What is best thing to say when entering US on VWP when planning to marry in US then file CR-1

[SurferBoy 0]

My German gf and I are planning to get married and then have her immigrate to the US. We have known each other for 5 years while she was a student and then here on an H1-B visa. She went back to Germany last April and I just visited her there for a month. We have plenty of evidence of our relationship. We have finally decided to take the big step and want to be married in SF.

So the plan is for her to fly to SF on the Visa Waiver, marry and then she returns to Germany. I will file the CR-1 application asap after we are married. From the other topics I gather I don't have to wait for her to return to Germany but can file as soon as we have the marriage certificate.

After reading the other topics, I still have a big question: What is the best thing for her to say when she enters the US on the VWP? The truth, that she is coming to marry me, seems like it will raise the question of whether she intends to immigrate and she could be denied entry. Saying she is coming to visit her boy friend and then we decided to marry sounds safer but is it conceivable the border agent could put this is her file and later on, say during her interview at the US Embassy in Frankfurt, it could come up?

Here's something I found on immigrationlinks.com

"3. Entering the US to marry a US citizen, and then returning to your country to consular process. This situation is perfectly legitimate, but can often cause serious problems to the alien. The most obvious problem is that the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officer at the port of entry may not believe that the alien will in fact return to his or her country after marrying the US citizen. Therefore, what often happens is that the alien is denied entry and must go back to their country and have a fiancé(e) visa petition processed on their behalf."

From our research, we don't want to use the fiance visa because she wants to be able to work as soon as she comes back to the US.

Thanks for your experiences and insights!

[yachachiq12 43]

She should bring evidence of ties to Germany when she goes through the POE. She should be honest about everything but have documentation such as a work contract, house lease/title, German bank accounts, and the like. Whatever she can come up with that will show she does not intend to immigrate on that trip she should have ready to produce if necessary. There are lots of posts on this topic if you do a search.

[l.iber.tatis 7]

I had the same situation and didn´t know anything about those things, so I told them at the airport that I´d get married. lol, I actually told them without them asking me, because ny flight got cancelled 2 times (winter 2010, layover in NY) and when I finally got a 3rd flight to the US I flew into DC and then to IN. I had about 1,5h from landing in DC to my plane to IN leaving!!! Of course I was desperate when I saw the long line in DC and ppl let me pass. at immigration I asked them about the time i needet to my connecting terminal (really long!) and told them with tears in my eyes that I really needes to get theer as fast as possibe coz I was supposed to get married! I didn´t have any problems getting in, they didn´t ask me anything anymore and just wished me good luck and congrats on getting married

[SurferBoy 0]

I had the same situation and didn´t know anything about those things, so I told them at the airport that I´d get married. lol, I actually told them without them asking me, because ny flight got cancelled 2 times (winter 2010, layover in NY) and when I finally got a 3rd flight to the US I flew into DC and then to IN. I had about 1,5h from landing in DC to my plane to IN leaving!!! Of course I was desperate when I saw the long line in DC and ppl let me pass. at immigration I asked them about the time i needet to my connecting terminal (really long!) and told them with tears in my eyes that I really needes to get theer as fast as possibe coz I was supposed to get married! I didn´t have any problems getting in, they didn´t ask me anything anymore and just wished me good luck and congrats on getting married

Hi Mr & Mrs Smith, thanks for your response and your poignant story. It looks like telling the truth may be the best course. I noticed on your timeline that your CR-130 was denied and you are re-applying. Of course I'm curious about why it was denied - do you know why and are you able to share the reason? Thanks!

[SurferBoy 0]

She should bring evidence of ties to Germany when she goes through the POE. She should be honest about everything but have documentation such as a work contract, house lease/title, German bank accounts, and the like. Whatever she can come up with that will show she does not intend to immigrate on that trip she should have ready to produce if necessary. There are lots of posts on this topic if you do a search.

