Yes, you can visit!

[TriloByte 1,818]

Hello,

 

My fiancee is immigrating from the UK so we chose to use ETSA for visits.

 

We met in March of 2016 and she has come to the US twice for 3 months each time. She came here because we wanted to maximize our time together and it would not have been possible the other way around because I have kids of my own who can't travel because of school and a divorce schedule.

 

Port of Entry

 

Port of entry is something that we did not understand when we first started this journey. It's important to note that the port of entry may or may not be in the US. You can Google for the ones that are in other countries. They key point is, once you pass through the port of entry successfully, you don't get questioned (or in our case, interrogated) again. 

 

First visit (port of entry, Austin TX)

 

She freely traveled through Germany and got quested at the point of entry, Austin TX.

 

It was our first time meeting in person. It was a long stressful day of traveling for her, Then, when she got to Austin, finally, the 3 months visit caused red flags for border control. She was pulled into an interrogation room. The interrogation lasted for hours. I wasn't sure what had happened or if she had even made it here, but I waited and waited. Towards the end, they came out to me and asked me a series of questions, then went back inside to her, then came back and asked me more questions, then told me she would be out soon and then finally she came out and it was the best moment of my entire life, meeting her.

 

Some of the questions they asked me:

• How did you meet?
• How long have you dated?
• Where do you work?
• Where is she going to stay?
• Are you in love?
• How much do you earn?
• Are you going to marry her? 

As for her, she was straight up yelled at and interrogated. She was asked pretty much every question imaginable. Quite frankly it pissed me off. I get that they are trying to protect the border, but I think they do a poor job of it, meaning, all of the yelling and scare tactics are unnecessary, IMO. I think there MUST be a better way of going about it

 

Second visit (port of entry, Dublin, Ireland)

 

She freely traveled Ireland and was questioned in Ireland and then freely travel with no more questioning after that.

 

We were surprised when she got questioned in Ireland, it was unexpected. It was at this time I read and understood the point of entry thing. They saw that she was going for 3 months and brought her into an interrogation room again, and this time it was worse than Austin. They were rude, they yelled, they called her a liar, you name it, they said it. They made her cry. Others in the room with her were crying. It's pathetic how they treat people. We had a signed note from our lawyer stating her intent to visit, not marry. They told her the paper was meaningless and had no power at all (even though the intent of the note was to just establish her intent, not exercise some imagined, power). At the end of it all she begged to be let in. I suppose they either felt sorry for her or could not handle the crying anymore because they let her through.

 

When she arrived in Austin, just she walked straight out and met me.

 

Hope this helps

 

David

Edited April 9, 2017 by dbmathis

[Limey 551]

22 hours ago, dbmathis said:

We were surprised when she got questioned in Ireland, it was unexpected. It was at this time I read and understood the point of entry thing. They saw that she was going for 3 months and brought her into an interrogation room again, and this time it was worse than Austin. They were rude, they yelled, they called her a liar, you name it, they said it. They made her cry. Others in the room with her were crying. It's pathetic how they treat people. We had a signed note from our lawyer stating her intent to visit, not marry. They told her the paper was meaningless and had no power at all (even though the intent of the note was to just establish her intent, not exercise some imagined, power). At the end of it all she begged to be let in. I suppose they either felt sorry for her or could not handle the crying anymore because they let her through.

To me it always seems odd that they see a long visit as a red flag. If my intention was to slip under the radar, enter the US on a tourist visa and then get married, I'd probably book a two week trip instead. Get married in first week, and then apply for AOS. I guess the issue with such long trips is that few people can take 3 months off work, especially twice within a year or so. Its hard to show strong links to home to prove you will return when you're able to take 3 months vacations.

 

I had problems once during my time on ESTA when they accused me of trying to effectively live in the US without a visa. This was when I'd have a 4-5 week trip, and then 2-3 months back in UK and then another trip. In theory you can spend up to 50% of your time in the US as a tourist, but in practice you're going to get problems if you try to do that.

[TriloByte 1,818]

35 minutes ago, Limey said:

To me it always seems odd that they see a long visit as a red flag. If my intention was to slip under the radar, enter the US on a tourist visa and then get married, I'd probably book a two week trip instead. Get married in first week, and then apply for AOS. I guess the issue with such long trips is that few people can take 3 months off work, especially twice within a year or so. Its hard to show strong links to home to prove you will return when you're able to take 3 months vacations.

