Ideal time to file for CR-1 visa

[broppy 204]

11 minutes ago, CantThinkOfOne said:

Why would they confuse a regular Lockbox i-130 with an inland AOS? They do have specific questions in the i-130 Form ?!?! Anyone with such experience care to jump in ?!?! Below are the #61 and #62 in the i-130 form, me thinks that clears things and avoid confusion

My bad! They've made that situation a lot clearer than when we filed I-130 - it was just a box for those in the US who will apply for AOS - nothing for those who won't. After looking at the current form again, answering items 46 and 62 should present no confusion.

[CantThinkOfOne 22]

12 minutes ago, ronnieshih said:

bank account, job, she will move back to stay with her folks soon but she will still be there.

 

and I'm wondering what they question in "secondary" if she does get sent there.  Do they make her kneel on her knees and answer questions with a lash ready to go?  what kind of country is this...

 

 If she has a decent/fulltime job, money on the account, a lease for her home it should be no problem, and the fact that you guys plan to go the legal immigration path should all work into your favor. Yes she might get called into secondary interview at POE, even maybe the officers there asking for her phone and checking her complete luggage, if it's about you two seeing each other and having nothing to hide (other than the obvious personal/intimate stuff - but they have seen it all, trust me) I see no problem.

Edited April 13, 2017 by CantThinkOfOne

[jakelake 222]

10 minutes ago, ronnieshih said:

bank account, job, she will move back to stay with her folks soon but she will still be there.

 

and I'm wondering what they question in "secondary" if she does get sent there.  Do they make her kneel on her knees and answer questions with a lash ready to go?  what kind of country is this...

You are really reading too much into this. You are making this much more difficult than it should be.

As long as you do things the right way, meaning the legal and truthful way, then you should be fine.

[ronnieshih 0]

All joking aside, I have dealt with this before and my distaste with customs officials is very heavy.  I used to travel between chicago and toronto frequently, that's where my ex-wife was and I have gotten full body searches at least twice and got pulled into the small office multiple times while re-entering united states as a long time united states citizen driving through the border crossing at Detroit.  I once encountered a completely racist customs official who sent me into the small office complete with a bunch of lies and make-up things jutted down on his notes for me.  My car was apparently from Ohio, I could not put my hands in the pockets in that freezing room and I wasn't supposed to smile.  As a tax payer in this country for over 20 years, I was seriously offended.  SERIOUSLY.  So whatever you guys are saying here does give me a lot of fear.  Scary stories that can immediately invalidate the $1200 I've spent on her and $1400 I've spent on myself to go get her back here safely on 5/13, just for a short visit.  What am I ultimately doing this for?  FOR LOVE?  So why all the unnecessary BS?

[CantThinkOfOne 22]

11 hours ago, ronnieshih said:

Is it not obvious the purpose of a spouse visiting usa or really the husband/wife while the filing is in progress?  Why would this get flagged as intent to immigrate?!  w t * Ok, so two get married, one is a US citizen, it's only natural for one wanting to be with the other, so what is the massive issue here with customs officials?  Purposely leave the two apart by tearing them apart at their his/her visit?!  Of course, the other one is intending to immigrate here!!!!!!!!  Just via the correct channel and not while visiting!!!!!!!!!!!  I don't understand the legality here and why it is "suspicious" in any way at all.  This is also why I am heading back there via a $1400 ticket for just 3 days to get her back and entering via the same line so I can speak since she isn't fluent in English.  If filing after she returns is safer then so be it.  But my question now turns to whether it is ok to visit FOR A SECOND OR THIRD TIME after the filing is kicked into gear.  What was it that I read on the USCIS website?  we welcome you..... or is it we don't welcome you?  

@ronnieshih Another piece of advice for you: whereas we are all aware of the different types of relationship/marriages, the officers at POE tend to be more lenient towards the romantical ones, all a matter of luck actually (regardless whether VWP or B2). But according to your wording I'd strongly suggest you spare yourself the flight to Taiwan and back (to help your wife), as I have the feeling you will do more damage than help. No offence, that's a personal observation, and if I crossed any line, I sincerely apologize.

