Visiting the US using tourist visa after getting married

[CJ8611 6]

Hi! I'm from Manila, Philippines and I'm getting married to my US citizen fiance (naturalized, we were high school classmates) this August here. Due to time constraints, he will be going back to the US a week after our wedding. I am a US Tourist Visa holder and we thought if I could go with him to the US after the wedding so we can spend more time together. Then after a month's stay go back here to the Philippines to take care of the legal documents we would be needing for the immigration and of course, take care of the process itself. I have been to the US twice, 2009 and 2010, and during those times, I always visited my fiance. However, my POEs at both visits were not the direct to my fiance's city, I would visit relatives first. My stay in the US during those two accounts lasted for 6 weeks. And during my 2nd visit, I stayed for 5 weeks with my fiance. Now, I'm thinking whether there's a possibility that I would be denied at the POE given the situation that I would then be married to a USC and the POE would then be direct to my fiance's city.

Would love to hear any advice or similar experiences.

Thank you very much!

[CJ8611 6]

Hi everyone! Just re-posting...this is the more appropriate forum section I believe

I'm getting married to my US citizen fiance (naturalized, we were high school classmates) here in the Philippines. Due to time constraints, he will be going back to the US a week after our wedding. I am a US Tourist Visa holder and we thought if I could go with him to the US after the wedding so we can spend more time together. Then after a month's stay go back here to the Philippines to take care of the legal documents we would be needing for the immigration and of course, take care of the process itself. I have been to the US twice, 2009 and 2010, and during those times, I always visited my fiance. However, my POEs at both visits were not direct to my fiance's city of residence, I would visit relatives first. My stay in the US during those two accounts lasted for 6 weeks. And during my 2nd visit, I stayed for 5 weeks with my fiance. Now, I'm thinking whether there's a possibility that I would be denied at the POE given the situation that I would then be married to a USC and the POE would then be direct to my fiance's city of residence.

Would love to hear any advice or similar experiences.

Thank you very much!

[Messybrownhair 251]

You can try, and as long as you prove you are going back then they could let you in. Just show documents that you will be returning (return ticket, letter from employer etc) and if you can show proof that you will be filing the correct paperwork and will not try to enter as a tourist and adjust status in the US. There are no guarantees they will let you in, it would be upon the discretion of the immigration officer. Whatever you do, do not lie. Goodluck

[jnjune30 0]

Hi there!! i am from Mexico city and my soon to be husband it´s a us born citizen. We are wondering the same thing we are trying to check if i am able to visit him in Wisconsin this june, we fill the form to get the k1 forms, (supposed to be arriving in the summer, or at the end of this summer), we did not stop to think when we fill the form if i was going to have problems entering to the US after we fill the form. I am lil scare, because lets be honest some migration officers can be a little racist sometimes, and well i just don´t want to be stop on migration for 16 hours or what ever trying to explained that i have a job, family and life and my intentions are not bad. If we know anything about this, we will let you know. Lets not panic, cse if we do this process will be so unpleasant.

Best wishes for you guys!

[Scott and Mhay 57]

I am assuming your passport and visa is in your maiden name right? How are they going to know you are married to a citizen unless you tell them? Don't offer anymore information than asked for. When they ask your purpose of travel, you are just visiting. What did you tell the immigration officer before when you would visit your family first then your fiance? You could have been denied before because your family was here, but as long as you have all your paperwork in order, there is no reason for them to deny you.

There is nothing wrong with your plan as you explained it now. Everything is legal as long as you leave the US before the expiration of your I-94. As always, never lie to the officer...always answer their questions directly. If you do that, you will have no issues IMO.

[CJ8611 6]

You can try, and as long as you prove you are going back then they could let you in. Just show documents that you will be returning (return ticket, letter from employer etc) and if you can show proof that you will be filing the correct paperwork and will not try to enter as a tourist and adjust status in the US. There are no guarantees they will let you in, it would be upon the discretion of the immigration officer. Whatever you do, do not lie. Goodluck

Thanks! Yeah, we have no plans of adjusting my status in the US. We want to go the normal route or traditional one. I have been to the US 2x, we could have married civilly and adjusted my status then, why would I risk it now is the argument. Good luck to me! Haha!

[CJ8611 6]

I am assuming your passport and visa is in your maiden name right? How are they going to know you are married to a citizen unless you tell them? Don't offer anymore information than asked for. When they ask your purpose of travel, you are just visiting. What did you tell the immigration officer before when you would visit your family first then your fiance? You could have been denied before because your family was here, but as long as you have all your paperwork in order, there is no reason for them to deny you.

There is nothing wrong with your plan as you explained it now. Everything is legal as long as you leave the US before the expiration of your I-94. As always, never lie to the officer...always answer their questions directly. If you do that, you will have no issues IMO.

Yes, you are right! But I just can't recall if the civil status is being asked in the I-94. It could be asked by the officer also. During my 2 visits, I wasn't asked to present any papers at all except for the passport of course and the ticket. Questions were an average of 3-5, purpose of visit, where I'm staying at, how much money I have with me, what's my work, how long have I been working...So now, I'm thinking of all the possible questions. And when asked where will I stay, which is a standard question, that would be a tough question to answer...Before I just said at my auntie's then at my sister's. This time, husband/mother-in-law/sister-in-law/relative...but just the same, like what you said, answer truthfully and directly. Thanks!

