Yes, you can visit!

[ITMFA 241]

Hi everyone,

 

Ok - I'm convinced that I should be ok trying to visit my fiancé next month since we have our NOA1 in hand and probably will be waiting until July for the NOA2...

HOWEVER, I do have anxiety about it because there's a stamp in my passport showing that I withdrew my application to enter the USA back in September 2017. I was woefully undereducated about going in as a visitor because I had been on a student visa for 9 years, and I didn't realize that I would be denied entry because of my one-way ticket and lots of luggage. I didn't tell any lies at the border, and I don't have a ban - just the "voluntary withdrawal" record that it seems is pretty common. Any Canadians out there been in this same situation and had a successful visit while waiting for NOA1? This time I'm planning to buy a roundtrip ticket, take just one small carry-on suitcase, and go armed with letters from employers certifying that I'll be working for them in March and beyond (I'm a freelance musician). I'm living with my parents so I can't show that I pay rent, and I don't own a car either....Any suggestions for other proof that I'm coming back? Health insurance payments? Am I overthinking this?

Thank you for any help you can give me! 

[Boiler 45,784]

I have seen similar cases, no two cases are the same, no harm trying.

[Limey 551]

On 1/17/2018 at 10:31 AM, peterad said:

Hi everyone. I am the beneficiary and we got our NOA1 on Sep 14 2017.

Process is killing us like everyone else and I've seen on this great thread that most people say its definitely possible to gain entry to the states on a tourist visa as long as you are willing to be upfront and show you have ties in your home country.

 

My question is, does going to the States during the K1 process impact the K1 application at all? Obviously I declared I;d never been to the States when we submitted the application. does me going DURING the application have any negative impact on the application at all?

Do Kenyans require a visa to visit the USA? You stated that you'd never visited before, so I'm assuming you have no current visa?
 

Obtaining a tourist visa with a K1 in process is probably quite difficult, because the K1 shows immigrant intent.

Canadians and those from Visa waiver countries are in a different situation as they don't require a visa so they can turn up and take their chances at immigration (and as we've seen, almost all will have no problems).

[peterad 28]

2 minutes ago, Limey said:

Do Kenyans require a visa to visit the USA? You stated that you'd never visited before, so I'm assuming you have no current visa?
 

Obtaining a tourist visa with a K1 in process is probably quite difficult, because the K1 shows immigrant intent.

Canadians and those from Visa waiver countries are in a different situation as they don't require a visa so they can turn up and take their chances at immigration (and as we've seen, almost all will have no problems).

Hi Limey!

 

Correct, Kenyans need a tourist visa. I am Kenyan and have never been to the States.

 

This is why I'm so hesitant, is it likely I will have my tourist visa application denied at the US embassy in Kenya when I apply?

 

[Limey 551]

1 minute ago, peterad said:

Hi Limey!

 

Correct, Kenyans need a tourist visa. I am Kenyan and have never been to the States.

 

This is why I'm so hesitant, is it likely I will have my tourist visa application denied at the US embassy in Kenya when I apply?

 

I have no personal experience of this (perhaps others who do will contribute).

From the time I've spent on these forums I know that travellers from Africa often have a hard time getting tourist visas, and trying to obtain a visa to visit a fiancee is notoriously difficult because they will suspect immigrant intent.

As with any application, always tell the truth. Being denied because you mentioned fiancee won't affect future K1, but being denied because you lied (eg about relationship) would affect it.

[peterad 28]

2 minutes ago, Limey said:

I have no personal experience of this (perhaps others who do will contribute).

From the time I've spent on these forums I know that travellers from Africa often have a hard time getting tourist visas, and trying to obtain a visa to visit a fiancee is notoriously difficult because they will suspect immigrant intent.

As with any application, always tell the truth. Being denied because you mentioned fiancee won't affect future K1, but being denied because you lied (eg about relationship) would affect it.

Thank you for your advice. I really had my hopes up but didn;t consider all of you are from countries with visa waivers.

 

I guess my only option is to apply and be truthful at the interview. Guess I will need to show as kmuch as I can that will tie me back to Kenya including bank accounts, employment, return ticket.... Probably going to be another 5 months before I get the K1 approved so seeing her soon would be a godsend.

 

Thanks for the advice and hopefully someone from a non-visa waiver country sees this.

[Limey 551]

6 minutes ago, peterad said:

Thank you for your advice. I really had my hopes up but didn;t consider all of you are from countries with visa waivers.

 

I guess my only option is to apply and be truthful at the interview. Guess I will need to show as kmuch as I can that will tie me back to Kenya including bank accounts, employment, return ticket.... Probably going to be another 5 months before I get the K1 approved so seeing her soon would be a godsend.

 

Thanks for the advice and hopefully someone from a non-visa waiver country sees this.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on

You might also consider meeting in eg Canada if that's possible. Might be easier to get a visa for there, if your fiancee is American, there would be less chance that you'd over stay there. You'd need to research Canadian visas of course.

