Are we making things harder for each other or would you say this is far more logical?!

[Longingfor 195]

5 hours ago, Italian_in_NYC said:

Just make sure not to mention you are engaged (and definitely you are getting married during your visit) to a US citizen at the POE and you'll be ok.

The process depends on the service center your husband's petition will be assigned (Nebraska is the slowest).

I don't think you'll be able to get a K1 visa by the end of the year and get married on New Year's Day though.

That is incorrect. Do not follow this advice.  I was asked at POE purpose of trip and I clearly stated to get married and I was told congratulations by CO and my passport stamped and that was it. It makes no sense to lie. That lie may just come back and bite you later in the process. Since getting married I have made 3 trips to the US and will be making my 4th over the weekend. Honesty is the best policy.

[Longingfor 195]

4 hours ago, Italian_in_NYC said:

I'm not scaring anyone. Reality is that she'd be putting herself (unnecessarily) in a risky situation.

Just don't shoot yourself in your foot when you try to clear immigration.

You talking about something you have no idea or clue or even the information necessary to convey to OP.  

It is perfectly ok to tell the truth about your visit. Please do not listen to @Italian_in_NYC who is clearly outside of their league where this topic is concerned.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

58 minutes ago, Eric & Idalia said:

I think what both sides were saying is true. Do not volunteer information. Provide info if you are asked.

 

In 2015 my husband (US citizen) filed a petition for a CR1 visa for me before he came back to US from Mexico. A friend of mine was going to get married just a week after my husband moved back to US so I was going to come. I came and was very nervous because the CR1 visa was in process and I had the opportunity to schedule the interview by then, but decided to spend more time with my family and save money. I told the officer I came to a friend's wedding. I didn't volunteer information as I was told here in VJ and I had no problem in CBP.

 

I understand what Italian_in_NYC  was saying because once in 2014 I drove into US to visit my host family (I was their au pair 2011-2013) and when my mom, aunt and I went to get the I-94 permission, the officer asked for the address where we were going to stay. I said it several times and he didn't seem to get it so I showed him my New Mexico driver license where the address was listed. Well he made a big problem about it and started yelling "Why you have an American ID?" I explained to him I had been an au pair and needed the license to drive my host kids around. He was rude and didn't want to give me the I-94 until his supervisor came and I explained again. The supervisor told him to give me the permission. My husband was waiting for us in the car. Imagine if he had known that my husband was a US citizen and we both were crossing to US to together. I think he wouldn't have let me come into US. Also need to point out that there may be different for people from Mexico and South America.

One side was saying "Do not volunteer information. Provide info if you are asked." The other was saying use a "white lie" - which, there is nothing white about any lies in immigration.

 

People are denied entry at times yes, but most ppl visit just fine with CR1/IR1 or K1 in process... 

Regarding your experience  it sounds to me that precisely the reason that he went on the offense was BECAUSE you didn't mention anything that would explain that ID in your reason for requesting entrance at POE. Also, they did let you enter. You weren't denied. It is their job to ask questions when something is suspicious. You made it suspicious. That was all that happened.

[Eric & Idalia 56]

20 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

One side was saying "Do not volunteer information. Provide info if you are asked." The other was saying use a "white lie" - which, there is nothing white about any lies in immigration.

 

People are denied entry at times yes, but most ppl visit just fine with CR1/IR1 or K1 in process... 

Regarding your experience  it sounds to me that precisely the reason that he went on the offense was BECAUSE you didn't mention anything that would explain that ID in your reason for requesting entrance at POE. Also, they did let you enter. You weren't denied. It is their job to ask questions when something is suspicious. You made it suspicious. That was all that happened.

 

Yeah he was wrong in even mentioning "white lies" but the point is do not volunteer information, but answer the truth when asked.

 

Related to my experience, I didn't provide a description of the whole situation. I don't want to hijack this post, but I will say this in case someone else reads this and find it useful. The officer was rude since the beginning. Probably he was having a bad day. I don't know. I did explain my reason to enter to US that time, what an au pair is and my reason to have the ID several times to him and his coworkers. His supervisor came because the officer was yelling at me "You shouldn't have an American ID!" and more. He even asked him "Are you going to let her go? She has an American ID!" After I explained to the supervisor the same I told the first officer and his coworkers, he told him "Yeah. I will let her go because there's no reason not to. Give her back her driver license." Then later someone in the line told me, "some Mexican-Americans hate Mexicans. Glad the supervisor approved your permission." Maybe she assumed the officer was Mexican-American because of his accent. I am not sure.  

