Visiting Visa While IR1-CR1 Is Pending

[BackWhereIBelong 2]

Am very grateful for this thread, and for the nice lady on this forum who pointed me to it.

I am sure I will be contributing to it and asking questions here when the time comes (we have not filed yet and are in the the US for a few more weeks.

I have posted this on another thread, for the benefit of those who are not on that, our current situation is:

I am an American citizen living in Singapore for many years. I am married to a Japanese citizen, who has been living in Singapore many years. We got married in the USA 8 years ago.

I am moving back to the USA permanently in a few weeks. Ideally my wife is coming with me for a VWP visit for <90 days, then will return to Japan. I plan to file i-130 and related documents when I arrive in the US.

Wife has no job in Singapore or Japan.

A couple questions I have are,

- I want her to come with me on my return to the US - any issues with this?

- She has no job in Japan, and will be difficult to get one given her subsequent WVP visit(s) while there, she will live with her mother and I'm not sure what she can get in her name showing residency there - any suggestions?

- We are trying to start a family and have age challenges, and need to be together as much as possible, and may seek medical help for this in the US as we did in Singapore - this is the absolute truth - any way this could be considered as a rationale for visits and possible extended stays?

- I had another question but I forgot it....

Edited June 28, 2016 by BackWhereIBelong

[MrsnMrsKing315 6]

Just to clarify - I just bought a ticket today mind you:

I, the US Citizen, will be sending out my wife's I-130 packet at the start of next week. I plan to go visit her in August; will I have a hard time going to visit once we start the process? Is there anything I should take with me? or is it more so my wife that will have to have the proof that she is going back to the UK if she decides to come visit me here in the US?

I just want to make sure because I do want to fly over and get turned away and vice versa.

Thanks!

Edited July 3, 2016 by MrsnMrsKing315

[BackWhereIBelong 2]

Hope you get a reply to that as I am interested in it as well, and, am still waiting for a reply to my post here. Not sure this thread is still active, it goes back a few years. Hope so as it is invaluable.

[MrsnMrsKing315 6]

We might have to go back through the post and read other responses then! Grrrr

Hope you get a reply to that as I am interested in it as well, and, am still waiting for a reply to my post here. Not sure this thread is still active, it goes back a few years. Hope so as it is invaluable.

[BackWhereIBelong 2]

There is a wealth of knowledge in those pages however it is hard to tell if any of it has changed over the years. What I have been told is that scrutiny continues to get more strict.

[JayJayH 546]

Just to clarify - I just bought a ticket today mind you:

I, the US Citizen, will be sending out my wife's I-130 packet at the start of next week. I plan to go visit her in August; will I have a hard time going to visit once we start the process? Is there anything I should take with me? or is it more so my wife that will have to have the proof that she is going back to the UK if she decides to come visit me here in the US?

I just want to make sure because I do want to fly over and get turned away and vice versa.

Thanks!

There is a wealth of knowledge in those pages however it is hard to tell if any of it has changed over the years. What I have been told is that scrutiny continues to get more strict.

Whether the scrutiny has gotten stricter since 2012 or not, I can't answer. But from personal experience, this really isn't a problem.

My ex wife filed an I-130 in February of 2012. I entered the U.S. three times on ESTA between the initial filing and my CR-1 interview. Twice for two-week visits and once for a six-week visit. Some takeaways:

- No message will pop up on CBP's screen saying "I-130 in progress. Deny." In fact, the first time I entered (a few weeks before NOA2), the CBP officer only asked me if I knew "people here" to which I replied a truthful but generic "yes." This was at EWR.

- Entering with your spouse isn't necessarily a metaphorical immigration death sentence either. I entered with my ex and her grandmother once after a cruise, and the officer asked how we were related, whether we had filed paperwork and when I was going back to Norway. No problem. This was at YVR pre-clearance.

- The last time I entered was 2 months before my interview, after NOA2, while the case was at NVC. I entered with my ex, and the officer asked straight out "are you planning to do your interview there, or will you adjust status here?" I told the officer I was waiting for my interview to come up in a couple of months, and the officer stamped my passport. This was at LAX.

It is my experience that if everything makes sense to the CBP officer, you have nothing really to worry about. Don't volunteer information unless asked, and give truthful answers if and when asked. Ultimately, you are allowed to visit while waiting for an immigrant visa, you're just not allowed to visit if you intend to stay. Their job is not to prevent legitimate visitors from entering, but rather prevent people from trying to immigrate on non-immigrant visas.

Edited July 4, 2016 by JayJayH

[Gretch 11]

Just to clarify - I just bought a ticket today mind you:

I, the US Citizen, will be sending out my wife's I-130 packet at the start of next week. I plan to go visit her in August; will I have a hard time going to visit once we start the process? Is there anything I should take with me? or is it more so my wife that will have to have the proof that she is going back to the UK if she decides to come visit me here in the US?

I just want to make sure because I do want to fly over and get turned away and vice versa.

Thanks!

If I'm understanding this correctly, you're visiting the UK and you want to know if you'll have any trouble with British immigration because your wife is applying to immigrate to the US? Of course not. I mean, they'll ask you what you're planning to do in the UK, but that has nothing to do with the American immigration process. They won't know whether you're in the process or not.

