Immigration questions for K-1 Fiancee when she's at US Customs

[Al422 221]

If she lies and is caught, she commits the serioud felony of visa fraud. Not a good idea.

You may be interested to know that the pendency of a visa petition does not alter the right an alien would have otherwise had to enter the United States as a tourist. In other words, if she was eligible to enter the United States before the filing of the i-129(f) on the VWP, that eligibility remains unaffected. Let her come and tell the immigration officer exactly why she is coming. Although it is unlikely the officer will ask, have a copy of the NOA2 handy just in case.

Once the K-1 is issued, her first entry will be considered her one POE entry under the K-1, and she thereafter cannot leave until she has either AP or GC. But until then, she can visit, no problem. Just comply with the same VWP rules she always complied with.

Hi all!

Just to chime in, I am the overseas fiancee and I will be visiting in March too. First time since we filed. I am planning to let them know I am visiting my partner/fiancee at POE if they ask of course - and I will bring some ties relating to my job, NOA-1 etc.

I am only staying a week, so I hope I'll be fine. I am nervous nonehteless.

And talking about POEs: My fiance lives in NJ too. I have had horrible times at JFK but never a single problem at Newark. Hence I always go through Newark. It is just so subjective...

My wife did POE at JFK and breezed right through. But by all means if you are more comfortable at Liberty (Newark), go there.

[TabeaK 517]

Like I said, it is very, very subjective. Therefore I do not think you can warn people about certain POEs - people will just have different experiences.

[rtor1 52]

Well, I told them exactly I was going to visit my fiancé all the times I have been there after the engagement and NEVER had a problem with it. They just asked my profession and my fiancé's as well. Very smoothly. NEVER lie!!!

[wbeem 568]

I think it depends more on the Immigration Officer you get than on the POE in most cases. I flew through EWR in December to visit my fiance for Christmas and New Year and it was easier than any other time I've entered the US. We seemed to have been assigned to a very relaxed IO. He didn't even ask me the purpose of my visit. I had taken a heavily loaded accordion file with me with proof of ties. He made a comment on the fact that I'd declared chocolate on my customs form, asked when I was going back, winked and said "Have fun." Get your fiance to gather as much proof of ties to her country as possible, even if that has to include sworn statements from friends and family stating that she is coming back and make sure she has a telephone number to contact you among the papers so that if they decide they want to call you, they can do so with minimal delays.

[Ms Hogan 295]

Does she speak English well? Remind her to be patient herself with the agents as they talk fast and are often in such a hurry and English is an overwhelming wordy language as we all know. Tell her to bring pieces of paper that show her ties including a return flight ticket. Tell her to take her time and not offer more information than what they are asking. I even remember one time getting kinda yelled at for saying "One Canadian and One American" when asked what's your citizenship at a border crossing with my husband in the car with me. The agent is asking one specific question at a time usually. He only wanted to know MY citizenship and he said "I asked YOUR citizenship, not his." Sheesh!

They know what they're looking for when people are being dishonest. So tell her to be truthful and patient. She should be just fine. She is not doing anything wrong. She just has to make sure they believe that she will return to her country after her visit.

Edited February 1, 2015 by Ms Hogan

[Freemind81 1]

Thanks for the everyone's post. I guess as everyone mentioned, she shouldn't offer more information than what's asked.

So If I understand this correctly, if the Customs agent asks her the purpose of her visit, she should just reply "Travel".

Only if the Agent asks her who she is visiting or will be seeing, then she should say "Fiancee"?

Oh man, this feels like a play on words game.

[tiko1426 17]

Thanks for the everyone's post. I guess as everyone mentioned, she shouldn't offer more information than what's asked.

So If I understand this correctly, if the Customs agent asks her the purpose of her visit, she should just reply "Travel".

Only if the Agent asks her who she is visiting or will be seeing, then she should say "Fiancee"?

Oh man, this feels like a play on words game.

A friend I know told who works as a CBP agent told me they monitor this website...You should be very careful with what you post here....

It is Obvious they know about this site for at least 15 years now....

Just a Friendly WARNING....

[Limey 551]

A friend I know told who works as a CBP agent told me they monitor this website...You should be very careful with what you post here....

It is Obvious they know about this site for at least 15 years now....

