Extended US & International travel while awaiting K1

[JustJanis 2]

I was wondering what the rules are for travelling during the K1 processing time.

I don't mean just a weekend here or there but going to stay for 30 - 90 days (or however long is legally allowable) in Japan and/or US to be with my fiance while we wait. I would travel back for any appointments of course. We have just applied for my K1 visa so we are in the early stages and don't expect to hear anything back for 5-6 months as per the VSC processing times and really want to spend as much time together as possible.

Being away that long would mean giving up my apartment but will still have a permanent address here and leaving my job which I was going to be doing before the end of the year to move when the K1 is processed anyhow. I just don't want anything to jeopardize the K1 process or any border crossing issues.

Any links to or info you could provide would be very much appreciated. Thx

[Spoon 7]

I was wondering what the rules are for travelling during the K1 processing time.

I don't mean just a weekend here or there but going to stay for 30 - 90 days (or however long is legally allowable) in Japan and/or US to be with my fiance while we wait. I would travel back for any appointments of course. We have just applied for my K1 visa so we are in the early stages and don't expect to hear anything back for 5-6 months as per the VSC processing times and really want to spend as much time together as possible.

Being away that long would mean giving up my apartment but will still have a permanent address here and leaving my job which I was going to be doing before the end of the year to move when the K1 is processed anyhow. I just don't want anything to jeopardize the K1 process or any border crossing issues.

Any links to or info you could provide would be very much appreciated. Thx

I've spoken with my lawyer, two CBP officers when coming back to the US and the CBP office in DC. They all told me the same thing: It's a risk.

Poking around on this forum will show you a lot of stories of people that have made it in country for an extended amount of time. Basically, the only trick is that you need to convince the first CBP officer that you will go back after your allotted time. There are a bunch of ways to do that but I'll let the people that have pulled it off comment on that. Here is the rub that convinced us not to try. If you are denied entry it can still screw up you K-1. Maybe not the actual visa process but you may still get denied entry after you get your K-1. That is according to my lawyer who had this happen to one of his clients and CBP when I called them to figure out my options. It's possible that would only happen in an extreme circumstance but it was enough for us not to try. I would hit up the Canadian regional forum for good places to enter the US and methods to get you through safe.

[payxibka 10,045]

I was wondering what the rules are for travelling during the K1 processing time.

I don't mean just a weekend here or there but going to stay for 30 - 90 days (or however long is legally allowable) in Japan and/or US to be with my fiance while we wait. I would travel back for any appointments of course. We have just applied for my K1 visa so we are in the early stages and don't expect to hear anything back for 5-6 months as per the VSC processing times and really want to spend as much time together as possible.

Being away that long would mean giving up my apartment but will still have a permanent address here and leaving my job which I was going to be doing before the end of the year to move when the K1 is processed anyhow. I just don't want anything to jeopardize the K1 process or any border crossing issues.

Any links to or info you could provide would be very much appreciated. Thx

You can travel anywhere you want... you must meet the specific countries entry requirements but, there is nothing that says you cannot travel. You are going to apply for a US visa... The US does not put shackles on you

[JustJanis 2]

I think it I might not want to take the chance staying too long in the US until I'm sure - I'll definately so some more reading up on it, I like to follow the rules. But it would only be a visit, no matter how long, I will be coming back. I will definately have a return ticket and won't go for more than the allowed time. It's just to visit while he's working out of country.

[JustJanis 2]

I was wondering what the rules are for travelling during the K1 processing time.

I don't mean just a weekend here or there but going to stay for 30 - 90 days (or however long is legally allowable) in Japan and/or US to be with my fiance while we wait. I would travel back for any appointments of course. We have just applied for my K1 visa so we are in the early stages and don't expect to hear anything back for 5-6 months as per the VSC processing times and really want to spend as much time together as possible.

Being away that long would mean giving up my apartment but will still have a permanent address here and leaving my job which I was going to be doing before the end of the year to move when the K1 is processed anyhow. I just don't want anything to jeopardize the K1 process or any border crossing issues.

Any links to or info you could provide would be very much appreciated. Thx

Thanks for the input. In addition to the travel question... I'm wondering how quitting my job and changing my address to mom's while waiting the 5+ months will effect the process if at all? And where and when do I put in the change if we're less than 1 month into the process? My mail will be forwarded to mom's for a year, although I won't be at mom's much as I will be staying with my love in Japan and the US as much as legally possible while we wait it out. And yes, we'll have couriers arranged to forward any pertinent mail to where ever we are

Anyone else have any experience with this?