Wife-to-be coming to US to get married

[rboston 1]

Hey everyone, I have a question.

My fiancee and I are planning on getting married later this year. She is in Costa Rica, I'm in US. We are going to file civilly in a courthouse here in the states (doing things there is much more difficult, and isn't an option - we've researched it). She will go back to CR by January of next year and we'll fire CR-1 (no immigration intent).

What worries me is that she will have to cross border control, and they always ask her why she is coming to the US. She has had several near-misses already, where the officers were already suspicious.

How can we answer the border officers in a way that is not fraudulent, but also so that she will be allowed in. They usually ask the following questions:

• Why are you coming to the United States?
• Do you have any family here?
• Who are you coming to visit?
• Who is your boyfriend? (They know she has a boyfriend here, or she tells them when they ask)
• How long have you been together/how many times have you seen him?

She has actually been asked by a border officer if I was planning on proposing anytime soon (this was before I had, so she said that she didn't know).

Thoughts?

[Boiler 44,870]

Truthfully?

[rboston 1]

Truthfully

[Cheezees 1,514]

I'm not sure what your question really is.

[rboston 1]

I'm not sure what your question really is.

How can my fiancee respond to a CBP officer asking her questions for her visit where we plan to have a civil wedding in the US in a such as way as to answer them honestly, but also be allowed in?

We don't want the officers to suspect her of having immigration intent, and saying she's going to get married will definitely make them suspect she has immigration intent.

[Illiria 980]

Just have her tell the truth and have with her evidence of her ties to her country.

[Cheezees 1,514]

How can my fiancee respond to a CBP officer asking her questions for her visit where we plan to have a civil wedding in the US in a such as way as to answer them honestly, but also be allowed in? You must tell the truth.

We don't want the officers to suspect her of having immigration intent, (Every visitor is treated as those they have intent and it is up to the visitor to prove strong ties and that they will leave the country) and saying she's going to get married will definitely make them suspect she has immigration intent. Yes, it will. It's too bad that many people before you falsely claimed no intent, overstayed, and got married. Now your marriage plans are a huge red flag. There is nothing you can say to circumvent the truth.

[rboston 1]

Just have her tell the truth and have with her evidence of her ties to her country.

What evidence could she bring?

[Cheezees 1,514]

What evidence could she bring?

What ties does she have? We know nothing about her situation/job/family life.

[rboston 1]

What ties does she have? We know nothing about her situation/job/family life.

I'm not sure what all could be considered ties.

She doesn't own property or have a lease or pay bills anywhere - the custom in her country is to live at home until you get married.

She doesn't own a car - public transport is more widely used in her country.

She doesn't have a job, because she's been in school.

She is in school, which is a tie, but getting a verification of matriculation will be tricky (for reasons I can explain later).

Apart from that, I'm not sure what else could be considered a tie.

[Cheezees 1,514]

I'm not sure what all could be considered ties.

She doesn't own property or have a lease or pay bills anywhere - the custom in her country is to live at home until you get married.

She doesn't own a car - public transport is more widely used in her country.

She doesn't have a job, because she's been in school.

She is in school, which is a tie, but getting a verification of matriculation will be tricky (for reasons I can explain later).

Apart from that, I'm not sure what else could be considered a tie.

So what rationale was she planning to supply as not having intent to stay? Her word?

[rboston 1]

So what rationale was she planning to supply as not having intent to stay? Her word?

That's why I'm asking.

[zuluweta 250]

With such weak ties to Costa Rica, I'm bewildered how she was able to get a temporary visa to come to the US.

[Cheezees 1,514]

Then I'm afraid that is highly unlikely to be good enough. Has she travelled to the US or different countries before without overstaying? It can help to have a "good tourist" record.

[rboston 1]

With such weak ties to Costa Rica, I'm bewildered how she was able to get a temporary visa to come to the US.

She got denied first time, we did a lot of reading and coaching, and she got it the second time. But it was a process.