Enter to US with k1

[kiwihurricane15 34]

8 minutes ago, Ani2 said:

Thank you so much. Do i need to take some proofs of relationship with my fiance  , like pictures  or conversations? 

No I don't believe so but I happened to have my K1 folder that I had prepared (for my consulate interview) in my carry on anyway! Which had my whole petition and conversations/pictures etc. I didn't need it at all BUT it  never hurts to have it as a back up.

[Crazy Cat 42,032]

1 hour ago, Ani2 said:

Thank you so much. Do i need to take some proofs of relationship with my fiance  , like pictures  or conversations? 

No.  All you need is your passport with the unexpired K-1 visa, and your sealed packet (if you received one)......Welcome to the USA!!!!

[ramesesthe2nd 149]

I am a US Citizen and I have Global Entry, so I don't go through immigration, but my wife was here on ESTA twice in the last year and no problems at all. Some of us in Chicago are (badly behaved), but I think our border and immigration officers are cool and don't give anyone a hard time without a reason. You will be fine. 

Edited July 13, 2018 by Penguin_ie
profanity

[RaptureSongbird 533]

7 hours ago, Ani2 said:

Great. Congratulations. Good luck 

Chicago

My fiancé, now husband, came through Chicago as well.  It's been a few months, entry was in October 2017, but here is his/our experience.  I had flown over to London to help him do a final pack-up, see his family and visit his friends, and then come back to the states together.  Before landing in Chicago they handed out the Customs Declarations Form on the plane so people could get them filled out more comfortably than trying to do it after landing (carry-on suggestion - bring a pen or pencil to get this filled out).  Once we landed, we made our way to the entry lines.  At that point I had to separate from my fiancé, they wouldn't let me go through the same line as him even though I had read that we should be able to go through together, so I went through my line quickly and then waited on him.  It took him about 10 minutes to get to the front of his line and start the process.  He handed over his passport and K-1 envelope and the officer began to process his paperwork.  The officer took his photo and fingerprints and then continued to process his paperwork.  I could see, and my fiancé told me after, that the officer was not talking at all and didn't ask him any questions besides what was his intent in coming to the USA and where had he just arrived from.  Of course this whole time I'm standing off to the side nervously waiting for them to finish up.  After writing some more on my fiancé's paperwork, the officer informed him that he needed to follow him to secondary inspection. 

 

They walked over to this separate office like area, which I was not allowed to go into, and my fiancé was told to have a seat and they would be with him.  He let me know afterwards that there were about 10-20 other people in secondary inspection just waiting to be called back to meet with someone.  This whole time I'm going back and forth between the baggage area and secondary inspection to get our bags and to get him.  Finally, after about 25-30 minutes he comes out and decided to play a "joke" on  me.  He said that he had met with them and they told him he was missing some paperwork and needed to go back on the next flight to London to get it all sorted out.  I was, obviously, upset and started to grill him about what they said and when he had to leave.  At that point he said "come on, let's go home" grabbed his bag, and told me he was just kidding.  I then asked him what really happened and he said he just sat there and sat there and then after 20 minutes he finally decided to approach someone and ask what was going on.  They told him to wait a minute, went back to the back offices, and then gave him back his passport and some other paperwork and simply said "Have a nice day".  We then made our way through the next officer's station, handing him the Customs Declarations Forms, and then out of the airport and to my car.

 

I wanted to share this so, if you do get pulled into secondary inspection, you aren't worried.  There's a possibility you won't even be pulled in but just in case I wanted you to know that it can happen and to not be upset if it does.  It might delay you a bit in getting to your next flight or out of the airport but it seems like it's really just some final processing that happens sometimes.  Good luck on your entry, I'm sure everything will go fine!

[RaptureSongbird 533]

33 minutes ago, ramesesthe2nd said:

I am a US Citizen and I have Global Entry, so I don't go through immigration, but my wife was here on ESTA twice in the last year and no problems at all. Some of us in Chicago are (badly behaved), but I think our border and immigration officers are cool and don't give anyone a hard time without a reason. You will be fine. 

I agree that most of the border and immigration officers in Chicago are nice and helpful but there are a few in the mix that can be a little rough/unfriendly.  I have yet to register for Global Entry, waiting for my TSA Pre-Check to expire and then will register for Global Entry with Pre-Check included, so I have to go through the standard lines when coming back to the states.  After my first trip to London, I found out about the Mobile Passport app and decided to use that to get through Chicago quicker.  On return from my third trip to London I met with one of the more unfriendly officers when using the Mobile Passport.  He grilled me for about 7-10 minutes at his station asking a lot of questions (where I worked, what my title was, who my boss was, what I do at work on a day to day basis, where do I live, how long have I lived there, why was I in London, what did I do in London, when would I next be traveling outside of the states, what did I bring back with me, etc. etc.).  I was a bit taken aback by all of his questions, as my previous two entries had been smooth with friendly officers that had only asked one or two questions.  Finally, after his grilling, he just huffed and then handed me back my passport.  At that point I wasn't sure if we were done, so I asked if there was anything else and he said "move along".  I quickly exited the area, grabbed my bags, and headed to my connecting flight.  It was an odd experience for sure as a U.S. citizen coming back from a "safe" country and all my other entries since then have been fine.

