Travel to U.S. while IR-1/CR-1 in Process

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Hello All:

Been a while. As you can tell, I've already been (successfully) through the K-3 process with my wife. Although I know quite a bit about the process and the result AOS, I have a question that I really don't know much about, because it did not apply to us.

I have a friend in Colombia (actually a girl who had a lot to do with my wife and I getting married) that needs some information. Here are the facts:

1) She is Colombian.

2) She married an American in July, 2008.

3) She remains in Colombia and he is back in the U.S.

4) They have filed for an IR-1/CR-1 visa.

5) She has a valid tourist visa for the U.S.

6) She has traveled to the U.S. many times (in fact, she met her husband while here). All 3 of her sisters lives in the U.S., two married to Americans and the other a student at a university.

She would like to use her tourist visa to return to the U.S. for a visit - to see her new husband and to visit her sister in Miami. However, she is worried that this MIGHT adversely impact (e.g., delay, etc.) her IR-1/CR-1 visa. She also understands that she will need to return to Colombia for the visa interview.

I've looked at many of the posts to the forum and tried to do a search, but most of the cases I've seen relates to folks who were visiting the U.S. on a tourist visa and married an American while he or she was here....and now wants a visa. I couldn't find a case that is similar to this one....but I swear I've seen something about this before on this board.

Can anyone give me some guidance on this? I'd really like to help my friend, since she did so much to help me and my wife.

Thanks so much,

Mike

[cmnb 0]

Hello All:

Been a while. As you can tell, I've already been (successfully) through the K-3 process with my wife. Although I know quite a bit about the process and the result AOS, I have a question that I really don't know much about, because it did not apply to us.

I have a friend in Colombia (actually a girl who had a lot to do with my wife and I getting married) that needs some information. Here are the facts:

1) She is Colombian.

2) She married an American in July, 2008.

3) She remains in Colombia and he is back in the U.S.

4) They have filed for an IR-1/CR-1 visa.

5) She has a valid tourist visa for the U.S.

6) She has traveled to the U.S. many times (in fact, she met her husband while here). All 3 of her sisters lives in the U.S., two married to Americans and the other a student at a university.

She would like to use her tourist visa to return to the U.S. for a visit - to see her new husband and to visit her sister in Miami. However, she is worried that this MIGHT adversely impact (e.g., delay, etc.) her IR-1/CR-1 visa. She also understands that she will need to return to Colombia for the visa interview.

I've looked at many of the posts to the forum and tried to do a search, but most of the cases I've seen relates to folks who were visiting the U.S. on a tourist visa and married an American while he or she was here....and now wants a visa. I couldn't find a case that is similar to this one....but I swear I've seen something about this before on this board.

Can anyone give me some guidance on this? I'd really like to help my friend, since she did so much to help me and my wife.

Thanks so much,

Mike

ur situation is exactly like mine. i have discussed this situation with 3 lawyers coz i want my wife to visit me (which legally she can) but all the lawyers have suggested against it...this is because the immigration officer has the right to deny her an entry if he/she feels that she will enter the US and apply for AOS when she shud be applying for a IR-1/CR-1 visa in India. sounds kind of really stupid as she is going to immigrate in a few months anyway but thats how the idiotic system runs.

oh and yeah...ive also heard that if she comes here she will b subject to additonal FBI checks during her interview.

in a nutshell have ur friend wait until the CR-1 visa is finalized.

[Springlett 0]

My husband has never been to the US so we are waiting for a I-130 Visa for him to arrive. I think the problem with tourist visas are when you apply for one after you have applied for permanent residency (I-130 Visa). As long as she legally has a valid tourist visa there should not be a problem with her visiting. The problem seems to arise when people apply for the tourist visa after applying for the I-130 and then sign on the tourist visa application that they "have no intention of remaining in the US" when in fact they are attempting to receive the permission to do just that.

I think the main thing is to not let immigration get any idea that she might being trying to "fraud the government".

If she has a valid tourist visa--by all means USE IT! Don't have her suffer like those of us who don't have one and are in the dreaded depths of the visa process which is agony!

Spring

Hello All:

Been a while. As you can tell, I've already been (successfully) through the K-3 process with my wife. Although I know quite a bit about the process and the result AOS, I have a question that I really don't know much about, because it did not apply to us.

I have a friend in Colombia (actually a girl who had a lot to do with my wife and I getting married) that needs some information. Here are the facts:

1) She is Colombian.

2) She married an American in July, 2008.

3) She remains in Colombia and he is back in the U.S.

4) They have filed for an IR-1/CR-1 visa.

5) She has a valid tourist visa for the U.S.

6) She has traveled to the U.S. many times (in fact, she met her husband while here). All 3 of her sisters lives in the U.S., two married to Americans and the other a student at a university.

