Can I pick up my spouse at their first layover and they skip flying to the destination?

[msohyun 1]

Hello all,

 

My spouse is from coming to visit me in Arizona. They will go from their country to San Diego, CA to Arizona. 

 

However, I would like to pick them up in San Diego and travel it too, then drive back to Arizona. 

 

Is it okay/safe for them to just skip going from San Diego to Arizona while they are waiting for the I-130 to process? ...is it okay in general for them to skip going from San Diego to Arizona?

 

tldr- they will go from their country to San Diego to Arizona. Is it okay and safe for them to skip the flight from SD to AZ and I just pick her up?

[inloveVEN 46]

this is not a problem, perhaps the main issue for her could be to cross the immigration counter. Its important to keep those documents with her as well as your wedding certificate in this moment

[caliliving 606]

Yes it's fine to skip the second part as long as you don't have a return ticket- I learned that the hard way hahaha however, why drive if u don't have to? She will be fine making it thru and much easier to fly 

[msohyun 1]

1 hour ago, inloveVEN said:

this is not a problem, perhaps the main issue for her could be to cross the immigration counter. Its important to keep those documents with her as well as your wedding certificate in this moment

We do not have our wedding certificate. Everything we have regarding that is turned into the I-130 packet. 

 

Also, what documents should she keep on her while she travels to the states?

[little immigrant 801]

1 minute ago, msohyun said:

We do not have our wedding certificate. Everything we have regarding that is turned into the I-130 packet. 

 

Also, what documents should she keep on her while she travels to the states?

You sent your original marriage certificate? And you don't have a certified copy or anything? 

[msohyun 1]

1 minute ago, Andrina said:

You sent your original marriage certificate? And you don't have a certified copy or anything? 

My spouse said she can request a copy and translation from her country.

 

But yes, I submitted the notarized original. I was instructed not to open the sealed notarization

[msohyun 1]

4 minutes ago, Andrina said:

You sent your original marriage certificate? And you don't have a certified copy or anything? 

Also, why would she need to carry around the marriage certificate?

 

also, which documents should she carry around with her while traveling the U.S.?

[little immigrant 801]

1 minute ago, msohyun said:

My spouse said she can request a copy and translation from her country.

 

But yes, I submitted the notarized original. I was instructed not to open the sealed notarization

Wasn't that the medical? 

 

I came with a CR1 visa and I wanted to fly to LA to another State but once I was in LA I was picked up and we drove the rest of the way. It's definitely possible as long as she passes immigration. Does she come on her spouse visa too? 

[msohyun 1]

17 minutes ago, Andrina said:

Wasn't that the medical? 

 

I came with a CR1 visa and I wanted to fly to LA to another State but once I was in LA I was picked up and we drove the rest of the way. It's definitely possible as long as she passes immigration. Does she come on her spouse visa too? 

No spouse visa yet. We are still waiting on the government to even look at the I-130. Its estimated that they look at it in March 2018.

 

Anyways, so you are sure that as long as she comes with her marriage certificate, she will be okay? No other documentation needed?

[truelove29 218]

1 hour ago, msohyun said:

No spouse visa yet. We are still waiting on the government to even look at the I-130. Its estimated that they look at it in March 2018.

 

Anyways, so you are sure that as long as she comes with her marriage certificate, she will be okay? No other documentation needed?

It's helpful for her to have something that shows ties to her country. Like a letter from her job stating she is employed with them & is expected back by a certain date. I'm not sure what else people show, but showing that you will return & not try to stay in the U.S. is more important than the marriage certificate. 

[gregcrs2 1,778]

If you have a round trip airline ticket and do not complete your travel all the way to your final destination, the airline can void the return portion of the round trip ticket.

[kzielu 1,149]

10 hours ago, msohyun said:

Hello all,

 

My spouse is from coming to visit me in Arizona. They will go from their country to San Diego, CA to Arizona. 

 

However, I would like to pick them up in San Diego and travel it too, then drive back to Arizona. 

 

Is it okay/safe for them to just skip going from San Diego to Arizona while they are waiting for the I-130 to process? ...is it okay in general for them to skip going from San Diego to Arizona?

 

tldr- they will go from their country to San Diego to Arizona. Is it okay and safe for them to skip the flight from SD to AZ and I just pick her up?

Only issue is making sure bags don't fly to Arizone - still have to pick them up at POE and go through customs, but some airports (flew only domestic to SD) have recheck for both connecting flights and baggage claim and bag will be tagged to go to Arizona.

[EandH0904 1,184]

It could be a problem for the baggage too - sometimes they check the baggage through to the final destination. 

[DrEllaNJ 288]

OK, I'm confused. Is she just coming for a visit, so does she have a return ticket from AZ back to SD to South-Korea? If so, it could be a problem with the airline - as PP said, they can cancel your return flight if you don't use your ticket all the way.

 

If this is the trip where she enters with her i-130 visa and stays in the US (one-way ticket), she doesn't have to use her SD-AZ portion. You may want to verify this, but in general, in the US you have to go through immigration at the FIRST airport you land - in your case, San Diego. You also have to collect your luggage, and if you have a domestic connection, recheck it. Smaller airports usually don't have immigration officers.

 

You'll have to let her know in advance though, otherwise it's not like you can just show up at the connection desk and whisk her out of the airport - there are very clearly marked separate ways to go for 'exit' (where you'd have to wait) and for 'connections' (where she wouldn't leave the secure zone).

[Dashinka 24,502]

48 minutes ago, DrEllaNJ said:

OK, I'm confused. Is she just coming for a visit, so does she have a return ticket from AZ back to SD to South-Korea? If so, it could be a problem with the airline - as PP said, they can cancel your return flight if you don't use your ticket all the way.

 

If this is the trip where she enters with her i-130 visa and stays in the US (one-way ticket), she doesn't have to use her SD-AZ portion. You may want to verify this, but in general, in the US you have to go through immigration at the FIRST airport you land - in your case, San Diego. You also have to collect your luggage, and if you have a domestic connection, recheck it. Smaller airports usually don't have immigration officers.

 

You'll have to let her know in advance though, otherwise it's not like you can just show up at the connection desk and whisk her out of the airport - there are very clearly marked separate ways to go for 'exit' (where you'd have to wait) and for 'connections' (where she wouldn't leave the secure zone).

That is what I am reading as well, that she is just coming for a visit during the IR1/CR1 process.

 

To the OP, you need to speak to the airlines to determine the ramifications of shorting a ticket.  As others have said, they could cancel the return leg, or you may need to make a trip to your final destination airport to get the bags.  The other thing you need to consider is that your wife will be arriving on a rather long flight, does she really want to drive 5-6 hrs back to Phoenix after spending 8-10 hrs on a plane?  I know I would want to get to my lodging location as soon as possible, un-pack and relax.  I assume she will be there for a few or more days, so maybe use that time to take a drive to wherever in AZ, CA, NV, UT, etc.  As to documentation, since she will be arriving on a visitor (VWP) she needs to keep documentation that shows her ties back to the ROK.

 

Good Luck!