Edited November 10, 2017 by Eric & Idalia

[montblanc 6]

I was in a long distance relationship for three years. We were in a relationship for two years when we started LDR (we were college sweethearts but after graduation I left the US for a career opportunity). We both worked hard for our own career during our LDR and made sure to visit each other often whenever we had the chance. On our 4th year anniversary he proposed to me that he cannot deal with separating at airports anymore, so we looked for ways I can start a new life in the US. We did K1 because that was our only possibility then. Me visiting him in the US again for the sake of getting married was just not one of our options. 

 

During that period, I was planning to quit my job and pursue a graduate degree which required some preparation. I thought I would use the time during AOS for my grad school prep. When my NOA 2 came, I quit my job and started getting ready to move. 

• If you have a career that you are currently really liking and you do not want a long break in between two jobs or if you are the type that really cannot stay at home, I would recommend doing CR1. You can keep working till you leave your home country and find a job here once you retrieve your Green Card. Everything will be easier. You will not have to deal with a driving license that expires after 90 days of your arrival. 
• If you want to get together and start a life with your fiance ASAP, K1 will be better. Just because the processing time is shorter I guess. I got my Green Card in 4 months after I arrived and 3 months after I submitted my application. However, I know this might take longer depending on where you apply. It might be hard to plan things out in this case because you just simply don't know when you will become a permanent resident. 

 

Edited November 10, 2017 by montblanc

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

1 hour ago, hm139 said:

If you want to get married in order to do CR-1 instead of K1 then why don't you just get married in the beneficiary's country? That would make it rather easier. if you want family in US to be present you can always have a symbolic ceremony later.

It is far, far easier for a British citizen to marry his or her American fiance(e) in the US than in the UK. Marrying a British citizen in the UK involves a lot more steps and a visa -- even for a US citizen -- rather than just rocking up to the US on an ESTA and then returning to the UK after the marriage.

 

OP, my now ex-husband and I were living together in London when we flew over to the States to get married. When he was asked the purpose of his visit, he replied that he was visiting the US with his American fiancee, with whom he lived in the UK, and that we were getting married during the visit. He also told the officer that he and I would be returning to the UK a week after the marriage, since that is where we lived and worked. No problem, the officer stamped his passport and gave his best wishes for the wedding. My ex was totally honest and had zero problems.  

[JFH 12,190]

9 hours ago, Italian_in_NYC said:

Use your brain.

If they ask you, and you say it, you will get a seat on the first flight back to London. Then you will lose your ESTA benefits, you will have to disclose that you had been denied entry to the US.

This didn't happen to me. I told the truth. Always. I never even pretended I was "visiting a friend" or "Christmas shopping". I said I was visiting my boyfriend/fiancé/husband (depending on the point in time). I visited over 40 times. No denials. No refusals. 

 

Do you know anyone this has a actually happened to? Because I have yet to read of someone being turned away for coming to get married and then going home. 

[mindthegap 2,590]

Same.

 

CBP:  'Purpose of visit?'

Me: 'Road trip, food, and getting married'

CBP (to fiance) 'You live together in the UK?'

Fiance 'yessir'

CBP 'Congratulations to you both. Have fun'

 

 

 

 

 

[Scandi 4,166]

9 hours ago, Italian_in_NYC said:

What consequences? How would they know what she is going to do during her visit?

You guys are being paranoid and naïve.

All I said is that she will be frowned upon (with the concrete risk of being denied entry), and that's just a fact.

That's not all you said, you told OP to never ever mention that she is engaged and to tell a "white lie". The only one being paranoid here is you.

 

FYI, I too was always honest and when asked about the purpose of the trip I simply said "I'm visiting my fiancé". No issues whatsoever, especially when you have a history of always leaving the US on time and sticking to the laws.

Edited November 11, 2017 by Scandi

[cd37 229]

Ok so summary is which ever way (k1 or cr1) you take, tell the truth to immigration officer at POE. Good luck.

[JenD 180]

12 hours ago, yuna628 said:

Some finer points for the OP to consider:

 

People come to the US to get married all the time.

Do not lie in any way about your intentions to an immigration officer. There is no land of white lies when it comes to the government. You either answer questions truthfully or do not. One is illegal and one is not. Anyone advising you to lie on this forum is also breaking the rules of this forum. You do not have divulge info to an officer if they do not ask it however, but you must be careful and truthful in every answer you give.

