Yes, you can visit!

[Unidentified 2,930]

I have been in the states quite a lot. Lived there for almost 3 years ( 2 years J-1, 1 year F-1) until May of this year. I then visited on ESTA from September - November. I always go to IAD and I have never had an issue. Last visit I just got the question why I am visiting on an ESTA when I have a student visa in my passport and it's because I can't afford to study. He was okay with me visiting my fiance and just asked cute questions like "is he a good guy?".

If things drag out way too long with my visa (July 24 NOA1 still waiting for nr 2...) I am thinking of possibly go visit my fiance next year. When do you guys think would be too early? I can't find an exact time you need to be away it just say a "reasonable" time and it shouldn't be so often they think I am going to move there. What do you guys think? Thank you in andvance for any answers!!

[renatesol 13]

I have been in the states quite a lot. Lived there for almost 3 years ( 2 years J-1, 1 year F-1) until May of this year. I then visited on ESTA from September - November. I always go to IAD and I have never had an issue. Last visit I just got the question why I am visiting on an ESTA when I have a student visa in my passport and it's because I can't afford to study. He was okay with me visiting my fiance and just asked cute questions like "is he a good guy?".

If things drag out way too long with my visa (July 24 NOA1 still waiting for nr 2...) I am thinking of possibly go visit my fiance next year. When do you guys think would be too early? I can't find an exact time you need to be away it just say a "reasonable" time and it shouldn't be so often they think I am going to move there. What do you guys think? Thank you in andvance for any answers!!

I was in the US for 88 days, mid August to mid November, and will be going back for 19 days starting January 10. Hopefully I won't run into any problems - I'll let you know how that goes. We have fairly similar timelines, too, by the way - NOA1 July 29 for us, also TSC...

[Unidentified 2,930]

I was in the US for 88 days, mid August to mid November, and will be going back for 19 days starting January 10. Hopefully I won't run into any problems - I'll let you know how that goes. We have fairly similar timelines, too, by the way - NOA1 July 29 for us, also TSC...

Yes, please do let me know, it would be highly appreciated! Nice, hopefully we will hear something soon!

[wbeem 568]

11 days until our Holiday visit. POE is EWR(Newark)

I think I have myself covered with proof of ties. It's an 11 day trip,

Letter from employer confirming ongoing employment and vacation time given for this trip

Proof of residence (house is rented in my sole name - agent has given me a letter)

Proof of funds

Letter from daughter's school (she's coming with me)

Round trip ticket and itinerary (we have a hotel booked for an overnight layover on the return journey - hope this helps as well)

Copy NOA1 and I129F

Anything else I should add in? I am hoping that, given the brief duration of the trip and the fact that it falls over the specific holiday period will make things easier (she says hopefully).

Edited December 12, 2014 by wbeem

[Pheebs1201 269]

11 days until our Holiday visit. POE is EWR(Newark)

I think I have myself covered with proof of ties. It's an 11 day trip,

Letter from employer confirming ongoing employment and vacation time given for this trip

Proof of residence (house is rented in my sole name - agent has given me a letter)

Proof of funds

Letter from daughter's school (she's coming with me)

Round trip ticket and itinerary (we have a hotel booked for an overnight layover on the return journey - hope this helps as well)

Copy NOA1 and I129F

Anything else I should add in? I am hoping that, given the brief duration of the trip and the fact that it falls over the specific holiday period will make things easier (she says hopefully).

Sounds like more than enough to me! I will be thinking of you! Good luck!

[wbeem 568]

Sounds like more than enough to me! I will be thinking of you! Good luck!

Thank you. So excited. It's been a very long time apart so ideally, I'd prefer not to miss a connection due to delays. Did you think it helped having your fiance with you when you entered? It's not an option for us, but I'm always curious as to whether others thought it made any difference.

[Pheebs1201 269]

Thank you. So excited. It's been a very long time apart so ideally, I'd prefer not to miss a connection due to delays. Did you think it helped having your fiance with you when you entered? It's not an option for us, but I'm always curious as to whether others thought it made any difference.

I wasn't even given the opportunity to mention that he was there, it was honestly that easy, and we didn't go through together as obviously we were directed to different lines, so I'd have to say no!

(It definitely helped him when he entered the UK with me though )

[wbeem 568]

I wasn't even given the opportunity to mention that he was there, it was honestly that easy, and we didn't go through together as obviously we were directed to different lines, so I'd have to say no!

