Visiting Visa While IR1-CR1 Is Pending

[tomuk 25]

5 hours ago, Boiler said:

I would think it would be a waste of time and money, you stayed for nearly 3 months and then tried to come back in the same month you left on a single ticket.

 

No idea what sort of employment you have that allows that much time off.

I was literally waiting for someone to say that it'll be waste of time and money. For me, if there is way how to see my family, it's not waste of time and money at all. Definitely $160 (if I remember correctly) is nothing in compare what we had to pay for wedding, CR-1 stuff and everything before wedding.

 

How I said, I am self employed and working from home. That time, I had employment which basically allowed me almost everything. But that's different topic.

 

I would like to know how to increase my chances to get there for certain amount of time.

[Reuven 5]

My spouse has a B1/B2 tourist visa valid till 2026 and her immigration case is at the NVC waiting for our i-864. We both live abroad at this point. We're pretty close to the end of the process, so If I were to move back now, then she should technically be able to enter the country with me as a tourist, right? As long as we bring appropriate documents showing that we intend to finish this process abroad and she does not intend to stay indefinitely (right?). My question is, how long could she stay as a tourist, staying with me? Not working, not anything, just a tourist. I know the maximum duration of stay is six months, which is decided by the immigration officer. Is that at least technically possible?

[Elrona 101]

On 12/28/2018 at 2:49 PM, Reuven said:

My spouse has a B1/B2 tourist visa valid till 2026 and her immigration case is at the NVC waiting for our i-864. We both live abroad at this point. We're pretty close to the end of the process, so If I were to move back now, then she should technically be able to enter the country with me as a tourist, right? As long as we bring appropriate documents showing that we intend to finish this process abroad and she does not intend to stay indefinitely (right?). My question is, how long could she stay as a tourist, staying with me? Not working, not anything, just a tourist. I know the maximum duration of stay is six months, which is decided by the immigration officer. Is that at least technically possible?

It definitely is possible. After filing our I-130 I entered on an ESTA once with my husband (October) and twice without my husband (March and June).

[Reuven 5]

Just an anecdote, but did they give you a hard time at entry? And if you may, how long were you allowed to stay each time? Three months, or more?

[Elrona 101]

17 hours ago, Reuven said:

Just an anecdote, but did they give you a hard time at entry? And if you may, how long were you allowed to stay each time? Three months, or more?

Only with my entry in June (but it was justified). It was 3 months with every entry. They couldn't allow me to stay more because I travelled on ESTA that allows maximum 3 months (90 days).

[Alex&Jen 20]

Does the ability to visit while visa is pending depend on the Country your spouse is coming from? My husband is from Honduras and he would need a visa to visit. Is there actually a possibility he could come visit with only his passport while we wait for his Visa?

[payxibka 10,045]

3 minutes ago, Alex&Jen said:

Does the ability to visit while visa is pending depend on the Country your spouse is coming from? My husband is from Honduras and he would need a visa to visit. Is there actually a possibility he could come visit with only his passport while we wait for his Visa?

Nope.  He would need a b1/2 visa to visit 

[Sarah G 170]

So relieved to read this. I enter the US under the VWP and so far have been interviewed at secondary two out of three times when entering. My most recent visit I had to tell the officer I was getting married to my then fiancé within three weeks, and then convince him I would leave afterwards. He was convinced without looking at any of the documents I had with me as evidence and allowed me to enter. As promised, I left on January 8th. Our i130 packet was delivered to USCIS yesterday and I am planning to visit again in mid-late April. I am utterly terrified of being turned away but I can't bear the thought of not trying so I'm going for it. The lawyer I met with advised me to expect to be denied as filing is evidence of intent to immigrate, but if I have enough ties to the UK, along with having kept my word on the two secondary inspections I have gone through already... Maybe I have a chance. 