Edited April 13, 2017 by CantThinkOfOne

[AllSmiles 3]

22 hours ago, ronnieshih said:

I am a united states citizen and have just married my wife who is a Taiwanese national on 3/31.  I have booked her a plane ticket to visit me in USA on 5/13, complete with a return flight.  I was thinking that while she is here, we can get her 2x2 photo taken and perhaps get some questions answered for the I-130 and send in the I-130 package while she is here.  However, I have an attorney whom I'm talking to saying to me that if I file the I-130 soon after she enters as a tourist under the visa waiver program, then I have "immigrant intent while using a non-immigrant visa."  Truthfully, that is not what we are trying to do!  The visit is purely to see me, the place, and get this I-130 done together while we are together.  Since I don't want to violate the said "immigrant intent while using a non-immigrant visa" thing, what is the ideal time to file I-130?!  Can I file now before she comes???  File after she comes, but wait some time in between??

 

thank you.

Maybe your attorney was thinking that you would try to adjust her status from a tourist visa to a green card (I-485)? That would make sense with the "immigrant intent on non-immigrant visa" otherwise, the info he gave you is incorrect. Like everyone else said, you can send the petition anytime but if you do it before she arrives in the US, the CBP will see that she has filed for an immigrant visa and they have the discretion to allow or deny her entry. To be safe, you can wait until she is already here or after she leaves to send in the petition. As long as she goes home before her tourist visa expires, I don't see an issue.

[bcking 3,157]

11 minutes ago, ronnieshih said:

bank account, job, she will move back to stay with her folks soon but she will still be there.

 

and I'm wondering what they question in "secondary" if she does get sent there.  Do they make her kneel on her knees and answer questions with a lash ready to go?  what kind of country is this...

I can only offer our personal experience, but remember every situation is different:

 

We approached the typical/normal primary window, travelling together. We handed over our passports. After about 30-60 seconds of him typing on the computer saying nothing to us (not even a hello) one of us (I forget whom) said something like "We have a copy of her return ticket, bank statements and other evidence of her residence in the UK". He put his hand up (like a "stop" signal) and say something like "No, they'll ask you all those questions once you get back there". At that point it was obvious where we were going. He asked us zero questions before deciding it.

 

We were then escorted into "secondary". There is a big waiting area so we were asked to sit down. They called my name, so we both got up and went to the counter. The lady looked at my wife and said "Sit back down, we only called his name". An officer took me into a room with a table and a glass of water. While I was in there, her name was called and she was taken into a different room to wait (the same officer would later talk to her).

 

The officer "introduced" himself by saying what I had mentioned before - Something like "I've worked at this job for 15 years, the last 10 years were in Miami where we have the highest rates of immigration fraud in the country. You won't be able to get anything past me, so don't even try it". That was his "hello". He then asked about when we were married and where, what we both do for work, where we were coming from (We had just finished travelling together for 3 months since I had time off between jobs) etc... He never asked for any of the supplement evidence which I had in a folder that was clearly on the table and in his plain site. After asking some basic questions, his next response was something like "I've seen your type before. You both think you are smart and have a lot of education, but you can be so stupid when it comes to things like this". Remember again at this point he had not asked for any evidence of her return to the UK. At that point I said something like "What do you mean? She is coming for 3 weeks to help me get settled in Texas since I am moving there, and then she is going back to the UK. She has a wedding in the UK she is attending 2 days after she heads back, I have her return flight ticket here, I have evidence that she isn't leaving the UK yet". His response to that was "Having a return flight doesn't mean anything. She doesn't have to get on that flight. You need to prove to me that she will go back. How can you prove that to me? You just can't". At some point down the line (and again he never went through any of our documents or asked what we had) I brought up that our case had been "approved" by the USCIS just 2 or 3 days prior to that day, and that I had a copy of that approval. He asked to see it, and left the room. I believe he then spoke to my wife, got similar information from her. We both were asked to sit down, we waited 20-30 minutes again. He then called me up again (specifically me, my wife had to stay seated). He told me that we were "lucky that the USCIS had just approved our case, that is the only reason I am letting you through today". I started crying (again...) to which his response was "So I guess you really do love her huh?", but definitely not in a friendly way. I went back to her, we grabbed her stuff and we walked out as quickly as we could and then cried so more afterwards.