(It definitely helped him when he entered the UK with me though )

Thank you. So they knew you were visiting your fiance and his family? (Meaning they asked and that was your response?)

I believe you about entering on the UK side! I don't think I'd want to do this trip the other way round (US to UK)!

[Pheebs1201 269]

Thank you. So they knew you were visiting your fiance and his family? (Meaning they asked and that was your response?)

I believe you about entering on the UK side! I don't think I'd want to do this trip the other way round (US to UK)!

Yes he said what is the purpose of your visit? I replied spending Christmas with my fiancé and his family. He asked to see my return ticket home and I showed him. He then made a brief reference to my previous visa (I've had three J1 visas, which I confirmed) and that was that

[Limey 551]

I entered via Atlanta yesterday. Was all prepared with various documents showing ties to home and my K1 submission and NOA1 notice after getting a bit of a finger wagging from immigration at Charlotte back in June for my last visit (which was for 6-7weeks), but I had no problems at all this time. Last time I hadn't started K1 process. This time they asked where I was staying (I told them, without mentioning Fiancee) and told them my travel plans and they didn't ask anything else. I'm only staying for just under 4 weeks so I guess that helped.

I have to say that I've travelled through Atlanta previously, and its always been a very pleasant experience and the people at the airport (not just at immigration) are friendly.

[JDWright 30]

I entered via Atlanta yesterday. Was all prepared with various documents showing ties to home and my K1 submission and NOA1 notice after getting a bit of a finger wagging from immigration at Charlotte back in June for my last visit (which was for 6-7weeks), but I had no problems at all this time. Last time I hadn't started K1 process. This time they asked where I was staying (I told them, without mentioning Fiancee) and told them my travel plans and they didn't ask anything else. I'm only staying for just under 4 weeks so I guess that helped.

I have to say that I've travelled through Atlanta previously, and its always been a very pleasant experience and the people at the airport (not just at immigration) are friendly.

This will be me today probably, going through MIA, and visiting for 4 weeks. I visited from May to July earlier this year so I might get some finger wagging.

[Limey 551]

This will be me today probably, going through MIA, and visiting for 4 weeks. I visited from May to July earlier this year so I might get some finger wagging.

I left in August from my last trip. You've been out of the country longer than me, so I don't think you will have any problems at all. Its not an uncommon time to want to travel and stay for a month.

My approach was just to answer the questions but not mention my fiancee unless specifically asked about who I was staying with, in which case I would of course have answered completely honestly. He only asked where I was staying, so I told him, and therefore I didn't even need to discuss my fiancee. He welcomed me back to the US and said he hoped I had a great Christmas! You don't get that back in the UK from immigration officers!

[JDWright 30]

Ok guys, my experience was HORRIBLE not because of immigration though. I get there at 6:10

I had a 2.5 hour layover time between flights, Thought that was enough time but nope. Plane lands, tower sends plane to a gate with a broken down plane at it, wait's 5 mins to tell them, then wait half an hour longer to send us to another gate. Get through immigration with little problems, only asked when I was going back and who I'm staying with and what I do for a living. Told the truth with no hassle. Get to baggage claim...

THE BLOODY BAGS WEREN'T THERE, and they wouldn't be there until 9 when the bloody connecting flight had already left. Had to wait in line with something like 300 other people until midnight to get rebooked on the next flight. The next flight was at 9:20 in the morning today, I got it and I'm with my fiance now. So I'm happy again.

[SantyAndAllie 155]

Congratulations to all who got to be with their fiance(e)s for the holidays! I came to be with my fiance in Ecuador for the holidays because we were worried about him visiting while waiting for the visa. (Also- just in case we get asked about this, my fiance has Spanish [& Ecuadorian] citizenship, which is why he's able to come on the VWP & has come twice before (the last time a year ago).

Basically I called everyone I could. I asked our lawyers, I called US Customs & Border Control, our consulate, JFK Border Control (since thats where he'd come in from), and read experiences on here (in this group!), but all I was really told is that it's risky, but it's even MORE risky if you cant show sufficient "proof of ties". My fiance works but doesn't get paystubs. He works for his uncle and doesn't get paystubs like that, so no proof of employment. He lives with his parents, so no proof of house. He basically has no "ties" to show, and I was told by Customs & Border Control that the best way of showing proof was paystubs, or he'd most likely be rejected (and yes, I know, it's their "job to say that", but coming from them, it still has me worried). Our lawyers didnt recommend that we do it, either, because it's such a risk. They told us that they think he may be able to get through, but it's still the risk of paying his plane ticket for nothing & the disappointment we'd have if he got rejected (plus major anxiety the whole time!). I asked everyone if the round trip plane ticket was enough, but they all said it still lies in the hands of whoever gets him at the airport, and they could deport him if they wanted.