[Sarah G 170]

9 hours ago, Sarah G said:

So relieved to read this. I enter the US under the VWP and so far have been interviewed at secondary two out of three times when entering. My most recent visit I had to tell the officer I was getting married to my then fiancé within three weeks, and then convince him I would leave afterwards. He was convinced without looking at any of the documents I had with me as evidence and allowed me to enter. As promised, I left on January 8th. Our i130 packet was delivered to USCIS yesterday and I am planning to visit again in mid-late April. I am utterly terrified of being turned away but I can't bear the thought of not trying so I'm going for it. The lawyer I met with advised me to expect to be denied as filing is evidence of intent to immigrate, but if I have enough ties to the UK, along with having kept my word on the two secondary inspections I have gone through already... Maybe I have a chance. 

It's maybe worth adding this info to the above:

 

The first time I entered the US my POE was Orlando. I was staying for five weeks. I answered some questions at primary and was on my way with no problem. (Why are you here, how did you meet him, what are your plans, how long are you staying, do you have a return ticket) I stayed October 10 2017 to November 14 2018.

 

The second time my POE was Chicago, this time for an 8 week stay. I went to primary, they asked why I was staying (to visit my boyfriend), and how long for. I was then escorted to secondary without collecting my bags. I was told to wait in a holding area with 20-30 others.  After 3 hours of waiting (very nervously as I could hear an agent screaming at someone in another room for quite a while, and saw some people who had obviously been denied entry) I was interviewed in a side room. The officer asked me about my plans while in the US and if I had a return ticket. I had my itinerary in my diary as we had some trips planned for that visit so I pulled that out and went through it, and also told him yes I had return flights booked and paid for. He asked how much money I had and I told him my bank balance. He didn't ask to see any evidence of the balance. He asked if my bf and I had any plans to get married, I told him we had talked about it in vague terms but weren't engaged and had made no plans having only spent five weeks together in person. After around 20 minutes of questioning he told me he believed me and would be allowing me to enter. He warned me that people my age (I'm 31) who travel alone for long trips often look for work and that if I did intend to work in the US while visiting on an ESTA I would get into trouble. I assured him I had no intention of working, having just worked 22 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the last four months. When he was done with me it was 11pm, I had missed my connecting flight and no desks were open. I went to a hotel and returned to check in the following morning and flew on to Tulsa. Initially they offered me a flight at 5pm but I knew there was one at 10am and asked to be put on that, they complied. I paid for my hotel, but not the new flight. My visit that time was from April 23rd 2018 until June 18 2018.

 

During that trip we became engaged, we planned the wedding for November. 

 

On October 23rd I flew back to the US, my POE this time was Denver. I went to primary and was asked the purpose of my visit and the length, and did I have a return ticket. To visit my boyfriend for 11 weeks, and yes I had a return ticket. The officer said 'I see you were taken to secondary last time.' I said yes. He said 'Well, you are going there again.' I followed him to a holding area. I was the only person there and after two or three minutes a very pleasant cbp officer called me up to the desk and asked me some questions. How did I meet my bf, what would I do while my bf was at work, what was my job in the UK, who would cover for me at work while I was away, what was my bf's job. I answered everything politely and with a smile, he said 'OK, take a seat and we will have you out of here in just a few minutes.' He hadn't asked me anything about marriage plans and I was relieved as I was very nervous about telling him. After a few minutes he said 'Sarah, have you guys discussed getting married?' Oh dear. I told him yes. He called me back over to the desk. He asked what we had discussed, I told him we were planning to get married in November, approx 2.5 weeks later. He asked about my intention to leave the country after the marriage. I assured him I was leaving in January, after the holidays. He kind of filled in the blanks a little for me, saying he guessed we hadn't spent all that much time living together yet so it made sense that we weren't planning on it right away. He asked about the engagement, I told him I had proposed to my bf. He asked who bought the ring, I told him I had. He said he was impressed by a woman who goes after what she wants! He said OK, let's get you on your way to your wedding, and stamped my passport and off I went! The entire process took 22 minutes. 