She would like to use her tourist visa to return to the U.S. for a visit - to see her new husband and to visit her sister in Miami. However, she is worried that this MIGHT adversely impact (e.g., delay, etc.) her IR-1/CR-1 visa. She also understands that she will need to return to Colombia for the visa interview.

I've looked at many of the posts to the forum and tried to do a search, but most of the cases I've seen relates to folks who were visiting the U.S. on a tourist visa and married an American while he or she was here....and now wants a visa. I couldn't find a case that is similar to this one....but I swear I've seen something about this before on this board.

Can anyone give me some guidance on this? I'd really like to help my friend, since she did so much to help me and my wife.

Thanks so much,

Mike

[cmnb 0]

when the immigration officer sees a I-130 pending in her name, he/she can deny entry for the fear of this person staying back and adjusting status.

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Thanks for the feedback so far. It's obvious there's not an easy answer.

I should make one point a little more clear.....

My friend is now 21 or 22. She has been traveling to the U.S. for several years now to visit her family members in Texas and Florida (parents and brother still live in Colombia). She received her tourist visa well before she ever met her husband, let alone married him (both of which happened in the last year). So, the tourist visa had nothing to do with the spouse or the marriage. May or may not make a difference in the responses you provide, but I wanted to make sure that point is clear.

Thanks so much!

Mike

[cmnb 0]

Thanks for the feedback so far. It's obvious there's not an easy answer.

I should make one point a little more clear.....

My friend is now 21 or 22. She has been traveling to the U.S. for several years now to visit her family members in Texas and Florida (parents and brother still live in Colombia). She received her tourist visa well before she ever met her husband, let alone married him (both of which happened in the last year). So, the tourist visa had nothing to do with the spouse or the marriage. May or may not make a difference in the responses you provide, but I wanted to make sure that point is clear.

Thanks so much!

Mike

and thats exactly what i said in my first post...my situation is just like ur friend's. my wife has had a B1/B2 (business/tourist) visa even before we knew each other and she frequently visited the US for business purposes and never overstayed. everytime she came to the US, she left before time. the advise i am giving to you has a lot of gray area. like u said, there is no clear answer...its a hit or a miss. i have seen people who have attempted an entry and got in just fine but the fact of the matter is that ur friend's situation (just as my wife's) is so sensitive that its really not worth taking a risk. i know the wait is a pain in the butt but we signed up for it. god forbid if she gets denied an entry and gets deported, she will have to report this during the time of the interview and imagine how bad this would look on her file.

[MsZ 6]

There's no law that says she cannot enter the US under the conditions you describe. However it is up to the officer at the point of entry to decide if she can enter or not.

She should have proof that she's going to return home.

- Return ticket

- letter from her job expecting her back on a certain date

- rent or mortgage statements

- utility statements

- auto payments and the like

If an officer questions her, she wants to be able to convince them she's going to leave.

The question is, can she afford to be turned away and to change her return flight? If she can, then go for it. If she cannot, then it is an economic consideration, not an immigration one. You'd think that 3 lawyers would have been able to provide this advice but it is clear that lawyers are fairly clueless.

[cantwait2long 0]

Thanks for the feedback so far. It's obvious there's not an easy answer.

I should make one point a little more clear.....

My friend is now 21 or 22. She has been traveling to the U.S. for several years now to visit her family members in Texas and Florida (parents and brother still live in Colombia). She received her tourist visa well before she ever met her husband, let alone married him (both of which happened in the last year). So, the tourist visa had nothing to do with the spouse or the marriage. May or may not make a difference in the responses you provide, but I wanted to make sure that point is clear.

Thanks so much!

Mike

and thats exactly what i said in my first post...my situation is just like ur friend's. my wife has had a B1/B2 (business/tourist) visa even before we knew each other and she frequently visited the US for business purposes and never overstayed. everytime she came to the US, she left before time. the advise i am giving to you has a lot of gray area. like u said, there is no clear answer...its a hit or a miss. i have seen people who have attempted an entry and got in just fine but the fact of the matter is that ur friend's situation (just as my wife's) is so sensitive that its really not worth taking a risk. i know the wait is a pain in the butt but we signed up for it. god forbid if she gets denied an entry and gets deported, she will have to report this during the time of the interview and imagine how bad this would look on her file.

cmnb you are absolutely correct.

Why to take unnecessary risk that will create problems in future.

Wait teaches many things in life.

But I cantwait2long.

[cmnb 0]

There's no law that says she cannot enter the US under the conditions you describe. However it is up to the officer at the point of entry to decide if she can enter or not.

She should have proof that she's going to return home.

