Filing K1 while visiting the US? Visiting without a round trip booked?

[fluffyshiba 0]

Hi guys,

 

I'm opening a new topic with a different question as me and my SO discussed different options out there and the safest and the best way so far would be for me to visit him (U.S.citizen, domicile in NC) again on my B2 visa (I have visited successfully 3 times so far for 6 weeks, a month and last time for 2 months over the last year) and while I'm over there with him start filing the K1 visa. I searched the internet for answers and I've seen that kind of plan someone came up with and it seemed to be approved by users on another site, but that was back in 2007. Apparently it's alright to do so as long as I'm not currently living in the US, and I'm not, I'm Polish living in Poland and would be just visiting. Thing is we wanted to have me stay for a bit longer this time, maybe 3-4 months? And each time I was crossing the border and getting a stamp in my passport I would get a stamp for 6 months. Of course i was asked why I'm visiting and I'd say I'm visiting my bf either for Christmas or for the summer vacation and haven't been frowned upon. I did have a ticket way back BUT never got asked to show it. That's why I'm here looking for advice. Do you think it's safe and legal to start filing for K1 while I'm visiting? Do you think I can come without a already booked ticked back to Poland so we could just book it later? I'm in no way trying to overstay the 6 months limit, I wanna do this fully legally just trying to see if I can avoid visiting while filing for K1 because I wouldn't be able to provide a strong proof of ties to home country and being sent back home accused of 'possibly wanting to overstay illegally' like a nightmare. I'm 23 with no loans, no house bought, no lease etc. I plan to go back home and have the visa interview, see my family and friends again before i enter the US again on K1 visa later on. I'm asking here because I can't call my embassy (they just have like an automatic response thing with very basic information there) and would have to schedule an appointment and those can take time and also I'm worried they'd might give me like a vague answer or tell me not to visit at all on B2 if I say that we are planning to marry and file for K1? I am hoping that because Poland is a low fraud country and because I have visited U.S. on B2 3 times and never overstayed they wouldn't be as suspicious? I really don't know but i definitely wanna do this right. Your help is greatly appreciated!!

Edited October 14, 2017 by fluffyshiba

[canadian_wife 1,822]

I am not sure you'll even be able to board without a round trip ticket.  But Canadians travel differently than other nations so I'll let someone with more experience chime in. 

 

Good luck

[KULtoATL 1,551]

Yes, the US petitioner can file the I-129F while the foreign beneficiary is in the US. However, the visa application will still be processed at the foreign beneficiary's local embassy in the home country.

 

When traveling on a B2, always have a return ticket (preferably something refundable and changeable, just in case and for your convenience). You'll never know when a gate agent or CBP officer wants to see your return flight itinerary. The last time I visited my fiancé prior to our K-1 visa issuance, I flew KLM and the gate agent at AMS queried me a lot (very nice lady!) and wanted to see my proof of return flight. Then upon arrival at EWR, same thing happened with the CBP officer. 

 

So you've visited 6 weeks, a month and 2 months over last year? Your stays even with no overstays are getting longer each time. That's a pattern that might be viewed as a red flag by a CBP officer and your planned upcoming entry might be scrutinized or worse still, called into secondary. Additionally, you seem to have very little ties to your home country, another thing that might work against you.

 

Looking at all of that, best to have a return ticket and make a shorter trip. Best of luck!

[Boiler 45,585]

Not required to have a return ticket for a B but certainly a good idea and they know if you have a return, Computers.

 

What do you do that allows you so much holiday?

[fluffyshiba 0]

13 hours ago, KULtoATL said:

Yes, the US petitioner can file the I-129F while the foreign beneficiary is in the US. However, the visa application will still be processed at the foreign beneficiary's local embassy in the home country.

 

When traveling on a B2, always have a return ticket (preferably something refundable and changeable, just in case and for your convenience). You'll never know when a gate agent or CBP officer wants to see your return flight itinerary. The last time I visited my fiancé prior to our K-1 visa issuance, I flew KLM and the gate agent at AMS queried me a lot (very nice lady!) and wanted to see my proof of return flight. Then upon arrival at EWR, same thing happened with the CBP officer. 

