Travel to the US without activating Visa

[Tankgurl38 0]

Has anyone taken a trip to the US after they were issued their Visa to just go for a visit and not actually activate the Visa yet?

Anyone had any issues?

[KGH 0]

Has anyone taken a trip to the US after they were issued their Visa to just go for a visit and not actually activate the Visa yet?

Anyone had any issues?

No, that is not possible, unless you sneak into the country illigaly !!!

[Flames9_RN 358]

There have been Cdns that have done this without problem. Again, like anything else, it is up to the POE officer

[Carlawarla 1]

Agreed. We KNOW VJ'ers from Canada that have done this. Call the POE where you'll be crossing, get a name if possible, tell them what you'd like to do...giving as much detail as possible is probably the best bet, and arrange this. Might be harder to do if flying, but again, if someone says yes, and shouldn't be a problem, get his/her name and have a back up plan if all goes awry at the border.

Hopefully those that have done it will respond because I can't remember the names of all that have done it now!

[trailmix 77]

Agreed. We KNOW VJ'ers from Canada that have done this. Call the POE where you'll be crossing, get a name if possible, tell them what you'd like to do...giving as much detail as possible is probably the best bet, and arrange this. Might be harder to do if flying, but again, if someone says yes, and shouldn't be a problem, get his/her name and have a back up plan if all goes awry at the border.

Hopefully those that have done it will respond because I can't remember the names of all that have done it now!

I think krikit was one person who didn't use her visa for a few months and travelled back and forth.

[JillA 2]

Be prepared to possibly be turned back though... the interviewer told me I was not allowed to use my passport again to cross into the US unless I was moving. I know Sapphire asked the interviewer as well, and he reccomended she not do that.

[SapphireDreams 71]

Yes, Jill is correct, I asked the interviewer if I could cross the border and not use the K1 and she said no. So out of all the people to trust, I trust her since she's the one that approved me in the first place.

I also asked if I could do a land crossing with just my birth certificate and driver's license and she said, no they will know that I have a K1 on my file and ask to see my passport.

I personally would not risk it. I have read that people did that, and I'm sure it was at the discretion of the POE officer. And, I'd rather not put my fate in their hands!

Not sure if you have had your interview yet, but she offered to let me keep my passport to travel and then to send it back when I was ready to have the visa put in and then they would mail it back. I politely declined, because I didn't want to run into any delays waiting for it in the future.

Sadly, I've missed 2 girls weekends with my friends - one in Chicago and one shopping day in Buffalo, since I can't cross. And, ym poor fiance has been here 4 times in a row to visit. He's so sick of travelling and coming here, LOL.

Sucks, but time has passed pretty quickly.

[JillA 2]

Yes, Jill is correct, I asked the interviewer if I could cross the border and not use the K1 and she said no. So out of all the people to trust, I trust her since she's the one that approved me in the first place.

I also asked if I could do a land crossing with just my birth certificate and driver's license and she said, no they will know that I have a K1 on my file and ask to see my passport.

I personally would not risk it. I have read that people did that, and I'm sure it was at the discretion of the POE officer. And, I'd rather not put my fate in their hands!

Not sure if you have had your interview yet, but she offered to let me keep my passport to travel and then to send it back when I was ready to have the visa put in and then they would mail it back. I politely declined, because I didn't want to run into any delays waiting for it in the future.

Sadly, I've missed 2 girls weekends with my friends - one in Chicago and one shopping day in Buffalo, since I can't cross. And, ym poor fiance has been here 4 times in a row to visit. He's so sick of travelling and coming here, LOL.

Sucks, but time has passed pretty quickly.

That's how it was for me too, I was approved in July and didn't move until mid-November. You'll be on your way soon

[Tankgurl38 0]

YEah, I am thinking it is not worth risking the chance and I am going to cancel my flight which I was supposed to take tomorrow.

I didn't even think to ask about traveling with it unactivated at my interview, I think I just figured that it was all business as usual until I decided to use it to move.

[JillA 2]

YEah, I am thinking it is not worth risking the chance and I am going to cancel my flight which I was supposed to take tomorrow.

I didn't even think to ask about traveling with it unactivated at my interview, I think I just figured that it was all business as usual until I decided to use it to move.

As others have said on here before, the Visa is already active. So when you cross the POE, you're not actually "activating" it. I think it's safer if you hold off until the move...

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I've been sitting here with my visa in my passport for a couple weeks now and it feels so strange not being able to cross! I did it so many times in the past without a second thought, and I now have to remind myself I can't go! I'm missing out on a Buffalo shopping trip on Wednesday, and a friend of mine from NC is in NY state right now and wanted me to come visit and I had to say no. Its funny trying to explain to people why I can't cross, they don't seem to get it. Its like explaining to people why I'm getting a visa, they don't seem to understand that either- I'm Canadian, why do I need a visa?

I was going to ask the IO at the interview if I could cross with the visa in my passport but I completely forgot... After reading what some other people said I thought it was a bad idea to try it. You'll be with your fiance soon enough!

[Gypsyangel 11]

Here's a thread from about a year ago with different people's experiences (including my successful crossing). It, like so many other things, is a gray area and it depends on the border dude you get. The bottom line is that some people have been successful. If you really want to go, you can give it a try, as long as you can handle being turned back if it doesn't work out.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=120931&hl

[Tankgurl38 0]

Luckily my airline tickets were changable and I am having my fiance come to Canada to visit instead.

I was hoping to get things ready down at his place for when I get there, and open a bank account and stuff, but now he gets to come here and help me figure out what stuff to pack and what to get rid of.

It would have been more fun to head down to Seattle, but I guess I will be there in a month full time, so I can wait.

[suzukiwookie 1]

I had no problems visting my fiancee when I had the K-1 on my passport. The interviewer told me just to tell the POE officer that "I am not activating the visa at this time. I am just visiting." Which was exactly what I told the POE officer, and when he tried to give me a hard time I just told him to call the embassy himself if he didn't know the proper procedures - he didn't ofcourse. So he let me go through.

So far, what I have found through this whole experience at every step, is that there was no reason to worry! As long as you know the rules, make sure to stick to them no matter what people tell you (most of us VJ'ers seem to know the rules better than the POE officers in my experience). So just be confident and polite (but mostly confident) and you'll have no problems going back and forth while K-1 is active.

[MsZ 6]

My husband didn't activate his CR-1 for about 3 months. He was almost forced to (and would have turned around instead) but after he explained the reason he didn't want to activate, they were fine about it.

Edited May 19, 2009 by MsZ