I read a lot of posts on here back in like October, but I wanted to hear experiences from people who didn't really have proof of ties to show other than the round trip ticket and also any who specifically entered through JFK! Newark is our closest airport, but we've already had bad experiences there, so we stick with JFK, where we had better experiences. It's a little further, but we don't mind if it means a little more peace. The first time he came to the US he came in at JFK, and the guy, who was really nice, put his passport through (the Spanish one), asked how much money he had, how much time he was staying in America, and for his ESTA, and then let him through! Took like 2 minutes. When he came again, Newark grilled SO many people that day (every single one from his flight, too) in second immigration coming in internationally there! Plus there's a LOT of nasty people there regardless, and we aren't a big fan of that airport, so we avoid it.

So- if anyone has anymore experiences about coming on the VWP without being able to show those 'strong ties' (employment, house, etc), please let me know! We didn't risk it for Christmas, but we're thinking about risking it in March for my sister's wedding that's in April. We may not get his visa til May at this rate (ugh, TSC), and we have so much to do. We're both in my sister's bridal party, plus we're trying to plan for 2 weddings (US & Ecuador), so the fact that we've been apart for most of our engagement is really not helpful, and I'm starting a new job when I come back from Ecuador and won't be able to visit again.

We already know the risks (hence why we didn't take the risk for Christmas), but we want to hear about people's experiences with a situation specifically like ours. I've read through a lot of these experiences, but it was back in October, so I can't remember if I read experiences like ours or not [most people seemed to have proof of employment].Plus there's a LOT of pages

If you/your fiance(e) did do this, what was it like? Did you mention visiting your fiance(e) up front when they asked the purpose of the trip? How long did you stay? Did they ask about the visa? Does it come up when your passport goes through? Not sure how that works. We'd like to know what to prepare for, if people have gone through this before us, and if it worked for them. I'm going to go through as many of the recent pages from here as I can to find similar stories, but if anyone has any that they could point me to directly, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks so much, and I wish everyone wonderful holidays!

[Limey 551]

If you/your fiance(e) did do this, what was it like? Did you mention visiting your fiance(e) up front when they asked the purpose of the trip? How long did you stay? Did they ask about the visa? Does it come up when your passport goes through? Not sure how that works. We'd like to know what to prepare for, if people have gone through this before us, and if it worked for them. I'm going to go through as many of the recent pages from here as I can to find similar stories, but if anyone has any that they could point me to directly, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks so much, and I wish everyone wonderful holidays!

Obviously its going to vary for each case and each immigration officer you come up against.

I was a little worried about my xmas trip (see my previous posts on this thread) but in the end when I showed up I had no problems. When asked the purpose of my visit I said "christmas vacation". He asked where I would be staying and I told him the town in North Carolina, and that I'd also be up near Buffalo NY over Christmas. He didn't ask who I was with (surprised me a little as I've made around 2 other visits in past year, all over 4 weeks long). He asked me what I did for a living (IT) and whether I'd travelled to West Africa (I assume because of the Ebola outbreak there).

Had I been asked who I was staying/travelling with, I would have told the truth... once you start lying that is a reason to deny entry. But why mention it if they don't? They never mentioned the K1 - I very much doubt they can see that in their computer, but if they can, then I would think that just shows I'm doing things the legal way.

I think you have quite a few things in your favour

1) spanish passport (means you can live anywhere in the EU, so you're less likely to stay illegally in the US for economic reasons - that is one of the reasons Spain is on the VWP)

2) you've visited before. Assuming you didn't overstay last time, then why would you overstay this time?

3) take your NOA1 receipt etc. If you're going the legal path (and spent money on the application), why would you overstay?

Just make sure you can prove you have sufficient funds, and that you have a reason not to overstay (to me a K1 in process is good evidence too). No one can say for sure you'll be okay, but if you read though this thread the cases where people have been denied are pretty rare, and normally involve very frequent travel and long stays in the US, and/or lack of return ticket.