 

So you've visited 6 weeks, a month and 2 months over last year? Your stays even with no overstays are getting longer each time. That's a pattern that might be viewed as a red flag by a CBP officer and your planned upcoming entry might be scrutinized or worse still, called into secondary. Additionally, you seem to have very little ties to your home country, another thing that might work against you.

 

Looking at all of that, best to have a return ticket and make a shorter trip. Best of luck!

Thank you so much for this very thorough reply!! So it seems like starting to file over there and coming back to Poland to attend interview and all that is safe to do, I'm glad.

 

Last time I flied for the first time with KLM and Delta and i didn't get questioned at all but the first time I flied to the U.S. with french airlines through CDG I got questioned soooo much, by a very nice lady as well, so yeah I know it does happen, but certainly i have never been asked about the return ticket so kinda wanted to see here if anyone had that experience. Now I know it's safer to have it, looking at the circumstances. Hmm yeah I haven't thought about it this way that they're getting longer I just thought hey I never overstayed nor plan to so maybe that's a plus, but it certainly doesn't have to be depending on a situation and CBP officer and even though i only ever met super nice and enthusiastic officer... I might one day meet one that will question everything and I wouldn't want to get in trouble... I think we're just gonna make the stay a bit longer but opt for a round trip with a return ticket after all so I could show it as a proof of my intention of coming back and hopefully that's gonna be enough.

 

12 hours ago, Boiler said:

Not required to have a return ticket for a B but certainly a good idea and they know if you have a return, Computers.

 

What do you do that allows you so much holiday?

I missed one week of school in the winter (had a Christmas-New Years break) the rest of my visits were all during summer vacation. University students in Poland, if you pass everything in the first exam dates you pretty much finish the spring semester mid/end of June and then the registration for the fall/winter semester classes starts around mid September, classes start first week of October aka July and August are free from any classes unless you do some extra linguistic classes in the summer instead of during the academic year or something. That's when I would visit!

[Mr Geminian 691]

It again depends upon person to person. SInce you have a good immigration record the will probably not ask you to show your return ticket or may just ask you how much time you want to spend this time in the US but if your fiancee applies for I-129F petition then you will need to be careful at the point of entry. With your tourist visa you will still have 6 months of visit in the US but may be asked about the petition and you can clearly tell them that you will return and come back on a K1 and am sure you won't have any problems because your immigration record is good. 

[dentsflogged 352]

On 10/15/2017 at 3:51 PM, KULtoATL said:

That's a pattern that might be viewed as a red flag by a CBP officer and your planned upcoming entry might be scrutinized or worse still, called into secondary

Secondary is my worst nightmare, especially with connecting flights! 

Personally, I wouldn't risk not having an iron-clad return plan. Even with the B-Visa, they don't have to let you in the country, and by all accounts in the news, and other threads here and on other travel forums, officers in Immigration are denying more people entry based on rules which can be interpreted to fit the scenario.  I believe someone once said that having a Visa merely allows you the legal right to knock on the front door, it's still up to Immigration if they decide to let you step over the threshold.

 

Also don't forget that if you have already spent 4.5 months of the last 12 (unless I am reading that wrong) the officer may well start to ask questions - I believe I read/heard somewhere that they look at people spending over 6 months of the year in the country as living there, even if you're technically just visiting (Actually, come to think of it, I think I saw this on "Border Security" a few weeks ago...) so if you don't have a return ticket within an 'acceptable' timeframe or proof of really strong ties to Poland, there may be some questions to be answered. 

Even with my history (11 years worth) of coming & going within the US, because my upcoming trip is my longest ever (56 days/8 weeks), I've still got huge wads of proof I intend to return to Australia at the end of my planned trip: an email from my employer confirming my leave (paid and unpaid time off combined - I work for a huge company that literally has 300 people doing my job - one person off for that length of time isn't noticed) and the date I am expected back at work, a copy of my rental agreement showing I have a lease until June next year, SMS's with my house sitter confirming the dates that she will be looking after my apartment and cats, an email to my real estate agent confirming my travel dates/house sitter's name & phone number, domestic tickets booked to get me from my BF's place in Wisconsin to LA, accommodation overnight in LA booked, then pre-booked shuttle to the airport for my international flight (all non-refundable), confirmation of a doctor's appointment that I have after my return to Australia. Proof of enough funds to support myself in the US (both cash & available in my account on entry, as well as the wages that will be paid to me while away) as well as an offer from a friend in Phoenix to have me stay with her whenever I want to visit just in case I need/want to.  Hopefully by the time I am due to leave I will have a  letter offering me a promotion that I am in the process of interviewing for to really cement things.   And I still worry about being denied entry. 