Just a Friendly WARNING....

If they did monitor it I don't think they'd have any problems with what is said over and over

1) you can travel while in the k1 process

2) never lie to the immigration officers

3) have sufficient documentation to prove that you aren't going to stay

The people on this site are the ones trying to do things legally. I think if CBP agents did go through these forums they'd probably be impressed that despite some of us having to wait many months because of problems in Texas we're still doing things correctly the legal way, and advising others to do the same.

[Cathi 5,748]

I'm filling out the paperwork for the K-1 Visa and am about to send in the I-129F packet.

However, my fiancee is coming to visit me in the beginning of March and I'm a little bit concerned about US Customs.

What is she supposed to say at Customs when they ask her what's the purpose of her visit?

Does she lie and tell them she came to visit friends and sightsee? But if they do any digging and find out she has a Fiance, it'll be bad news. Would immigration know? (Since I submitted the paperwork to USCIS). Even if she's got the OK to go through what happens later on when she has Visa interview in American consulate in Japan. Since she only told US customs that she came to visit friends, wouldn't American consulate in Japan attack this point?

Does she tell them the truth and say she came to visit her Fiance? She's only going to be staying here for less than a month (she's on VWP) and I'm going to supply her with the paperwork/proof of the received I-129F from USCIS. But there's the chance the US Customs will think that she's trying to AOS here (even though my I-129F should be submitted by then) and deport her.

My apologies for the long/convoluted post. Maybe I'm being paranoid and overthinking everything. But everything is so much more difficult with Customs when the thought of Marriage comes into play.

I know doing the AOS method is risky and illegal so we had decided to do things the legal way. Even doing things legally now, I feel like I'm committing some major crime.

Did you seriously just ask if she should lie??? Never EVER lie at any point for any reason whatsoever at ANY point during the immigration process, whether it be to USCIS, NVC, the consulate, customs... NEVER lie to anyone EVER!

Edited February 2, 2015 by mimolicious

[Elizabeth+Fred 35]

I'm filling out the paperwork for the K-1 Visa and am about to send in the I-129F packet.

However, my fiancee is coming to visit me in the beginning of March and I'm a little bit concerned about US Customs.

What is she supposed to say at Customs when they ask her what's the purpose of her visit?

Does she lie and tell them she came to visit friends and sightsee? But if they do any digging and find out she has a Fiance, it'll be bad news. Would immigration know? (Since I submitted the paperwork to USCIS). Even if she's got the OK to go through what happens later on when she has Visa interview in American consulate in Japan. Since she only told US customs that she came to visit friends, wouldn't American consulate in Japan attack this point?

Does she tell them the truth and say she came to visit her Fiance? She's only going to be staying here for less than a month (she's on VWP) and I'm going to supply her with the paperwork/proof of the received I-129F from USCIS. But there's the chance the US Customs will think that she's trying to AOS here (even though my I-129F should be submitted by then) and deport her.

My apologies for the long/convoluted post. Maybe I'm being paranoid and overthinking everything. But everything is so much more difficult with Customs when the thought of Marriage comes into play.

I know doing the AOS method is risky and illegal so we had decided to do things the legal way. Even doing things legally now, I feel like I'm committing some major crime.

Hi,

Basically, the answer is "never lie" , because that would/could be considered fraud. Bad.

So, in this case, when asked what the purpose of her visit is, she smiles and happily tells

them "I am visiting my fiance for a few weeks, while waiting for our official paperwork to

complete." She then hands the CBP officer a copy of the NOA1 (or NOA2, if you have it

by then) confirmation of the I-129F package.

The moment the CBP officer checks your fiancee's passport, their screen WILL show that

there is a K-1 application in progress. So, by showing them the confirmation of that fact,

you should them that you are honest. They usually like that.

Now, Japan is not a high-fraud (risk) country, so usually, this will be it. The officer might

warn her that "she HAS to go back" within the timeframe specified, that is fine. If they

do, she could reply "Of course! I woud not want to put our K-1 application in danger!"

If available, she could bring some documents to show that she HAS to go home after

the visit, like, for example, a rental agreement for her apartment, a letter from university

or work that she has to be back at a certain date, etc. Hopefully, she'll have at least

one of these that she could bring.