Thanks for your advice - especially about being honest. I couldn't really find anything in the forums about our particular situation - what (if anything) to say at the POE when entering on a VWP if you really are getting married and then planning to leave and have a CR-1 filed. The other posts seem to be about if you are planning to stay and file an AOS. If you can direct me to any posts that address our situation that would be appreciated.

[yachachiq12 43]

They basically say the same as what's been mentioned here. Here are some examples, though the details of course vary:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/115234-visiting-us-prior-to-filing-i-130/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/173760-visiting-spouse-in-us-under-vwp-while-i-130-is-pending/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/328397-visiting-spouse-in-the-us/

One difference for you is you haven't filed the I-130 yet since you aren't yet married. Here's some pertinent info related to that:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/319727-didnt-disclose-intention-to-marry-at-poe/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/311851-marry-on-a-tourist-visa-and-then-cr-1/

Read that last one all the way through, as there is some mis-information that gets corrected. The gist is you can do it. You don't need to mention the intent to marry unless asked what you're up to specifically. For example, if you're asked "business or pleasure?" the response is "pleasure." If asked directly, she needs to disclose intent to marry but be emphatic about the plans to return to Germany and file I-130 (backed up with evidence). Make sure she knows a little of the lingo about filing so they know she's no dummy and not guilty of negligent ignorance. There is always a possibility of being turned away, but most of the cases on here are as a result of lying at POE from the get-go.

Edited to add: some keywords are "destination wedding"

Edited September 19, 2011 by yachachiq12

[Calli 2]

I drove down to the USA from Canada with full intentions of getting married to my husband. I was scared of a denial at POE as well but when I crossed the border I was asked where I was going and how long I was staying and who was at said destination. They said have a great trip and that was all. Had of they asked more in depth questions I would have answered them truthfully as I was prepared with all of ties to Canada (letter from employer of return date, documents from my bank of Canadian assets, bills mailed to my Canadian address).

You have to remember that they aren't looking for reasons to deny people entry, they are looking for you to prove to them that you aren't going to illegally immigrate to the USA. As long as your girlfriend is truthful at POE and has strong ties to Germany I am sure she will have no issues.

Good luck on your journey!

[l.iber.tatis 7]

Hi Mr & Mrs Smith, thanks for your response and your poignant story. It looks like telling the truth may be the best course. I noticed on your timeline that your CR-130 was denied and you are re-applying. Of course I'm curious about why it was denied - do you know why and are you able to share the reason? Thanks!

lol, it´s a simple reason, we got denied coz we didn´t send in all the required evidence. and instead of sending a RFE htey denied us after 5.5 months. we found out that we should have sent in boarding passes, pics,... after we sent in the petition in january and called the service center if we could send them what we forgot. they told us no, not to call them or anything and we would get a RFE. well after 5 months passed we started getting nervous and called them again. they gave us an email address where we could ask about our petition. the next day my husband got an email and text that our petition was denied

well, we could have appealed, but when you appeal you can´t send in any new evidence. since we got denied for the lack of evidenve, appealing didn´t make any sense. we could have tried to reopen the case, but that would have been more expensive than reapplying and it would probably have taken longer to make a decision if they´d reopen the case than getting approved (or denied again ) at uscis. so we decided to refile

WISH US LUCK!

btw, a german girl i know, she is the same age, they married the same day, sent in the petition a day after us and didn´t send in any evidence either, got a rfe and is at the nvc stage right now...

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

While it's perfectly legal to get married on a VW, experience in life has taught us not to volunteer any information. If she's being asked what she wants to do, I'm sure she can answer this truthfully without telling the CBP officer that she plans on getting married. In the highly unlikely event that it comes up, perhaps because she is being pulled into secondary and questioned more thoroughly there, she can admit this, but that would be a last resort, nothing to blast out without the need to do so.

As has been said before, she should be able to document that she needs to return to Germany. If she has a lease, a job, a car, a dog, a cat, a goldfish and insurances, that should be possible.

I all likelihood, CBP will only briefly ask one or two questions and then wishes her a pleasant vacation.