Can my fiancé travel to US for holidays while waiting for the K1 visa?

[Lana & Mauro 3]

Hi!

We are still waiting for our NOA2 (unfortunately...but we need to be patient, we know!), it's two months already that we sent our package...

We were thinking to start organizing our Xsmas holidays. Do you know if there is any problem for my fiancé to enter the US just for a vacation while waiting for the K1 visa?

I mean do you think that he can have problems when going through Customs Control?

Thank you so much for your help!

[cappucino boy 29]

I'm not sure but if your under the visa waiver program and she has a tourist visa I don't think it matters.

Bernie

[mugumogu 18]

If your fiance(e) has the proper visa to travel to the US on holiday (or if your country doesn't require a US visa due to the visa waiver program) then he or she has a right to use that visa to come visit. There could potentialy be an issue if the immigration officers determine upon his or her entry that your fiance(e) intends to stay in the US as an immigrant and will not leave after the holidays. That's up to them. If he or she has a round trip ticket showing intention to return home and hasn't made a lot of recent, frequent visits to the US, it should not raise any concerns about your fiance(e) remaining in the US after the holidays.

Edited October 7, 2011 by mugumogu

[DeeDee&Sam 68]

tourist visa, if she can proove strong ties with italy (house, bussiness, car, etc)

[Harsh_77 718]

Your fiance can try, but in worst case scenario should be prepared to be denied entry at POE.

As officer at POE can deny him the entry if he feels your fiance would not return back home upon end of the vacation period.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Hi!

We are still waiting for our NOA2 (unfortunately...but we need to be patient, we know!), it's two months already that we sent our package...

We were thinking to start organizing our Xsmas holidays. Do you know if there is any problem for my fiancé to enter the US just for a vacation while waiting for the K1 visa?

I mean do you think that he can have problems when going through Customs Control?

Thank you so much for your help!

Yes Italy is Visa waiver country with the USA. He can enter the country on a passport only for up to 90 days. No problems Merry Christmas.

[ghepardo 8]

Just because Italy is a visa waiver country does not necessarily mean that a POE officer will allow you into the country. I think there is some confusion by some (especially non-VWP countries) that somehow that the VWP is carte blanc to come and go when you like. In principle this is generally true, but as some on this forum have experienced, in reality it all depends on the POE officer.

We sought to have the Italian spouse come into the States while awaiting the CR-1 USCIS/NVC paper work to process. We contacted the embassy in Rome, and they explicitly told us that spouse should not travel to the States on a VWP, and that the proper visa would be Tourist visa, and they quite clearly said that because of our pending CR-1 visa status that unless we already had tourist visa, that the chances of being approved for a tourist visa was almost no good.

Further the US embassy in Rome told us while they know some people travel to the States on VWP with a pending visa, they officially do not permit it, and highly recommended that you do not attempt it as a POE has all of your pending visa status on the computer terminal. Of course people often do, and many times people have no problems. Be prepared to prove you have strong ties with returning to Italy in XX days (clear proof of employment etc). After reading several success stories of people from other VWP countries, we considered it, but the Italian spouse did not want to take a chance and later explain it in an interview down the road, and besides it's a looooong flight home if you get turned around. Remember that a POE officer has no problem turning you around, and as we all know some of these officers seem to relish acting like jerks (not all, but most of them seem to be).

I'm not trying to sound pessimistic, but I think you should be fully aware of the stakes. Some people may just tell you to go for it, but I think you should contact the embassy and ask them. Call whichever consulate is closest, just email them or call (we've done both over this very question). Getting turned around at a POE because the suspicious officer thinks you will overstay is not a major offense, but I can imagine it is not only wasted money for a flight, but disheartening (as I've read by others on this forum-just search a little bit you will find those stories from VWP countries). If you have strong proof of family ties and make a short trip of it, you may be fine, but just be aware of the otherside of the coin.

The other option is to have the US citizen travel to Italy, and Italy in the time of the year as you know is cheaper to travel and very festive.

whatever you decide good luck! The time will go by before you know it.

[kaleigha 3]

Hello,

My fiance came to visit from italy while we were waiting for our NOA2 also. I was really nervous about it. He took his copy of the I-129f package that we sent as proof that we were going about things the legal way, but he didn't bring any other proof than that, because unfortunately he was not working and he doesn't own a house or lease an apartment right now... So, I was very nervous while I was waiting at the airport to pick him up....

All of my nervousness was for nothing. He made it through customs without any problems and he was here for 88 days...

He said the officers were nice, didn't even ask to see any proof that he was returning except to check that he had a return flight. He flew into Logan international airport in boston, which we have never had any problems with.

Italy is a visa waiver country, so you don't need as visa, as you probably already know.

If you want to plan a trip, I say go for it, but just know that its not a complete guarantee.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Just because Italy is a visa waiver country does not necessarily mean that a POE officer will allow you into the country. I think there is some confusion by some (especially non-VWP countries) that somehow that the VWP is carte blanc to come and go when you like. In principle this is generally true, but as some on this forum have experienced, in reality it all depends on the POE officer.

We sought to have the Italian spouse come into the States while awaiting the CR-1 USCIS/NVC paper work to process. We contacted the embassy in Rome, and they explicitly told us that spouse should not travel to the States on a VWP, and that the proper visa would be Tourist visa, and they quite clearly said that because of our pending CR-1 visa status that unless we already had tourist visa, that the chances of being approved for a tourist visa was almost no good.