 

When in doubt, I say it's better to be prepared with a strong case - by all means you can apply for the K1 while you are there, but in order to enter the country, you're going to have to show proof you're going to leave!

Edited October 16, 2017 by dentsflogged

[fluffyshiba 0]

18 minutes ago, dentsflogged said:

Secondary is my worst nightmare, especially with connecting flights! 

Personally, I wouldn't risk not having an iron-clad return plan. Even with the B-Visa, they don't have to let you in the country, and by all accounts in the news, and other threads here and on other travel forums, officers in Immigration are denying more people entry based on rules which can be interpreted to fit the scenario.  I believe someone once said that having a Visa merely allows you the legal right to knock on the front door, it's still up to Immigration if they decide to let you step over the threshold.

 

Also don't forget that if you have already spent 4.5 months of the last 12 (unless I am reading that wrong) the officer may well start to ask questions - I believe I read/heard somewhere that they look at people spending over 6 months of the year in the country as living there, even if you're technically just visiting (Actually, come to think of it, I think I saw this on "Border Security" a few weeks ago...) so if you don't have a return ticket within an 'acceptable' timeframe or proof of really strong ties to Poland, there may be some questions to be answered. 

Even with my history (11 years worth) of coming & going within the US, because my upcoming trip is my longest ever (56 days/8 weeks), I've still got huge wads of proof I intend to return to Australia at the end of my planned trip: an email from my employer confirming my leave (paid and unpaid time off combined - I work for a huge company that literally has 300 people doing my job - one person off for that length of time isn't noticed) and the date I am expected back at work, a copy of my rental agreement showing I have a lease until June next year, SMS's with my house sitter confirming the dates that she will be looking after my apartment and cats, an email to my real estate agent confirming my travel dates/house sitter's name & phone number, domestic tickets booked to get me from my BF's place in Wisconsin to LA, accommodation overnight in LA booked, then pre-booked shuttle to the airport for my international flight (all non-refundable), confirmation of a doctor's appointment that I have after my return to Australia. Proof of enough funds to support myself in the US (both cash & available in my account on entry, as well as the wages that will be paid to me while away) as well as an offer from a friend in Phoenix to have me stay with her whenever I want to visit just in case I need/want to.  Hopefully by the time I am due to leave I will have a  letter offering me a promotion that I am in the process of interviewing for to really cement things.   And I still worry about being denied entry. 

 

When in doubt, I say it's better to be prepared with a strong case - by all means you can apply for the K1 while you are there, but in order to enter the country, you're going to have to show proof you're going to leave!

Alright well as much as I appreciate your advice and input I need to tell you that if I went by this advice I don't think I would have been ever able to visit my bf in the U.S. at all ever because it's nearly impossible for me to acquire the kind of evidence you have as a 23 old student not owning any pets and still living with my family. Also my first visit was somehwere in July 2016 if counting a year till the last July of 2017 it has not been nearly 6 months and since my visit in December 2016 I have stayed probably around 3 months total. Whenever I visit I live at his place and of course I do take money with me but it's not any crazy amount for travelling and booking hotels or anything of that sort, last time i think i had 300$ with me in cash. I have said it each time clearly to the border security officers "I'm visiting my boyfriend for Christmas" or "I'm visiting my boyfriend for the summer vacation" so i never tried to conceal the fact that I am visiting someone in the U.S. rather than coming in to travel alone and do some sight seeing(tho we did travel here and there), I also always pointed the date on which was my return ticket is n it has never been frowned upon and always received the 6 month stamp. I do understand I don't have to be let in and I can be questioned but since I don't have any strong proof aside of having my family here well, what am I supposed to do then? Don't plan on visiting my bf at all then and give up seeing each other for the next 6 to 12 months(or however long K1 can max take)? We already decided for the mandatory round trip tickets instead of the one way deal but I don't know what else I can do because legit none of those examples for proof of home ties that work in your case would work for me... Now I'm just scared more than ever especially knowing that it seems like there's nothing I can do to improve my 'bound to my home country proof' situation.