 

That was our story. Again I think we were very unlucky. I believe this officer had a superiority complex and loved to feel like he had control over people. He seemed to enjoy saying that we were "stupid" (Despite both having graduate/doctoral degrees). I wish I had his name so I could have reported him. She very well could have been just fine trying to travel again in the future, but she never had the courage to do it again. It's been ~9 months.

 

I will also add that it was the first (and only) time she has visited since getting married, not just since filing the I-130. We were married in April and I went back to see her, and then we both travelled together from the UK for 3 months. So it was a very very different experience from when we were engaged (We were engaged for 2 years and she visited me maybe 10 times during that time, and never went to secondary once). As soon as we were married we seem to have been "flagged".

 

------------------

 

Bottom line - You both have to accept the risk of something like that happen. Will it definitely happen? No. You need to be honest and you have to be prepared. The ONLY way you can avoid any possibility of it happening is if she never comes to visit until the visa process is completed. She has to be prepared for the possibility that they will put her on a flight going back. We all hope it doesn't happen, and perhaps she only has a 1-2% chance of that happening, but it is still a chance.

 

So you have two options:

1. Have her not travel here at all until the process is done

2. Start the process and have her try. If it goes well, great. If it is horrible and stressful but she makes it through, still great but then you have to decide if she keeps doing it

 

Either way though I would submit as soon as possible. The process takes to long to wait around.

[bcking 3,157]

2 minutes ago, AllSmiles said:

Maybe your attorney was thinking that you would try to adjust her status from a tourist visa to a green card (I-485)? That would make sense with the "immigrant intent on non-immigrant visa" otherwise, the info he gave you is incorrect. Like everyone else said, you can send the petition anytime but if you do it before she arrives in the US, the CBP will see that she has filed for an immigrant visa and they have the discretion to allow or deny her entry. To be safe, you can wait until she is already here or after she leaves to send in the petition. As long as she goes home before her tourist visa expires, I don't see an issue.

Even if the visa hasn't been filed, the fact that she is married to a US citizen and is travelling to the US to see said citizen is already "suspicious" of immigrant intent. They still have the ability to deny her entry based on that alone.

[bcking 3,157]

3 minutes ago, CantThinkOfOne said:

@ronnieshih Another piece of advice for you: whereas we are all aware of the different types of relationship/marriages, the officers at POE tend to be more lenient towards the romantical ones, all a matter of luck actually (regardless whether VWP or B2). But according to your wording I'd strongly suggest you spare yourself the flight to Taiwan and back (to help your wife), as I have the feeling you will do more damage than help. No offence, that's a personal observation, and if I crossed any line, I sincerely apologize.

You mean to say that having both people (husband/wife) present at immigration actually does more harm than good?

 

If so, then I would agree with you. My wife and I have wondered about what would have happened if she was travelling alone. We do wonder if my presence made it more "suspicious". My wife suffers from anxiety and had she been turned away she would have quite literally had a panic attack and likely passed out. My being there was to support her if that happened so I wasn't going to not be there. 

 

If the OP's wife feels comfortable traveling on her own, and is comfortable with the POSSIBILITY (however small it is) that she is denied and is put on a flight back to Taiwan, then I would recommend going alone.

[ronnieshih 0]

I am accompanying my wife because it is her first time in united states and she is not fluent in English.  Speaking broken English back to a customs officer in a nervous manner can possibly trigger problems.  I don't want her to feel nervous and that's why I am doing this and is the only reason.