During my time prior to, and after starting k1 process I got a hard time on one occasion entering the US, and decided that it would be best to avoid going for a few months. During this time we met up in Canada (though in our case neither of us needed visas to go there).

Edited January 22, 2018 by Limey

[Renee & Miguel 2]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum so hoping I can get some answers.  I received my NOA1 on December 1st 2017.  They originally told me the whole process would be 5-6 months but now they are saying it could be longer.  Realistically what should I expect in terms of timing for receipt of the NOA2?  My fiance lives in Mexico.  Thanks! 

[Boiler 45,784]

1 hour ago, peterad said:

Thank you for your advice. I really had my hopes up but didn;t consider all of you are from countries with visa waivers.

 

I guess my only option is to apply and be truthful at the interview. Guess I will need to show as kmuch as I can that will tie me back to Kenya including bank accounts, employment, return ticket.... Probably going to be another 5 months before I get the K1 approved so seeing her soon would be a godsend.

 

Thanks for the advice and hopefully someone from a non-visa waiver country sees this.

Your issue is getting a visa, not using it to visit whilst the process is underway.

 

I know nothing of your circumstances but the only way to get a B Visa is to apply.

[Dutchster 1,107]

1 hour ago, repalm22 said:

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum so hoping I can get some answers.  I received my NOA1 on December 1st 2017.  They originally told me the whole process would be 5-6 months but now they are saying it could be longer.  Realistically what should I expect in terms of timing for receipt of the NOA2?  My fiance lives in Mexico.  Thanks! 

This is a topic for those who'd like to visit their fiance(e) whilst waiting for the process to be over.

The best is to use the search engine on the top of the website to find topics like November/December 2017 Fillers to keep updated on the process with those having the same timelines as you.

[@thepier 4]

18 hours ago, peterad said:

Thank you for your advice. I really had my hopes up but didn;t consider all of you are from countries with visa waivers.

 

I guess my only option is to apply and be truthful at the interview. Guess I will need to show as kmuch as I can that will tie me back to Kenya including bank accounts, employment, return ticket.... Probably going to be another 5 months before I get the K1 approved so seeing her soon would be a godsend.

 

Thanks for the advice and hopefully someone from a non-visa waiver country sees this.

Hello. I had the same fear as you.  I was hesitant about applying for a tourist Visa. I am from Costa Rica and already have a k1 process pending. Last week I applied for the the tourist and I said i was planning on visiting my fiance. He asked when we were getting married and I said " we dont know, we are waiting for the k1 visa" he did not ask me anything else and my Visa was approved without any problems. If you want to apply I would say go for it just don't lie. Be very honest. The worst thing that can happen is they say no. I took with me bank statements, letter from work, birth certificate of my son (he is a minor), vacation schedule from work but I did not need any of it. Go prepared and just be very honest. Wish you the best. 

[peterad 28]

15 minutes ago, @thepier said:

Hello. I had the same fear as you.  I was hesitant about applying for a tourist Visa. I am from Costa Rica and already have a k1 process pending. Last week I applied for the the tourist and I said i was planning on visiting my fiance. He asked when we were getting married and I said " we dont know, we are waiting for the k1 visa" he did not ask me anything else and my Visa was approved without any problems. If you want to apply I would say go for it just don't lie. Be very honest. The worst thing that can happen is they say no. I took with me bank statements, letter from work, birth certificate of my son (he is a minor), vacation schedule from work but I did not need any of it. Go prepared and just be very honest. Wish you the best. 

I have gone from being overconfident in going, to being absolutely terrified yesterday, to now being slightly confident hearing your case.

I will go well prepared and as you say, its just an application so worth the risk of losing the application fee.

Thank you, you've given me some encouragement to give it a shot! Good luck with your whole process!

[@thepier 4]

17 hours ago, peterad said:

I have gone from being overconfident in going, to being absolutely terrified yesterday, to now being slightly confident hearing your case.

I will go well prepared and as you say, its just an application so worth the risk of losing the application fee.

Thank you, you've given me some encouragement to give it a shot! Good luck with your whole process!

I understand you completely, many times I found myself going from "I will apply" to "I better not". I finally made my mind with the help of my fiance. He spoke to a lawyer just to make sure if we were doing the right thing. He said that the US Embassy understands that couples want to visit. They don't see it as a crime, they just don't want you to stay illegally . Good luck with everything, I hope you get it.

[JonM 0]

My partner and I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter together. I'm a US citizen, my partner German, our daughter is dual national. I've recently taken up a job and relocated back to the US. We filed for the K1 and have our NOA1. With the really long NOA2 wait times now, my partner suggested coming to visit with our daughter on a tourists visa.

 

I'm wondering whether her travelling with our child increases the risks of getting turned around at the port of entry (JFK). I didn't see a search function that let me search the 120+ pages of this forum. Has anyone else been in a similar situation?   

[Dutchster 1,107]

Everyone who is not a US citizen has the risk of being turned around at POE. We can mostly just guess if it'll happen or not, but it's entirely up to the CBP officer that day and the home ties your wife has to show her planned return.