[fluffyshiba 0]

It's super early here and I'm not sure if I'm just not seeing the 'edit post' button or maybe its just not there but I just looked at your profile @dentsflogged and if you already started filing for K1 then maybe that's why it could look more suspicious and require more proof on your end? I'm hoping that could be the reason but I'm not sure.

[dentsflogged 352]

34 minutes ago, fluffyshiba said:

Alright well as much as I appreciate your advice and input I need to tell you that if I went by this advice I don't think I would have been ever able to visit my bf in the U.S. at all ever because it's nearly impossible for me to acquire the kind of evidence you have as a 23 old student not owning any pets and still living with my family. Also my first visit was somehwere in July 2016 if counting a year till the last July of 2017 it has not been nearly 6 months and since my visit in December 2016 I have stayed probably around 3 months total. Whenever I visit I live at his place and of course I do take money with me but it's not any crazy amount for travelling and booking hotels or anything of that sort, last time i think i had 300$ with me in cash. I have said it each time clearly to the border security officers "I'm visiting my boyfriend for Christmas" or "I'm visiting my boyfriend for the summer vacation" so i never tried to conceal the fact that I am visiting someone in the U.S. rather than coming in to travel alone and do some sight seeing(tho we did travel here and there), I also always pointed the date on which was my return ticket is n it has never been frowned upon and always received the 6 month stamp. I do understand I don't have to be let in and I can be questioned but since I don't have any strong proof aside of having my family here well, what am I supposed to do then? Don't plan on visiting my bf at all then and give up seeing each other for the next 6 to 12 months(or however long K1 can max take)? We already decided for the mandatory round trip tickets instead of the one way deal but I don't know what else I can do because legit none of those examples for proof of home ties that work in your case would work for me... Now I'm just scared more than ever especially knowing that it seems like there's nothing I can do to improve my 'bound to my home country proof' situation.

Sorry, the way you wrote your original post it read like you were saying you'd had those 3 visits all within a 12 month period basically from Oct 2016-now.  (Also I'm on my 11th hour at work on 3 hours of sleep, so my brain is a little bit dead)

 

Don't be scared, that wasn't what I was trying to accomplish with my post;  I'm just saying, be prepared to show you're going to leave just in case you are asked - find things relevant to your situation or that answer questions that might be asked in a clear way.   Things like if they ask you how you can spend so much time away if you're a student - have a clear explanation of the way College/University works in Poland like you did above.  If they ask about travel funds - you're staying with your boyfriend and have X money for spending while you're there. Stuff like that.  It's not all about physical proof so much as it is about being able to answer questions with a logical response that lines up with things they can check easily. 

 

As others have suggested & sounds like you've done -  book a return flight even if you intend to change the date - so that if you're questioned you can give them a firm answer of "I'm visiting my boyfriend for Christmas and I'm leaving January 10th" - even if you later change it and leave in March or whenever, as long as it's during the 6 month period, it'll be fine. 

Same thing with school - you're a student, if you're going back to complete studies, do you have proof of enrollment for next year? That ties you to your country just as much as a job  If there's no confirmation email or whatever, can you ask a professor or admin staff to write something on a school letterhead confirming you are a current student?  

 

Even making some plans for when you return to Poland or for a future trip to the US (even if it's just screen shots of flights or something) - if you happen to get questioned, those things would indicate that you're planning on leaving.   

The way I look at it - the chances of getting any serious inspection or questions are slim, but I'm (probably very) paranoid about making sure that if it happens, I'm prepared. It helps me sleep on the plane  

Edited October 16, 2017 by dentsflogged

[fluffyshiba 0]

hi guys!! im back here n thought i won't start up a new topic since it's still related. we decided to get the round trip for sure(100%) and thankfully the flight connections are pretty neat now (just one layover yay!) but i'm still kinda on the fence trying to pick between staying 2 or 3 months.  i wanted to come at the beginning of December, stay for Christmas and New Years, valentines and then my birthday is february 18 and leave on like 22nd of February which would make a bit less than 3 months of stay total. has anyone stayed for this long in the US on a B2 visa? should i be very worried or explaining why i want to stay this amount of time to spend these occasions together with my bf sounds reasonable, what do you think?