The absolute worst case scenario is, that the CBP officer doesn't believe she will go back

to Japan in time, and "just stay"... and therefore deny her access to the U.S. and send

her back to Japan on the next flight. Although this is very bad emotionally, this DOES NOT

endanger the K-1 process at all. Yes, it would "suck" to have to go back home right away

without having seen you, but at least it will not be "fatal" to the K-1 application.

So... good luck on the K-1 journey, file as soon as possible (so you have that NOA1 available

for her to bring along) and let us know how it goes!!

[BFP XX 62]

NEVER lie!

I visited my fiance 3 times for 88 days at a time, before I was issued my K1 visa.

I was asked about my situation and just told the truth. I was sent to a secondary area for follow up questions on two of those occasions, and was admitted within 10 minutes of additional questioning both times.

My K1 application was in for two of those visits, and my then fiance had sent me a copy, which I carried on me, along with my house rental agreement, and my temp employment agencies phone number, in case they wanted to verify my employment status. They never actually asked to see any of those things, but I had it on me for peace of mind.

If you are genuine and truthful, then they are very likely to admit you into the US. Worse case scenario, they don't for some situational reason, I don't believe it will affect your visa process. *A more experienced member may be able to verify this*

Getting caught in a lie however, could adversely affect your application.

Honesty is always the best policy!

[Freemind81 1]

Thank you everyone for your feedback.

[raven52 233]

Great point by Tx, (collecting I-129 evidence) I agree with your post about bringing th wedding invitation with her, its not much, "BUT" it is something different, and will probably well received.

The truth is always best. If you would ever get caught, just think what could happen!

[SantyAndAllie 155]

Hi all!

Just to chime in, I am the overseas fiancee and I will be visiting in March too. First time since we filed.

I am planning to be 100% honest at POE of course. They typically ask if the trip is for business or pleasure and how long you are staying. On my last trip I was asked what my job is and how much money I am carrying. Only once have I been asked who I am visiting and where I am staying. If I am asked the latter again, I am planning to let them know I am visiting my partner/fiancee at POE if they ask of course - and I will bring some ties relating to my job, NOA-1 etc.

I am only staying a week, so I hope I'll be fine. I am nervous noneheless.

And talking about POEs: My fiance lives in NJ too. I have had horrible times at JFK but never a single problem at Newark. Hence I always go through Newark. It is just so subjective...

I am hoping my travel history helps - while I have visited the US in the 2014 several times, it was never longer than 7 days at a time...so, I always leave on time. I mean, I have to, I have a job and responsibilities back home!

Yeah, I got you! But I have to say in general- personnel at JFK seem way nicer and well-versed, to me! It's just a nicer airport in general. Newark, NJ in general is kind of a not so great part of NJ. No customs is pleasant, but JFK is way more pleasant, IMO! I've flown through both so many times and cannot tell you the amount of times I've cringed going through Newark. I'll go there if it's just me, but fiance on the VWP? Not so much... Everyone coming in at Newark last December was grilled in secondary customs. Hundreds of people were crying with me as customs called every one of us to lie to us about our loved ones and put us in tears! My experience is written on here somewhere.. I wont get redundant on ya! It wasn't just the officers, though. It was ALL of customs doing this. And it was their attitude in the way of handling it. With the amount of people coming illegally, I get it. But... it just puts me off.

As for not warning, I think it is absolutely necessary to tell people about experiences. Every person on that visit thread wanted to know about POEs because yes, it does differ by airport! Some are better than others, though it really depends on your officer when you get there. Regardless, in comparison to others, JFK seems to do overall better with immigration from what I've seen on here and in our experiences. From what I've read on here, most people got in smoothly through JFK.

Like I said, it was all of customs that brought everyone to second immigration, though. Not just one officer. Could've been a problem they were having (I've seen that happen with people with fake passports and whatnot), but regardless, it's important that others are prepared for it. I just personally don't recommend people coming into Newark on the VWP. It's anyone's prerogative to do so, but from here, it seems like JFK handles VWP stuff a little better specifically, so I just recommend them. And the overall attitude of the officers at Newark just puts me off personally. Not that everyone would have that experience, but just to be prepared anyways! Just my opinion/experiences, though!

Edited February 3, 2015 by lovecometruex