[JayJayH 546]

If I'm understanding this correctly, you're visiting the UK and you want to know if you'll have any trouble with British immigration because your wife is applying to immigrate to the US? Of course not. I mean, they'll ask you what you're planning to do in the UK, but that has nothing to do with the American immigration process. They won't know whether you're in the process or not.

This ^

That's a good point too. If British immigration starts asking you questions, I'd actually recommend you bring your copy of the I-130.

Filing a petition for your British spouse to immigrate to the U.S. doesn't exactly show intent to leave the U.S.

[pinkpaws 5]

Thanks to those who have responded to my question.

We've just gone ahead and bought our tickets for next month. My husband (the USC) will be flying to Malaysia a week before we fly back to the US so we will be entering the US together (via SFO). My 5 month old son is also a USC (my other daughter and I are not) so I'm not sure if we are able to, or should, go through the immigration line for USCs together with my husband (thoughts, anyone?). We haven't filed anything yet (I'll be entering on my tourist visa) and will be flying back to Malaysia early Nov. I hope we won't encounter any problems. Will update here on how it goes. Wish us luck!

Edited July 5, 2016 by pinkpaws

[awaywego 28]

Thanks to those who have responded to my question.

We've just gone ahead and bought our tickets for next month. My husband (the USC) will be flying to Malaysia a week before we fly back to the US so we will be entering the US together (via SFO). My 5 month old son is also a USC (my other daughter and I are not) so I'm not sure if we are able to, or should, go through the immigration line for USCs together with my husband (thoughts, anyone?). We haven't filed anything yet (I'll be entering on my tourist visa) and will be flying back to Malaysia early Nov. I hope we won't encounter any problems. Will update here on how it goes. Wish us luck!

We enter together (USC and spouse on VWP) and always ask one of the officers standing in the immigration area which line we should use. We have been told to do different things each time, so we'll just continue to ask.

[awaywego 28]

Whether the scrutiny has gotten stricter since 2012 or not, I can't answer. But from personal experience, this really isn't a problem.

My ex wife filed an I-130 in February of 2012. I entered the U.S. three times on ESTA between the initial filing and my CR-1 interview. Twice for two-week visits and once for a six-week visit. Some takeaways:

- No message will pop up on CBP's screen saying "I-130 in progress. Deny." In fact, the first time I entered (a few weeks before NOA2), the CBP officer only asked me if I knew "people here" to which I replied a truthful but generic "yes." This was at EWR.

- Entering with your spouse isn't necessarily a metaphorical immigration death sentence either. I entered with my ex and her grandmother once after a cruise, and the officer asked how we were related, whether we had filed paperwork and when I was going back to Norway. No problem. This was at YVR pre-clearance.

- The last time I entered was 2 months before my interview, after NOA2, while the case was at NVC. I entered with my ex, and the officer asked straight out "are you planning to do your interview there, or will you adjust status here?" I told the officer I was waiting for my interview to come up in a couple of months, and the officer stamped my passport. This was at LAX.

It is my experience that if everything makes sense to the CBP officer, you have nothing really to worry about. Don't volunteer information unless asked, and give truthful answers if and when asked. Ultimately, you are allowed to visit while waiting for an immigrant visa, you're just not allowed to visit if you intend to stay. Their job is not to prevent legitimate visitors from entering, but rather prevent people from trying to immigrate on non-immigrant visas.

This is a nice explanation of what I have read around the forum. To add slightly more recent experiences...

My spouse and I live abroad together and have not filed anything. Our last entry together (USC and VWP) was in 2015. Usually entering is no big deal. Once we were asked if we both live in Germany, kind of like an "I thought so" check. Another time, the CBP officer was not happy about the non-USC's expired student visas from the time period when we met. He looked through the passport a few times and asked questions about those visas, but didn't ask about spousal immigration plans. He also didn't ask to see the return ticket or any other documentation. (We had brought evidence that both of us were returning to Germany, but followed the VJ advice to have but not volunteer.)

The non-USC entered alone for work earlier this year. No problem.

[BackWhereIBelong 2]

Some great replies here, thanks. Also one I wondered about, if on my permanent return to the US / her VWP visit, if we could go through the same immigration line together, her English is ok but she could get easily stymied and if I can be with her I'd rather do that.

[Wenche&Jason 8]

Some great replies here, thanks. Also one I wondered about, if on my permanent return to the US / her VWP visit, if we could go through the same immigration line together, her English is ok but she could get easily stymied and if I can be with her I'd rather do that.

Hi, I think that depends on the POE. I know that Detroit have the same lines for visitors that have been to the US before and USC, and a separate line for first time visitors. However they want people that travel together to stay together through immigration, so I suppose it should be ok. I think I would have asked at arrival.. there's always someone that helps with directing people to the correct waiting line.

[BackWhereIBelong 2]

I haven't seen your prior posts, but have you or are you planning to submit an i-130 for you?

My husband (the USC) will be flying to Malaysia a week before we fly back to the US so we will be entering the US together (via SFO). We haven't filed anything yet (I'll be entering on my tourist visa) and will be flying back to Malaysia early Nov. I hope we won't encounter any problems. Will update here on how it goes. Wish us luck!

[Bless boy 0]

Hello, I was a J 1 student .I got married to a US citizen .we met in November 7 2015 and got married on may 13 2016. I have 2 years requirements and since june 23 ,2016 i am home and fulfilling my requirements. My wife and I are trying to file for I 130 form. What you guys think? Please I need your answers.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Ryan H
Reason for edit: To remove double post