 

Read my story I just posted about another customs official with superiority complex which put me in the small office for no reason for two hours, while travelling alone from canada back to chicago, driving by myself.  Who accompanies with me does not matter, and whether I am a citizen does not matter either.

[CantThinkOfOne 22]

1 minute ago, bcking said:

You mean to say that having both people (husband/wife) present at immigration actually does more harm than good?

 

If so, then I would agree with you. My wife and I have wondered about what would have happened if she was travelling alone. We do wonder if my presence made it more "suspicious". My wife suffers from anxiety and had she been turned away she would have quite literally had a panic attack and likely passed out. My being there was to support her if that happened so I wasn't going to not be there. 

 

If the OP's wife feels comfortable traveling on her own, and is comfortable with the POSSIBILITY (however small it is) that she is denied and is put on a flight back to Taiwan, then I would recommend going alone.

Due to my profession, I tend to pay attention to the details. Where in most cases both husband and wife travelling together would increase their chances, OPs wording in regard to his wife might backfire at him/them.... as mentioned, that was just my personal observation, not to be taken as legal advice or such

[bcking 3,157]

Just now, CantThinkOfOne said:

Due to my profession, I tend to pay attention to the details. Where in most cases both husband and wife travelling together would increase their chances, OPs wording in regard to his wife might backfire at him/them.... as mentioned, that was just my personal observation, not to be taken as legal advice or such

In general I actually agree with you. Not just for the OP. Based on our personal experiences I think my presence at the desk made them more suspicious that I was "moving my wife" to the US.

[bcking 3,157]

1 minute ago, ronnieshih said:

I am accompanying my wife because it is her first time in united states and she is not fluent in English.  Speaking broken English back to a customs officer in a nervous manner can possibly trigger problems.  I don't want her to feel nervous and that's why I am doing this and is the only reason.

 

Read my story I just posted about another customs official with superiority complex which put me in the small office for no reason for two hours, while travelling alone from canada back to chicago, driving by myself.  Who accompanies with me does not matter, and whether I am a citizen does not matter either.

If you have serious significant concerns about it, then the only way to avoid it would be to have her not travel to visit you at all until she has a visa.

 

Unfortunately you both are going to have to accept that there are risks that she will be turned away. Bring all the evidence you can, and hope for the best. There is really nothing else anyone can offer you beyond that.

[jakelake 222]

You are not the first one who has to go through this process and will not be the last one. It's fine to be cautious and prepared but it seems to me that you are looking for every possible way to get rejected and that is holding you back.

I understand all the past experiences you've had with immigration but all the questioning that is going on is to filter out any fraud. You may know that you are doing it for love but immigration officers don't know that.

You have to do things the legal way and demonstrate that you are doing so.

Also, if you and your wife appear overly anxious and nervous throughout the process, it sends a red flag. If you are doing things legally, then there should not be any reason to worry.

[CantThinkOfOne 22]

31 minutes ago, ronnieshih said:

I am accompanying my wife because it is her first time in united states and she is not fluent in English.  Speaking broken English back to a customs officer in a nervous manner can possibly trigger problems.  I don't want her to feel nervous and that's why I am doing this and is the only reason.

 

Read my story I just posted about another customs official with superiority complex which put me in the small office for no reason for two hours, while travelling alone from canada back to chicago, driving by myself.  Who accompanies with me does not matter, and whether I am a citizen does not matter either.

If she is not fluent in English, do you speak her language? Nervousness will be there, regardless whether you accompany her or not; if she gets pulled into secondary interview she will be alone nonetheless, causing her even more anxiousness knowing you are there outside waiting, and herself not being fluent enough to explain.... .... all factors you might want to think about

 

Later edit: still waiting for experiences of couples who filed for the lockbox CR1/IR1 with the beneficiary in the US 

Edited April 13, 2017 by CantThinkOfOne