- Return ticket

- letter from her job expecting her back on a certain date

- rent or mortgage statements

- utility statements

- auto payments and the like

If an officer questions her, she wants to be able to convince them she's going to leave.

The question is, can she afford to be turned away and to change her return flight? If she can, then go for it. If she cannot, then it is an economic consideration, not an immigration one. You'd think that 3 lawyers would have been able to provide this advice but it is clear that lawyers are fairly clueless.

i agree with the points listed above. but i dont think that economical considerations are much of an issue for most of us here. can we afford ticket prices twice as high??..i dont think so....but wud we pay for those tickets??... u bet many of us wud love to just to see a glimpse of the loved one we havent seen in months or may a year.

but u r right, if ur friend can convince the officer that she will return back to Columbia there shudnt be a problem...but will the officer get convinced....Gray Area!!!

[so2008 0]

There's no law that says she cannot enter the US under the conditions you describe. However it is up to the officer at the point of entry to decide if she can enter or not.

She should have proof that she's going to return home.

- Return ticket

- letter from her job expecting her back on a certain date

- rent or mortgage statements

- utility statements

- auto payments and the like

If an officer questions her, she wants to be able to convince them she's going to leave.

The question is, can she afford to be turned away and to change her return flight? If she can, then go for it. If she cannot, then it is an economic consideration, not an immigration one. You'd think that 3 lawyers would have been able to provide this advice but it is clear that lawyers are fairly clueless.

I will go for it...... nothiig she is going to loose, do not listen to these negitive comments.

i agree with the points listed above. but i dont think that economical considerations are much of an issue for most of us here. can we afford ticket prices twice as high??..i dont think so....but wud we pay for those tickets??... u bet many of us wud love to just to see a glimpse of the loved one we havent seen in months or may a year.

but u r right, if ur friend can convince the officer that she will return back to Columbia there shudnt be a problem...but will the officer get convinced....Gray Area!!!

[so2008 0]

There's no law that says she cannot enter the US under the conditions you describe. However it is up to the officer at the point of entry to decide if she can enter or not.

She should have proof that she's going to return home.

- Return ticket

- letter from her job expecting her back on a certain date

- rent or mortgage statements

- utility statements

- auto payments and the like

If an officer questions her, she wants to be able to convince them she's going to leave.

The question is, can she afford to be turned away and to change her return flight? If she can, then go for it. If she cannot, then it is an economic consideration, not an immigration one. You'd think that 3 lawyers would have been able to provide this advice but it is clear that lawyers are fairly clueless.

I will go for it...... nothiig she is going to loose, do not listen to these negitive comments.

i agree with the points listed above. but i dont think that economical considerations are much of an issue for most of us here. can we afford ticket prices twice as high??..i dont think so....but wud we pay for those tickets??... u bet many of us wud love to just to see a glimpse of the loved one we havent seen in months or may a year.

but u r right, if ur friend can convince the officer that she will return back to Columbia there shudnt be a problem...but will the officer get convinced....Gray Area!!!

I will go for it...... nothing she is going to loose, do not listen to these negitive comments. please keep us updated and good lcuk to her.

[Brian&Mel 0]

Hey there...

I entered with my tourist visa while my I-130 is pending. The POE officer didn't even asked for my return ticket or my pending I-130.

I don't think it will delay your IR/CR1 visa as mine was approved aproximately 2 months after my arrival. And I am still in the USA all this while. I will return to Malaysia next month for my interview.

Good luck!

[cmnb 0]

Hey there...

I entered with my tourist visa while my I-130 is pending. The POE officer didn't even asked for my return ticket or my pending I-130.

I don't think it will delay your IR/CR1 visa as mine was approved aproximately 2 months after my arrival. And I am still in the USA all this while. I will return to Malaysia next month for my interview.

Good luck!

did u tell them that u r going to be with ur husband?? did the officer ask u the purpose of ur visit?

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Thanks for all of the feedback. As I suspected, there is not a hard and fast answer....kind of depends....perhaps luck of the draw. Not sure what she'll do. She comes from an upper middle class family, so if she got turned around at immigration and had to go back home, it would not be a problem financially for her family....just a disappointment to her and her husband. Hopefully the process will go quickly and smoothly for them and she can just wait it out in Colombia. Guess it depends on whether she's willing to "push the envelop."

Thanks again,

Mike

[cris11 0]

Yeah, why not try to fly over, the only who can happen it has to buy a new ticket and be disappoint, if they don’t let her pass the immigration.

I am a K3 file and plan to fly to my husband next month, the money for tickets its not the problem, it has to wait and wait. We meet every second month somewhere in the world. I shall try self. Then April we had meets every second month in Europe or Asia, but this time I try to fly to him, the worst its to be disappoint,, but to get a chance to meet my husband its worth all efforts.

Good luck