enter ahead of the U.S. Citizen petitioner???????HELP

[visajourney1 0]

Hi,

 

So I (alien from UK) am travelling next week to the US to activate my I-551 and for a interview. I will be leaving the US 48hrs later and return to the UK. My wife (US petitioner) will not be with me at the time I enter the US for the first time with this new visa. I only just noticed this very troubling note on the UK-US embassy website. 

 

"You may not enter the United States to take up residence ahead of the U.S. Citizen petitioner"

 

 

What does this mean????????

 

 

My wife is still currently in the UK but has already began the process to relocate to the US. She has a job offer in the US. We were also able to convince the US Embassy that she had maintained her domicile in the US even though she was living in the UK.

 

 

Can I enter the US with my I-551 for the first time without my wife??????????

 

I only want to come to the US for the interview! 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2018 by visajourney1

[payxibka 10,045]

2 minutes ago, visajourney1 said:

Hi,

 

So I (alien from UK) am travelling next week to the US to activate my I-551 and for a interview. I will be leaving the US 48hrs later and return to the UK. My wife (US petitioner) will not be with me at the time I enter the US for the first time with this new visa. I only just noticed this very troubling note on the UK-US embassy website. 

 

"You may not enter the United States to take up residence ahead of the U.S. Citizen petitioner"

 

 

What does this mean????????

 

 

My wife is still currently in the UK but has already began the process to relocate to the US. She has a job offer in the US. We were also able to convince the US Embassy that she had maintained her domicile in the US even though she was living in the UK.

 

 

Can I enter the US with my I-155 for the first time without my wife??????????

 

 

It means exactly that...  You cannot enter before the USC petitioner.  What is the point of a two day stay?  

[visajourney1 0]

I want to enter because I have a interview. (no they will not do Skype etc). 

 

I though that since she has been able to prove her US domicile it would not be an issue?????

[mindthegap 2,590]

7 minutes ago, payxibka said:

 What is the point of a two day stay?  

 At a rough guess, for a job interview.

11 minutes ago, visajourney1 said:

I only want to come to the US for the interview! 

 

 

 

 

You cannot activate your immigrant visa without your USC spouse either being with you, or already being physically present in the US.

However, if you have a valid ESTA then you can still use that. 

Edited February 17, 2018 by mindthegap

[payxibka 10,045]

3 minutes ago, visajourney1 said:

I want to enter because I have a interview. (no they will not do Skype etc). 

 

I though that since she has been able to prove her US domicile it would not be an issue?????

Domicile and physical presence in country are two different things

[visajourney1 0]

So it doesn't matter that she was in the US yesterday (she flew back to the UK today). She has to physically be in the US at the time of my entry! ? 

 

So if we got her a cheap flight somewhere to the US that would be ok? 

 

AND 

 

for some reason I was under the impression I could no longer get a ESTA if I have I-551 in my passport! 

Edited February 17, 2018 by visajourney1

[visajourney1 0]

So I just spoke with a immigration officer at US port of entry over the phone. I was told my US partner is not required to be in the country or required to be with me when I enter. 

 

 

[visajourney1 0]

Thank you all for your replies. 

 

 

If you mean is she domiciled in the US?  Yes

 

When we initially applied for the visa, we were able to prove she has maintained her domicile in the US, even whilst she was temporarily living with me in the UK. She is still in the UK. 

 

When she entered recently, it was to visit family. But also to meet with her new employer (which never ended up happening). 

 

I very specifically asked the Immigration officer if “my wife is required to be with me, or required to be in the US at the time” they said no. I did not mention domicile or us both living in the UK however. I did mention that this would be my first entry into the US on this visa. 

 

By defualt the visa requires your partner to be either domiciled in the US, or have a supporting US citizen to form part of the afradavid of support such as her family. 

 

Since my my wife is also the afradavid of support, becuase she has proven domicile in the US, I would imagine I’m not technically going AHEAD of the US petitioner as she technically never “left” the US in the eyes of the government. 

 

 

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[texcal 9]

How did this play out? We were planning to do this too :/

[pushbrk 12,877]

On 2/18/2018 at 8:00 AM, visajourney1 said:

So I just spoke with a immigration officer at US port of entry over the phone. I was told my US partner is not required to be in the country or required to be with me when I enter. 

 

 

If you ask the wrong question, you'll get the wrong answer.  If you ask if you can enter the US with a spouse immigrant visa ahead of your spouse, you'll get the right answer.  You "thought" wrong.  Your wife must travel with or ahead of you to the US for your first entry.  AFTER the first entry, it doesn't matter.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

6 hours ago, texcal said:

How did this play out? We were planning to do this too 😕

***** 5 year old thread locked.  Please ask questions about your own case in your own thread, as policies change over time.