However, while people come to the US to get married all the time, there are officers that routinely attempt to warn or scare gf/bfs/fiancés etc into not marrying in the US. This leads many a frightened individual to lie and cause themselves many headaches. My then-fiancé visited me in the US numerous times. He answered all questions truthfully. They usually asked him if he intended on marrying me here. He informed them we were in the K1 process and that we would marry once he had an approved visa. He brought proof of returning home. They had no problems. They always knew we were engaged and our relationship status.

 

That's the important thing when facing an immigration officer. In their minds a person may be coming here to marry and simply stay illegally, subverting a grey area of immigration law. They've seen it time and time again. So what burden of proof do you have to offer them, that your intentions are honorable? What is your proof of returning home? Consider all of this carefully before proceeding. Come armed with evidence. Is there a risk they may not believe you and send you back home? Sure. But there's a risk every time you visit your fiancé. If you should be denied entry, while you won't be able to visit again, it has no bearing on filing for a fiancé or spousal visa successfully.

 

We've seen it many times on this forum... in situations where individuals lie to an officer.. it ends up making an already bad situation even worse. Other things to consider if you wanted to go the K1 route -- it's faster than the spousal route yes. However, once you marry in the US, you will not be able to work or travel without adjusting your status and obtaining work/travel permits. That works fine for some people, and not for others. Adjustment process can take up to an additional year. Being already married, and filing for a spousal visa, takes a longer amount of time yes - but once approved you can work and travel without extra waiting time.

 

There was as far as I know, only one service center handling K1 cases - which is California. Things have slowed these days, so expect a lot of waiting. But that's what LDRs are all about right? ;-)

It seems like maybe the idea that you can have a K-1 processing and still enter on an ESTA has changed. People on other message boards have been denied entry and sent home while trying to do that. And our lawyer also has said that it can't be done. I find everyone saying "Oh, sure you can enter on an ESTA" so confusing when people have been denied and every immigration lawyer we talked said that you can't.

[2far 185]

It would be advisable to run a quick check of your fiance’s tax filings for 2017 as both single and as married. As someone else mentioned, the courthouse may not be open on New Year’s Day. In addition, it may be beneficial tax-wise to file as married for 2017. You can do that by marrying the last day of the year.

[NikLR 13,227]

Lord almighty this thread went off tangent.

 

OP pick a route that suites your end goals.  Personally I think the CR1 is a better visa than thr K1.  Yes it takes longer to visa but it's less time to green card and you have more freedom.  If you are an independent person who is used to working or driving yourself, even to the grocery store, then 4 months of dependence (plus homesickness) will drive you batty.

 

 If you want to be married a specific day, do it! (Colorado allows you to marry yourselves.  Vegas will marry you that day... Im sure you can figure out how to get it done regardless.) You will need to wait for the marriage certificate before you file anyhow.  

 

Yes you can visit to get married.  Yes you can visit a fiance.  Yes you can visit a spouse.  

The key things are:

Provide ties to your home country (job to return to, schooling, bills, leases, etc) if asked.

Make trips shorter vs longer.  

Be friendly. 

Be concise.

Answer truthfully.  

 

[EmilyW 1,443]

9 hours ago, JenD said:

It seems like maybe the idea that you can have a K-1 processing and still enter on an ESTA has changed. People on other message boards have been denied entry and sent home while trying to do that. And our lawyer also has said that it can't be done. I find everyone saying "Oh, sure you can enter on an ESTA" so confusing when people have been denied and every immigration lawyer we talked said that you can't.

I'd be curious as to which statute these lawyers are referring to.  

 

Some lawyers, man, they just seem to thrive on misinformation.

[mindthegap 2,590]

10 hours ago, JenD said:

It seems like maybe the idea that you can have a K-1 processing and still enter on an ESTA has changed. People on other message boards have been denied entry and sent home while trying to do that. And our lawyer also has said that it can't be done. I find everyone saying "Oh, sure you can enter on an ESTA" so confusing when people have been denied and every immigration lawyer we talked said that you can't.

 

Nothing has changed.

If you are VWP qualified or hold an appropriate non-immigrant visa, it remains currently legal to seek and be granted admission while a K1 or CR1 is pending.

 

Just because someone has a law degree (and not all law degrees are equal) does not mean they a) know it all or b) are right. 

Visit 5 different lawyers and you are very unlikely to get 5 identical answers for the majority of subjects