Visiting the U.S from Canada

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Hey guys! I know there's a big visitation thread on the K-1 Forums, but I couldn't find any instances where anyone visited for more than say, 3 months.

So I was wondering if anyone had any experiences with coming to visit their fiance for more than 3 months? I'm a U.S Citizen petitioning a K-1 visa for my Canadian fiance. We want to try and spend as much of the time together as we can, so we're going to have him come visit me in the states, and we're WANTING him to be able to come visit for the allowed 6 months, but we're afraid of him being turned away. He's only visited the states once for a week ( 2 years ago ).

He lives with his parents and has no job currently ( the town we're in has literally no job opportunities ). But when I visited Canada I lived with my grandparents and had no job either, and they let me through. He will only have 2 suitcases for clothes and etc.

I'm hoping that the POE officers would understand that since we've filed for a K-1, we aren't going to risk our Visa by doing something illegal like getting married before our Visa is issued or having him overstay, but each POE and POE officer is different. So I'm just curious as to if anyone has any information on what I should bring or what we should say, and if anyone has any stories of their own where they visited their fiance for over 3 months.

[SamanthaL 45]

I tried to enter into the us to visit my fiance back in April and was turned away because of not having enough ties to my own country such as no job at the time, no bills, ect. I would say visiting for a short amount of time would be fine but something as 6 months, I think he would have a hard time getting in.

Edited March 5, 2013 by SamanthaL

[The Mean Lady 604]

I strongly suggest you do not attempt w/o proper ties for a stay that long.

Feel free to hear my horror stories here about how my husband is red flagged for 5 years because of it:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/395336-problems-advice-and-stories-on-border-crossing/

[Teddy B 17,252]

I strongly suggest you do not attempt w/o proper ties for a stay that long.

Feel free to hear my horror stories here about how my husband is red flagged for 5 years because of it:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/395336-problems-advice-and-stories-on-border-crossing/

I agree. Short trips only with return tickets. His living with his parents and no job will be a hurdle.

[The Mean Lady 604]

I agree. Short trips only with return tickets. His living with his parents and no job will be a hurdle.

It's the EXACT situation we were in.

My husband was living in a second building on his dad's property and I told him to not worry about finding a job since he was coming to stay with me for 3 months.

[SF2007 48]

I visited my now husband in the U.S. for months at a time before we filed for a K1. We wanted to be in a long lasting relationship and we took the process seriously. My longest trip was 5 months. Never stayed more than 6 months in the same calendar year as I wanted to keep my residence in Canada. On my 3rd attempt, I was held in secondary for hours before being denied and told I would not be allowed back until I had my visa in hand. Usually they will deny you if your ties to your country are not strong enough. Or if you have been spending a lot of time. And how strong your ties are... well that is up to your POE officer to determine.

So yes, my husband and I could spend great time together before the process. And that was awesome. But for the whole year our K1 application took to be processed, HE had to be the one visiting. Sucks as I was the one with mobility and time off. As you probably know already: being stuck to chat and Skype sucks big time.

You having filed for a K1 is good news. But it does not guaranty entry as the visa has not been issued. From what you say, your fiance has very weak ties to his country: no property, no job. In a POE officer's mind, this means he has "nothing to go back to". This makes him suspicious. Perhaps he will be questioned at the border. Perhaps not. But for a trip that long, my money is on he will. Know there is no harm in him trying to visit. Worst case scenario he will be denied entry. In which case it will NOT affect his K1 application as long as he did NOT lie or misrepresent himself.

You both should be prepared for the possibility of him being denied entry. In your situation, I would stick to shorter trips.

[Flames9_RN 358]

No 1 can give you a concrete answer---it really depends on the POE Officer and how you handle yourself!! The longer one wants to stay, the more one MAY get questioned.