[Paul & Marina 53]

Chicago is good, as it is an Port of Entry (POE) and looks like he lives there. As you get off plane just follow the other passangers and signs to " Immigration or Customs, Border Control"  Once you get to big area with lines you will see people iin some type of uniform where you can ask which line. The will look at passport to see visa tpe and will give you directions. Some people are tired and first time nervous and they know this. keep your clam as best as you can and being polite is the best way.

 

You will be fine and welcome to the US

 

this may also be helpful;

 

https://www.flychicago.com/ohare/myflight/international/pages/default.aspx

 

Edited July 13, 2018 by Paul & Marina
edit

[Ani2 24]

23 hours ago, kiwihurricane15 said:

No I don't believe so but I happened to have my K1 folder that I had prepared (for my consulate interview) in my carry on anyway! Which had my whole petition and conversations/pictures etc. I didn't need it at all BUT it  never hurts to have it as a back up.

Thank you!!!

[Ani2 24]

21 hours ago, RaptureSongbird said:

My fiancé, now husband, came through Chicago as well.  It's been a few months, entry was in October 2017, but here is his/our experience.  I had flown over to London to help him do a final pack-up, see his family and visit his friends, and then come back to the states together.  Before landing in Chicago they handed out the Customs Declarations Form on the plane so people could get them filled out more comfortably than trying to do it after landing (carry-on suggestion - bring a pen or pencil to get this filled out).  Once we landed, we made our way to the entry lines.  At that point I had to separate from my fiancé, they wouldn't let me go through the same line as him even though I had read that we should be able to go through together, so I went through my line quickly and then waited on him.  It took him about 10 minutes to get to the front of his line and start the process.  He handed over his passport and K-1 envelope and the officer began to process his paperwork.  The officer took his photo and fingerprints and then continued to process his paperwork.  I could see, and my fiancé told me after, that the officer was not talking at all and didn't ask him any questions besides what was his intent in coming to the USA and where had he just arrived from.  Of course this whole time I'm standing off to the side nervously waiting for them to finish up.  After writing some more on my fiancé's paperwork, the officer informed him that he needed to follow him to secondary inspection. 

 

They walked over to this separate office like area, which I was not allowed to go into, and my fiancé was told to have a seat and they would be with him.  He let me know afterwards that there were about 10-20 other people in secondary inspection just waiting to be called back to meet with someone.  This whole time I'm going back and forth between the baggage area and secondary inspection to get our bags and to get him.  Finally, after about 25-30 minutes he comes out and decided to play a "joke" on  me.  He said that he had met with them and they told him he was missing some paperwork and needed to go back on the next flight to London to get it all sorted out.  I was, obviously, upset and started to grill him about what they said and when he had to leave.  At that point he said "come on, let's go home" grabbed his bag, and told me he was just kidding.  I then asked him what really happened and he said he just sat there and sat there and then after 20 minutes he finally decided to approach someone and ask what was going on.  They told him to wait a minute, went back to the back offices, and then gave him back his passport and some other paperwork and simply said "Have a nice day".  We then made our way through the next officer's station, handing him the Customs Declarations Forms, and then out of the airport and to my car.

 

I wanted to share this so, if you do get pulled into secondary inspection, you aren't worried.  There's a possibility you won't even be pulled in but just in case I wanted you to know that it can happen and to not be upset if it does.  It might delay you a bit in getting to your next flight or out of the airport but it seems like it's really just some final processing that happens sometimes.  Good luck on your entry, I'm sure everything will go fine!

Thank you for sharing your experience , it is very helpful for me. 

21 hours ago, missileman said:

No.  All you need is your passport with the unexpired K-1 visa, and your sealed packet (if you received one)......Welcome to the USA!!!!

Thanks a lot 

[Ani2 24]

19 hours ago, Paul & Marina said:

Chicago is good, as it is an Port of Entry (POE) and looks like he lives there. As you get off plane just follow the other passangers and signs to " Immigration or Customs, Border Control"  Once you get to big area with lines you will see people iin some type of uniform where you can ask which line. The will look at passport to see visa tpe and will give you directions. Some people are tired and first time nervous and they know this. keep your clam as best as you can and being polite is the best way.

 

You will be fine and welcome to the US

 

this may also be helpful;

 

https://www.flychicago.com/ohare/myflight/international/pages/default.aspx

 

Thank you so much, it is really helpful.

[Ani2 24]

On 7/13/2018 at 2:54 PM, ramesesthe2nd said:

I am a US Citizen and I have Global Entry, so I don't go through immigration, but my wife was here on ESTA twice in the last year and no problems at all. Some of us in Chicago are (badly behaved), but I think our border and immigration officers are cool and don't give anyone a hard time without a reason. You will be fine. 

Thank you  , i hope so 😊