 

I had problems once during my time on ESTA when they accused me of trying to effectively live in the US without a visa. This was when I'd have a 4-5 week trip, and then 2-3 months back in UK and then another trip. In theory you can spend up to 50% of your time in the US as a tourist, but in practice you're going to get problems if you try to do that.

 

 

 

Haha, great reply. Yes, it would make sense to come in on a  2-week stay if the intent was to never return. Either case, you're not returning, and it makes sense to choose the option that raises less suspicion.

 

I'm not so sure about the reality of very few people being able to take 3-month vacations. There are wealthy people, people living at home (parents, grandparents, etc), people with disabilities, retired people, people who can work remotely, etc. If people are in love and the petitioner is willing to pay for the travel, then anyone falling into one of the aforementioned categories simply has to step onto the plane and off they go.

Edited April 10, 2017 by dbmathis

[MartinC91 0]

Hello,

 

Me and my SO are currently in the process of filing for the K1 Visa. she's the USC. we've been together 2 years, 3 in August and I've made several visits to the US without any problems. the great thing about Dublin airport, it has the US border preclearance. on previous visits, I've always flown from Dublin to the US. but on my recent trip last month, I had to fly from Dublin > Amsterdam > Detroit > Cleveland. which meant I had to go through the US border preclearance in Detroit. while it wasn't a bad experience, it was certainly nerve wrecking. 

 

once I arrive in Detroit, I was asked the standard questions on why I'm visiting. as always, I was honest and told him I was visiting my SO. he took my passport and went to talk to another officer. after 5 minutes of standing at the booth, he came back and I was taken into the "interview room" and my nerves started to kick in. this was my first time taken back into the room for questioning. at this point I've been traveling for 12+ hours and once I was taken into the room, I was thinking to myself "I've been traveling 12+ hours, 9 hours of which were in the air and if I'm turned away, I'm going to be devastated." 30 minutes go by and my name was called. it was a different officer and he was friendly. once again, he asked me why I'm visiting, how long, how I met my SO etc. he also asked if I intend to move the US to be with my SO and I told him, after this trip is when we start the K1 Visa. he tells me "It's good you're doing it the legal way. we take our job very seriously here and there's a lot of people who try and slip through the cracks." he also sees I've made several trips and I've returned home on the dates I was suppose to. he asked me to give him my SO's phone number, so he can ring her just to confirm everything I've told him is correct. I did, but she didn't answer. he then asked to see my Itinerary and phone. I'm not going to say no and potentially have it be an issue. so I give it to him and he starts reading my messages between me and my SO for a good few minutes. he's happy with everything, hands me back my phone and tells me before I can go, they have to search my luggage, which is fine. 

 

after checking my luggage, he stamps my passport and tells me to enjoy my time with my SO and sends me on my way. I spent maybe 1 hour there and just made my connecting flight. like I said, it wasn't a bad experience, but I've never been so nervous. I can't imagine how it must feel for those who have been denied, while you're literally on the same soil and just hours away from your SO. 

[Zumbadaddy 57]

On 4/6/2017 at 4:37 PM, rdwall7 said:

Feb to August is only 6 months, your visa will not even have been processed yet. i would recommend oct or nov of this year to have your application in. that will put you around june or so of 2018 when you get approved. you then have 6 months to have her travel here (of which you would only use 2 or 3 of) and again, once she enters the US, you need to be married within 90 days.... so if she enters the US with the visa before July, you would have to get married before your wedding date 

OK so now I'm concerned with something... timeline questions

I apply in October/ November-

we have a work cruise in April 2018... then we have a company convention in Orlando end of July...

 

if her Visa is approved in June or July we only have 90 days from that point which mean we might have to move the date up sooner or can we have these cruise/ convention whithout any hiccups?

[audacieux89 256]

Hey all! Just to let you know that it IS okay to visit!

 

I just came back from my very short visit (11 days). I have a tourist visa (b2) and this was my first time to use my visa after filing for a k1 visa. In total I've had 3 visits to the US using my tourist visa.

