English Muffin 59]

Hello,

My fiancee is concerned on how she will be treated when she arrives here in the US. She has traveled here before on a different type of visa and has been hassled on a few occasions. I tried to explain to her that customs and immigration is concerned with the fact that people are trying to come into the uS on temp visas and then will stay, but since she is coming here on a K-1 with the intention to get married and stay, this should make the situation pretty easy. Does anyone have an experience with this? How differently were you treated when coming in on your K-1 then you were on say a tourist or student visa?

She can read up on reviews of POE's here http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/poereviews.php

Personally, my own exerience was very good. It only took about 10 minutes at Philadelphia and everyone was very nice.

[Norman and Dijani 0]

I was more asking for people experiences with entering on a K-1 compared to other types of visas.

[English Muffin 59]

I was more asking for people experiences with entering on a K-1 compared to other types of visas.

I did enter on a K1. You can just read the reviews of others who entered on K1s too.

[Norman and Dijani 0]

Thank you, I do understand and appreciate your help, but I think you are misunderstanding me. I am asking people who have entered on other types of visas (tourist, student etc.) to compare their experience entering on that visa to when they entered on the K-1.

[william_wallace 8]

Thank you, I do understand and appreciate your help, but I think you are misunderstanding me. I am asking people who have entered on other types of visas (tourist, student etc.) to compare their experience entering on that visa to when they entered on the K-1.

When i entered in November 2005, Memphis International Airport it was a bit of a drag. It was my first time on US soil and i travelled on the VWP. The line of people waiting was unreall. There seemed to hundreds of us jam packed tight in. The lanes were slow and with the low ceiling, the sweat was dripping of me. I eventully got through after about an hour. There was one IO who seemed to have an attitude. I was glad i didnt get him. I got a lovely lady. She just asked me a few simple questions, took a photo of my lovely eye ball, took my finger print and away i went.

Edited May 2, 2008 by william_wallace

[English Muffin 59]

I've entered the US as a tourist lots of times and once on a K1. The time I entered on a K1 was only slightly different in that I had to go to Secondary and it took about 10 minutes longer than when I entered as a tourist.

[brtlmj 0]

In general, entering with a K-1 visa seems to be a much more pleasant experience than entering as a tourist. Mine certainly was.

[Lil Miss Sunshine 14]

i entered the US as a tourist.. the CO wasn't all smiles and was actually crabby. i gave him my passport which was in a passport holder and he barked that i take it off. it was all i can do not to tell him to go screw himself.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

My husband entered with an IR-1, but even as a tourist, never had any problem with a US POE officer period. Strangely, US border patrol has only given ME problems and that was once when I entered with my daughter and the US POE officer demanded to know where the father was and if he knew where I was taking his child!

Worst border patrol experiences for both of us were through Canada by Canadian border patrol. LOL, do we look deadly suspicious to Canadians or something?!

[venusfire503 54]

Hello,

My fiancee is concerned on how she will be treated when she arrives here in the US. She has traveled here before on a different type of visa and has been hassled on a few occasions. I tried to explain to her that customs and immigration is concerned with the fact that people are trying to come into the uS on temp visas and then will stay, but since she is coming here on a K-1 with the intention to get married and stay, this should make the situation pretty easy. Does anyone have an experience with this? How differently were you treated when coming in on your K-1 then you were on say a tourist or student visa?

I think it really varies. It depends on which airport, which officer, and also which country the person is from. I don't know if many people realize that the country really does matter. I've had people tell me they don't believe that, but they were from places that are more acceptable to the American public.

My husband didn't come over on a tourist visa, but I just wanted to let you hear a different story. He was grilled for quite some time once he got here, and then they took me in and the woman said some very rude things to me. She also told me I didn't have to marry him - I could send him home and wouldn't get in any trouble. She said horrible things about Moroccans. A friend of mine married a woman from Brazil, and he told me that she's been made to cry three different times in the airport.

I'm not telling you this to scare you two, just to let you be prepared. You'd really be better off asking people from her country who are already here. Preferably ones who came through the same airport. I wish I knew what we would be up against. I wouldn't have done anything differently, just wouldn't have been in such shock that first day he got here.

I wish you two the best of luck!

[Precious 2]

I've entered the US as a tourist, B2 visa, from 3 different POE: Miami, Atlanta and Houston. In Atlanta, the guy was very nice, asked me a few questions, like what was the purpose of my visit and so forth. Not much of a hassle. In Houston, same thing, actually no. In Houston the guy did not ask me anything at all, just gave me instructions on where should I face for the picture.

But Miami was always a hassle. Huge lines. Weird events, there was always someone getting the entry denied etc.

I'm from Brazil and I was residing in the US for 2 years under a L2 visa. There was always something and the guys there are not very friendly.

I'm with venusfire, it depends which airport, which officer.

[bora bora 1]

I've entered the US as a tourist, B2 visa, from 3 different POE: Miami, Atlanta and Houston. In Atlanta, the guy was very nice, asked me a few questions, like what was the purpose of my visit and so forth. Not much of a hassle. In Houston, same thing, actually no. In Houston the guy did not ask me anything at all, just gave me instructions on where should I face for the picture.

But Miami was always a hassle. Huge lines. Weird events, there was always someone getting the entry denied etc.

I'm from Brazil and I was residing in the US for 2 years under a L2 visa. There was always something and the guys there are not very friendly.

I'm with venusfire, it depends which airport, which officer.

I agree with the bold part above. I'm the USC and I've been treated rudely upon returning to the U.S. and I've been flirted with...so I think it's pretty impossible to say.

My husband had never been here before, but once we (I was with him) told the officer that my husband was arriving on a K1 visa he was a lot nicer.