Further the US embassy in Rome told us while they know some people travel to the States on VWP with a pending visa, they officially do not permit it, and highly recommended that you do not attempt it as a POE has all of your pending visa status on the computer terminal. Of course people often do, and many times people have no problems. Be prepared to prove you have strong ties with returning to Italy in XX days (clear proof of employment etc). After reading several success stories of people from other VWP countries, we considered it, but the Italian spouse did not want to take a chance and later explain it in an interview down the road, and besides it's a looooong flight home if you get turned around. Remember that a POE officer has no problem turning you around, and as we all know some of these officers seem to relish acting like jerks (not all, but most of them seem to be).

I'm not trying to sound pessimistic, but I think you should be fully aware of the stakes. Some people may just tell you to go for it, but I think you should contact the embassy and ask them. Call whichever consulate is closest, just email them or call (we've done both over this very question). Getting turned around at a POE because the suspicious officer thinks you will overstay is not a major offense, but I can imagine it is not only wasted money for a flight, but disheartening (as I've read by others on this forum-just search a little bit you will find those stories from VWP countries). If you have strong proof of family ties and make a short trip of it, you may be fine, but just be aware of the otherside of the coin.

The other option is to have the US citizen travel to Italy, and Italy in the time of the year as you know is cheaper to travel and very festive.

whatever you decide good luck! The time will go by before you know it.

They lied to you. Entering with a pending visa is usually a good sign that you're doing things the legal way and you're rarely given issues. This nonsense about "officially" not allowing it?.. weird. In the event you ARE denied entry it will have NO impact on your pending visa as you're denied for immigrant intent and that's the point of the K1/CR-1 etc.

[yonglin 1]

Visited the US last week on the VWP through Toronto. Being risk averse, I decided to pay a slight premium to enter at Pearson Airport to ensure that I wouldn't have to board the flight if they decided to deny entry. With the advice from VJ, I had stocked up on a bunch of "evidence" to show "ties" to Canada, all of which turned out to be completely unnecessary (just never asked, not even about return itinerary). Come to think about it, I think this was the easiest entry I've ever had into the US: none of the usual demeaning questions about my relationship, etc. I doubt the border officer could see any information about the pending K-1 application on his computer terminal. If he did, he for sure didn't mention anything about it.

If the fiance is an Italian citizen, I think attempting entry on the VWP is preferable to applying for a tourist visa. In particular, there was a post a while back about someone in your situation who had applied for and been denied a tourist visa rather than going on the VWP (which they were eligible for). Consequently, they now have to check the "ever been denied a US visa" box on the ESTA ever after.

At the end of the day, it all depends on the who he runs into at the border. It doesn't matter if he's on the VWP or on a tourist visa: if the border officer has a bad day, they can still deny entry. Trying to be polite and composed when talking to them will certainly not hurt. On the whole, prepare for the worst and hope for the best!

Best of luck!

[Boiler 45,561]

The chances of an issue entering are very very very small.

I also visited on the VWP without problems.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Carrying a copy of the K-1 immigration package with all of the notices you have received to date is useful. This shows that you are aware of the proper immigration process and are following the correct route. In fact, you have invested money and time into the process already and are not likely to jeopardize your success by doing something stupid like breaking immigration law .

I travelled a number of times to visit my then fiance during our K-1 process. I was pulled into secondary immigration inspection twice and in both cases, when they were going through my package of 'ties to Canada' and they reached the K-1 file, they quickly looked at it, closed the folder then handed it back and wished me a good visit.

So, yes you can visit. Prepare a package of documents that show your ties to Italy (job, financial obligations, etc. ) and include a copy of your K-1 paperwork as well. That, along with your return ticket, will help reassure the border officials that you really are intending to visit on this trip, rather than to stay.

Good luck.

[ghepardo 8]

They lied to you. Entering with a pending visa is usually a good sign that you're doing things the legal way and you're rarely given issues. This nonsense about "officially" not allowing it?.. weird. In the event you ARE denied entry it will have NO impact on your pending visa as you're denied for immigrant intent and that's the point of the K1/CR-1 etc.

Not sure why the DOS would "lie to me", rather I think they are telling us what is stated on the books. Whether someone chooses to heed that advice is another issue. As I indicated in my posting, many people pull it off without a hitch, but as can be found throughout this forum over the years you can also be turned around, and many people have posted such stories. Why do you say it's "nonsense" because others have done it and go through. As I indicated, the best way is to ask the embassy, and if that's nonsense, then I guess you could say the "official" visa process is as you say "nonsense".

What I said was that you need to know what is officially permitted and what the possible repercussions are.

[Enigma23 68]

Not sure why the DOS would "lie to me", rather I think they are telling us what is stated on the books. Whether someone chooses to heed that advice is another issue. As I indicated in my posting, many people pull it off without a hitch, but as can be found throughout this forum over the years you can also be turned around, and many people have posted such stories. Why do you say it's "nonsense" because others have done it and go through. As I indicated, the best way is to ask the embassy, and if that's nonsense, then I guess you could say the "official" visa process is as you say "nonsense".

What I said was that you need to know what is officially permitted and what the possible repercussions are.

Hi!

Here you go.. some "official" help... but yes as demonstrated it can go either way.. best to be prepared in advance and have evidence... JIC

Can I travel to the U.S. for business or pleasure while my K fiancé/fiancée visa is pending?

You can travel however you may be subject to scrutiny. Travel under another visa status or the visa waiver program is not advisedfor K-1 fiancé/fiancée visa applicants prior to the approval of their K visa as they have already indicated their intention is to marry in the U.S. For more information about Nonimmigrant visa for a fiancé (e) K visa visit Travel.state.gov.

You can see more here:

https://help.cbp.gov...ee-visa-pending

[TBoneTX 45,329]

Good answer just above, but this thread was last active in Fall 2011 and is being closed because of its age. The pinned thread atop the K-1 Process forum remains.