 

My POE was SFO. Line for the customs was almost 2 hours! There were only 4 people on duty. The lady who interviewed me was very nice. She did my fingerprinting and photo taking while she was interviewing me (multi-tasker!). She asked the usual questions:

 

1. Who am I visiting?  (Fiance and some family)

2. Relationship to him

3. Is the address where you're staying at his house? (The address I put on the disembarkation card)

4.How long are you staying?

5. When was the last time you visited? How long was that?

6. When are you planning to get married? 

 

I just said a specific month. This last question actually led me to tell her that I have a fiancee visa currently in progress and am just waiting for it (that is why I have no definite date for the wedding) and that I am having my interview when I come back from my trip.

 

After that, she stamped on my passport and welcomed me to the U.S. This was actually the first time I visited where I was not asked to present a return ticket! I was impressed by how much easier it was. All my anxiety prior to the trip was completely erased.

 

Now I am back to my home country and just waiting for my interview to be scheduled.

 

Good luck  and enjoy the journey!

[Yaztalksalot 127]

Hi All

 

I'm just back from visiting my fiance in the US whilst our K1 is processing (we have the interview booked!) and had absolutely no problems!  

 

I've wrote a blog post about it if you want to hear about my personal experience: https://yaztalksalot.wordpress.com/

 

All that worrying for nothing! 

 

Yaz xo

Edited May 25, 2017 by Yaztalksalot
added in link

[david'sgirl 134]

On May 25, 2017 at 0:38 PM, Yaztalksalot said:

Hi All

 

I'm just back from visiting my fiance in the US whilst our K1 is processing (we have the interview booked!) and had absolutely no problems!  

 

I've wrote a blog post about it if you want to hear about my personal experience: https://yaztalksalot.wordpress.com/

 

All that worrying for nothing! 

 

Yaz xo

Glad you were able to visit without any problems. We found as long as you answer any questions truthfully there are no issues. 😎

[AZSunshine78 437]

This is a great thread but I haven't seen anyone address the ESTA  yet.

 

my fiancé, a UK citizen, will be traveling back in a couple of months to the states and currently his ESTA says to visit friends and family.

 

Does he need to change that to say visiting fiancé or something?

[CMJuilland 485]

8 hours ago, AZSunshine78 said:

This is a great thread but I haven't seen anyone address the ESTA  yet.

 

my fiancé, a UK citizen, will be traveling back in a couple of months to the states and currently his ESTA says to visit friends and family.

 

Does he need to change that to say visiting fiancé or something?

No, not at all. I always used ESTA to travel and just said truthfully that I was visiting my fiancée when asked at the border. 

[Helen Quail 28]

I just arrived last night to visit my partner, the first since lodging our visa application so wanted to update with my experiences.

I visited twice already this year, each time  for  3 weeks. I arrived this time with the addition of 3 of my 4 children who are included in the application. I think this was the main red flag which attracted attention in term time. I  had not worried nor prepared other than to be honest and pleasant. Our ticket is 10 weeks this time.

The guard was very suspicious and interrogated me publicly in front of a  packed hall. After the standard "purpose of the  trip"" question his first one was when will the children go to school. From there he asked a lot about them missing school, about our trip plans,  my partner, how we met, my income and how I could have the time and money to come. I am self employed and he even  asked me to list exact sources of benefits etc.

He asked if we were just going stay and I confirmed of course not; that we had started the  visa process and would be following through the various stages of rhat.

He asked about wedding plans and timing and I made it clear we saw that down the road ie 2018 and my kids visiting was just one step in the process as they hadn't been yet.

I also explained I had another son at home as well at home.

Asked when the next trip is planned (none).

He gave me a "caution" saying once I had the visa I could travel without concern. Sternly reminded me I had to live in the US once I got my green card. Then processed my kids and let us go.

I really feel it depends on who you get on the counter on the day and just being as open and clear as possible. I was calm, relatively relaxed and very very  honest.

If I do travel again it will be a short trip, without kids and I will bring proof of ties

 I will have to apmy for a new  ESTA in August for that so we shall see...

Don't worry and just be yourself .

[Dutchess 76]

Hi guys! I'll be visiting me fiancé in the US from July 15th to September 4th. We are currently waiting for our NOA2. My graduation is on July 12th, so I'm moving out of my student room and going to be living at my parents' house. I also don't have a job since I am still a student now. So I basically don't have any evidence of ties except for my return flight. Will this cause problems?