[CJ8611 6]

Hi there!! i am from Mexico city and my soon to be husband it´s a us born citizen. We are wondering the same thing we are trying to check if i am able to visit him in Wisconsin this june, we fill the form to get the k1 forms, (supposed to be arriving in the summer, or at the end of this summer), we did not stop to think when we fill the form if i was going to have problems entering to the US after we fill the form. I am lil scare, because lets be honest some migration officers can be a little racist sometimes, and well i just don´t want to be stop on migration for 16 hours or what ever trying to explained that i have a job, family and life and my intentions are not bad. If we know anything about this, we will let you know. Lets not panic, cse if we do this process will be so unpleasant.

Best wishes for you guys!

Thank you so much, that would be really great, I appreciate that. About the officers, well, hopefully we get to encounter a nice officer who is not having a bad day! Good luck to us!

[Krikit 1,164]

Duplicate threads merged.

[CJ8611 6]

Duplicate threads merged.

Thank you. I was trying to figure out how to delete my other post...sorry for that.

[Krikit 1,164]

Thank you. I was trying to figure out how to delete my other post...sorry for that.

No problem. All you have to do is hit the "Report" button and someone will be along to take care of things.

[Messybrownhair 251]

The I-94 does not ask for your status, but upon inspection you will be asked "What is the purpose of your visit?" So the question here is, what will you say? I will visit __________________. If you say your husband, then that's when you might be given a hard time. But then again, you can't lie. It's a tough situation. If you say my friend, and they find out you were already married, I don't know how it could affect things. So I think just arm yourself with a ton of documents to help support you, and you could be okay. Goodluck, I hope it goes well

[rlogan 2,036]

Hi everyone! Just re-posting...this is the more appropriate forum section I believe

I'm getting married to my US citizen fiance (naturalized, we were high school classmates) here in the Philippines. Due to time constraints, he will be going back to the US a week after our wedding. I am a US Tourist Visa holder and we thought if I could go with him to the US after the wedding so we can spend more time together. Then after a month's stay go back here to the Philippines to take care of the legal documents we would be needing for the immigration and of course, take care of the process itself. I have been to the US twice, 2009 and 2010, and during those times, I always visited my fiance. However, my POEs at both visits were not direct to my fiance's city of residence, I would visit relatives first. My stay in the US during those two accounts lasted for 6 weeks. And during my 2nd visit, I stayed for 5 weeks with my fiance. Now, I'm thinking whether there's a possibility that I would be denied at the POE given the situation that I would then be married to a USC and the POE would then be direct to my fiance's city of residence.

Would love to hear any advice or similar experiences.

Thank you very much!

Hi. I can't give a definitive answer but one thing is for sure - if Immigration thinks you have even slightly bended the truth then there can be trouble. I'd think the most important issue is whether on your tourist visa application you were completely truthful about the purpose of the visit being to see and stay with your fiance. Because if you did not say that, then I can see them denying entry because the visa was not granted for that purpose.

It must have been some kind of multiple-entry visa, the way you have described it. Suppose you had such a tourist visa and in the meantime you looked for and obtained an employment offer from some US firm over the internet. That would definitely be a violation of the visa terms because you would actually be coming for the job, but using a tourist visa for entry. This seems similar because you aren't coming as a tourist. You are coming to see your husband.

My feeling is that if this were me, I would want an answer directly from the point of entry people. I called the Seattle office directly to ask them a question I was concerned about with my wife. I forget what it was I asked them, but I found their phone number on the internet and called them. I'd recommend doing that along with a lot of other research to make sure.

[CJ8611 6]

The I-94 does not ask for your status, but upon inspection you will be asked "What is the purpose of your visit?" So the question here is, what will you say? I will visit __________________. If you say your husband, then that's when you might be given a hard time. But then again, you can't lie. It's a tough situation. If you say my friend, and they find out you were already married, I don't know how it could affect things. So I think just arm yourself with a ton of documents to help support you, and you could be okay. Goodluck, I hope it goes well

I really hope so! Thank you so much!

[CJ8611 6]

Hi. I can't give a definitive answer but one thing is for sure - if Immigration thinks you have even slightly bended the truth then there can be trouble. I'd think the most important issue is whether on your tourist visa application you were completely truthful about the purpose of the visit being to see and stay with your fiance. Because if you did not say that, then I can see them denying entry because the visa was not granted for that purpose.

It must have been some kind of multiple-entry visa, the way you have described it. Suppose you had such a tourist visa and in the meantime you looked for and obtained an employment offer from some US firm over the internet. That would definitely be a violation of the visa terms because you would actually be coming for the job, but using a tourist visa for entry. This seems similar because you aren't coming as a tourist. You are coming to see your husband.

My feeling is that if this were me, I would want an answer directly from the point of entry people. I called the Seattle office directly to ask them a question I was concerned about with my wife. I forget what it was I asked them, but I found their phone number on the internet and called them. I'd recommend doing that along with a lot of other research to make sure.

Yes, I have a 10-year multiple entry tourist VISA. You are right about your analogy. But then, we really don't have plans on changing my status while in the US on a tourist VISA (or don't have a "job interview with a US firm")...

Thanks for your advice! I will ask my fiance to try to get in touch with the POE office. And we'll couple it with a lot of research...

Thanks again!