2018 UK citizen Travelling to USA on ESTA with K1 visa printed in my passport

[Charmily 19]

Hi All,  I thought I'd share my story. 

 

I searched long and hard to find any information on entering the USA on an ESTA once you have the K1 Visa in your passport. All UK citizens, let me tell you, IT CAN BE DONE

 

I second guessed myself and whether this was possible for a long time and found very little evidence out there for or against apart from warnings so I did it myself. 

 

I received my K1 visa on April 13th 2018. And booked my return flight to Fort Lauderdale airport that same day. 

 

On April 20th 2018, I was lucky to have my girl hold my hand the whole way but I can tell you that an ESTA is not a Visa and therefore does NOT get cancelled when you are given a K1 visa in your passport. 

 

Its very reasonable to tell the officer that you are coming in to plan your wedding. Why should we not have the right to enjoy planning our day with our future wife/husband. 

 

They will take you into secondary. They will want you to have a return ticket. And of course if your spouse is with you or can meet you at the airport that is a plus. I even had letters written from my employer, parents, spouses parents, evidence of multiple leaving gatherings when I returned to England, but they looked at none of this. 

 

Be confident in who you are and take as much evidence as you can. Then when you make it through share your experience and encourage others to do the same because it is not against the law. 

 

Just because we Brits fell in love with the most amazing American Man or Women does not mean that we have to suffer for it. 

 

Enjoy your love! And have a Fab Wedding Day! 

[Ironclad43 131]

I don't see why it wouldn't work. The ESTA is practically a tourist visa and if you don't intend to get married, they won't have to stamp your K-1

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

I don't have a comment about using ESTA after receiving K1 as this is not anything I have direct experience with.

 

19 minutes ago, Charmily said:

Why should we not have the right to enjoy planning our day with our future wife/husband.

This was pointed out to me early in my visa journey but neither you nor your USC fiancee have any "rights" associated with immigration. Immigration is a privilege and people are expected to follow the rules and guidelines to receive this privilege.

 

21 minutes ago, Charmily said:

Just because we Brits fell in love with the most amazing American Man or Women does not mean that we have to suffer for it.

A suffer free immigration experience would have to qualify as an uber-privilege in my book. If you manage it, good for you.

[Charmily 19]

16 minutes ago, Russ&Caro said:

Deleted

 

 

Edited June 26, 2018 by Charmily

[Roel 7,192]

I think I've read that in the end it's up for the officer on the airport to decide.

 

So someone else in your exact same situation might encounter an officer that will not accept ESTA and will stamp the K1 visa instead. 

 

And as a non-citizen and non-green card holder you honestly don't have many "rights" when it comes to visiting US. Just just got lucky, pretty much.   But good luck with the rest of the journey.

 

Edited June 26, 2018 by Roel

[yuna628 9,677]

The OP is exceedingly lucky. This is not normal and really should not be attempted. Also, has OP attempted to leave the US and then reattempted to enter on the K1 successfully?

[geowrian 22,337]

I concur - I'm glad it worked for the OP, but that is not a guarantee it will work for others. The CBP officer makes a discretionary call.

 

4 minutes ago, Charmily said:

Please hold your words if you have nothing nice to say! i should remove your comment as it helps no one!

 

Unless of course your intent was not meant to upset anyone in which case please explain how you have the "right" to tell anyone else what their "rights are 

I'll give you a reminder that it is against the VJ ToS to tell other members not to comment, or otherwise inhibit their ability to participate in a thread.

 

Immigration is a privilege, not a right.

[Charmily 19]

I will not be participating in this thread anymore. I guess I'm wrong about sharing happiness. 

[EmilyW 1,443]

I don't recall anyone in this thread talking about your happiness.  

 

What they are doing, and it's legitimate, is stating that your experience isn't typical.  And that others shouldn't rely on a single incident to act as a rule. 

 

It's great it worked for you.  It may not work for the next person and, as advised by others, it's at the discretion of the person you meet at the border.

[Roel 7,192]

17 minutes ago, Charmily said:

I will not be participating in this thread anymore. I guess I'm wrong about sharing happiness. 

You weren't wrong!

 

But it's also important to let others know, that this might not work in 100% cases.

[geowrian 22,337]

Nothing's wrong with sharing happiness. Nobody discouraged it either (heck, I congratulated it and another member said it was good for you).

It's just that expanding your experience as a rule to others is dangerous...knowing that it is possible and you were successful is good for people to know. It is also good for people to know that it is not guaranteed to happen to them.

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

Assuming OP is still monitoring this thread, I want to clarify that the intent of my earlier post was not to be negative. In fact, understanding the difference between immigration rights and privileges is an important step in every person's visa journey because a misunderstanding of this can lead to a lot of unnecessary anger and unhappiness about the process. Definitely happy for the OP that they were able to accomplish what they wanted by entering on an ESTA after the K1 was issued.

[Dashinka 24,526]

1 hour ago, Charmily said:

I will not be participating in this thread anymore. I guess I'm wrong about sharing happiness. 

I realize you are no longer participating in this thread, but you need to understand that in your personal joy of getting through on an ESTA with a valid K1 you made it sound like everyone with ESTA privileges can now do that.  What would you say to the next person that attempts this based on your recommendation and they are not allowed to follow the same path?  The posters on this thread are not unhappy about your personal circumstances, but just making sure others reading this thread are grounded in the unusual nature of your entry/exit.

 

Good Luck!

[Ontarkie 14,236]

~~Thread locked as requested.~~