 

Also, do I need to bring any paperwork of our petition? My fiancé has all the paperwork in the US, and I thought I could take all the paperwork with me when I leave the US (hopefully we will receive NOA2 while I'm there) and then he doesn't have to mail me everything.

 

Thanks!

[Peot 161]

 

On 6/5/2017 at 4:00 AM, Dutchess said:

Hi guys! I'll be visiting me fiancé in the US from July 15th to September 4th. We are currently waiting for our NOA2. My graduation is on July 12th, so I'm moving out of my student room and going to be living at my parents' house. I also don't have a job since I am still a student now. So I basically don't have any evidence of ties except for my return flight. Will this cause problems?

 

Also, do I need to bring any paperwork of our petition? My fiancé has all the paperwork in the US, and I thought I could take all the paperwork with me when I leave the US (hopefully we will receive NOA2 while I'm there) and then he doesn't have to mail me everything.

 

Thanks!

I'll be honest, I've seen people turned away for it. They WILL do their best to cover all bases before denying you though, to make sure that you are going to be able to support yourself while you're there and may even call ahead to confirm when you will be returning.

 

Many years ago I too had an unemployed student girlfriend from across the border come visit me. They called me while she was at the border to confirm how I met and how long she was staying and also called her parents to make sure they knew she was intending to come back and when. Just make sure you have people to confirm the truth that are available to answer the phone (ESPECIALLY YOUR FIANCE) and you should be more than fine with a return ticket (and maybe proof of funds if you aren't bringing cash, since 2 months or so is a long time for someone unemployed).

 

They tend to scrutinize your stay more for "how will you support yourself" rather than relationship status, so be prepared.

Bringing the petition info is not going to be helpful to prove that. Bringing the NOA2 is not going to be helpful to prove that.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Peot

[Dutchess 76]

3 hours ago, Peot said:

 

I'll be honest, I've seen people turned away for it. They WILL do their best to cover all bases before denying you though, to make sure that you are going to be able to support yourself while you're there and may even call ahead to confirm when you will be returning.

 

Many years ago I too had an unemployed student girlfriend from across the border come visit me. They called me while she was at the border to confirm how I met and how long she was staying and also called her parents to make sure they knew she was intending to come back and when. Just make sure you have people to confirm the truth that are available to answer the phone (ESPECIALLY YOUR FIANCE) and you should be more than fine with a return ticket (and maybe proof of funds if you aren't bringing cash, since 2 months or so is a long time for someone unemployed).

 

They tend to scrutinize your stay more for "how will you support yourself" rather than relationship status, so be prepared.

Bringing the petition info is not going to be helpful to prove that. Bringing the NOA2 is not going to be helpful to prove that.

Thanks!

 

I visited last year around the same the same time and I had no problems whatsoever. I've actually never had any issues before, but now we are in the K1 process. 

 

I also have more than enough savings   

 

Also, I might not be unemployed by that time. The company where I interned for in the Netherlands said they were looking for someone working for them in the US, Westcoast, but we still have to work that out. Should I mention that if that actually works out? Working from home for a Dutch company is allowed, right?

[Peot 161]

54 minutes ago, Dutchess said:

Thanks!

 

I visited last year around the same the same time and I had no problems whatsoever. I've actually never had any issues before, but now we are in the K1 process. 

 

I also have more than enough savings   

 

Also, I might not be unemployed by that time. The company where I interned for in the Netherlands said they were looking for someone working for them in the US, Westcoast, but we still have to work that out. Should I mention that if that actually works out? Working from home for a Dutch company is allowed, right?

Always be prepared! The CBP officer might be having a bad day and you don't want to always rely on luck

The K1 visa process does NOT affect your ability to travel while it's processing. Don't worry about it.

 

In terms of the employment, that's a touchy subject. I can easily see how they can you working from home in the US while remotely working for a Dutch company would raise a lot of red flags for them. Basically, if you travel on a tourist visa they don't expect that you'll be working upon entering the country. This is also a problem if your Dutch company specifically tells you they want you working for them in the United States and employs you to do so without filing the proper paperwork.

 

Even if it's totally legit,  you may have issues proving it. 

 

Since the whole thing is a big "what if" though, use your own judgement at the border. Simply explaining that you have the ability to work remotely for a Dutch company sounds a lot better than "I'll be working while in the US"