[AussieTam 48]

I stayed 90 days on the VWP , I was almost denied entry on my second visit in a 12 month period . What got me through was the fact I had booked a cruise for during my stay . So having that showed I was here for tourist purpose . I don't think being in America for Valentine's etc would go over well with a questioning Border official. They seemed to take extra interest in any person who says their length of stay is over 6 weeks. I had proof of ties back home in Australia.  Including a job. As long as you can prove you are legitimate in your tourism it should be ok. They also made sure I had a return ticket,  so that is a good start

[fluffyshiba 0]

1 hour ago, AussieTam said:

I stayed 90 days on the VWP , I was almost denied entry on my second visit in a 12 month period . What got me through was the fact I had booked a cruise for during my stay . So having that showed I was here for tourist purpose . I don't think being in America for Valentine's etc would go over well with a questioning Border official. They seemed to take extra interest in any person who says their length of stay is over 6 weeks. I had proof of ties back home in Australia.  Including a job. As long as you can prove you are legitimate in your tourism it should be ok. They also made sure I had a return ticket,  so that is a good start

ah, that makes me kinda sad because i thought what got me through was saying "i'm going to spend christmas with my boyfriend" and "i'm going to spend summer vacation with my boyfriend" ofc each time we did some travelling and sight seeing because thats what i wanna do too aside of spending time with my SO. last time i visited for 8 weeks i did not get any extra questions asked and i never stayed shorter than 4 weeks either. i'll try to think about booking a trip somewhere, if i can. most of our plans include shorter trips like driving up north to visit a friend, visiting NC aquarium and one of the alpaca farms nearby and it's hard to prove that kind of trips on paper ): do you think having pictures on my phone from the last time I visited and did some sight seeing and like a list of places i wanna go to this time would be any kind of help here? or the fact that i wear braces and will have a orthodontist visit scheduled for when i come back home? and ofc a ticket back home. i plan to be fully truthful with the CBP officers like i've always been but i just don't think i will be able to come up with much more solid proof of me coming back. at least i can't really think of anything else i could show them if they happen to question me this time around.

[AussieTam 48]

1 hour ago, fluffyshiba said:

ah, that makes me kinda sad because i thought what got me through was saying "i'm going to spend christmas with my boyfriend" and "i'm going to spend summer vacation with my boyfriend" ofc each time we did some travelling and sight seeing because thats what i wanna do too aside of spending time with my SO. last time i visited for 8 weeks i did not get any extra questions asked and i never stayed shorter than 4 weeks either. i'll try to think about booking a trip somewhere, if i can. most of our plans include shorter trips like driving up north to visit a friend, visiting NC aquarium and one of the alpaca farms nearby and it's hard to prove that kind of trips on paper ): do you think having pictures on my phone from the last time I visited and did some sight seeing and like a list of places i wanna go to this time would be any kind of help here? or the fact that i wear braces and will have a orthodontist visit scheduled for when i come back home? and ofc a ticket back home. i plan to be fully truthful with the CBP officers like i've always been but i just don't think i will be able to come up with much more solid proof of me coming back. at least i can't really think of anything else i could show them if they happen to question me this time around.

Yes plans on places you want to visit and Medical appointments will definitely be good . Just be honest about the tourist things you plan on doing and talk them up You have return ticket and appointments back home , that goes to show you plan on leaving

[fluffyshiba 0]

17 hours ago, AussieTam said:

Yes plans on places you want to visit and Medical appointments will definitely be good . Just be honest about the tourist things you plan on doing and talk them up You have return ticket and appointments back home , that goes to show you plan on leaving

Thing is it would be just me writing down that information in english about the scheduled appointment and places I plan on visiting, it's not any receipts or official things i could have on paper from someone... so i just feel like it doesn't seem very genuine that way, showing things i've written down myself. I was thinking about visiting my father in another european country sometime this year, so maybe if i could book a flight ticket from poland to over there to visit him in march or april it would show that i indeed plan on going home, maybe that would look like a more convincing proof?