 

I had read so much online that said not to tell CBP that you are getting married, to avoid saying that you are in a relationship. My experience is that the best thing is to be completely honest with them and try to be as relaxed as possible when answering their questions. If you know you aren't breaking any of the rules and can prove everything you say, it will be okay. Of course there will always be exceptions - some CBP agents are just unpleasant and want to throw their weight around. But my two trips to secondary have both ended in approved entry. 

 

Maybe this info can be helpful to someone else. 

[Sarah G 170]

18 minutes ago, Sarah G said:

It's maybe worth adding this info to the above:

 

The first time I entered the US my POE was Orlando. I was staying for five weeks. I answered some questions at primary and was on my way with no problem. (Why are you here, how did you meet him, what are your plans, how long are you staying, do you have a return ticket) I stayed October 10 2017 to November 14 2018.

 

The second time my POE was Chicago, this time for an 8 week stay. I went to primary, they asked why I was staying (to visit my boyfriend), and how long for. I was then escorted to secondary without collecting my bags. I was told to wait in a holding area with 20-30 others.  After 3 hours of waiting (very nervously as I could hear an agent screaming at someone in another room for quite a while, and saw some people who had obviously been denied entry) I was interviewed in a side room. The officer asked me about my plans while in the US and if I had a return ticket. I had my itinerary in my diary as we had some trips planned for that visit so I pulled that out and went through it, and also told him yes I had return flights booked and paid for. He asked how much money I had and I told him my bank balance. He didn't ask to see any evidence of the balance. He asked if my bf and I had any plans to get married, I told him we had talked about it in vague terms but weren't engaged and had made no plans having only spent five weeks together in person. After around 20 minutes of questioning he told me he believed me and would be allowing me to enter. He warned me that people my age (I'm 31) who travel alone for long trips often look for work and that if I did intend to work in the US while visiting on an ESTA I would get into trouble. I assured him I had no intention of working, having just worked 22 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the last four months. When he was done with me it was 11pm, I had missed my connecting flight and no desks were open. I went to a hotel and returned to check in the following morning and flew on to Tulsa. Initially they offered me a flight at 5pm but I knew there was one at 10am and asked to be put on that, they complied. I paid for my hotel, but not the new flight. My visit that time was from April 23rd 2018 until June 18 2018.

 

During that trip we became engaged, we planned the wedding for November. 

 

On October 23rd I flew back to the US, my POE this time was Denver. I went to primary and was asked the purpose of my visit and the length, and did I have a return ticket. To visit my boyfriend for 11 weeks, and yes I had a return ticket. The officer said 'I see you were taken to secondary last time.' I said yes. He said 'Well, you are going there again.' I followed him to a holding area. I was the only person there and after two or three minutes a very pleasant cbp officer called me up to the desk and asked me some questions. How did I meet my bf, what would I do while my bf was at work, what was my job in the UK, who would cover for me at work while I was away, what was my bf's job. I answered everything politely and with a smile, he said 'OK, take a seat and we will have you out of here in just a few minutes.' He hadn't asked me anything about marriage plans and I was relieved as I was very nervous about telling him. After a few minutes he said 'Sarah, have you guys discussed getting married?' Oh dear. I told him yes. He called me back over to the desk. He asked what we had discussed, I told him we were planning to get married in November, approx 2.5 weeks later. He asked about my intention to leave the country after the marriage. I assured him I was leaving in January, after the holidays. He kind of filled in the blanks a little for me, saying he guessed we hadn't spent all that much time living together yet so it made sense that we weren't planning on it right away. He asked about the engagement, I told him I had proposed to my bf. He asked who bought the ring, I told him I had. He said he was impressed by a woman who goes after what she wants! He said OK, let's get you on your way to your wedding, and stamped my passport and off I went! The entire process took 22 minutes. 

 

I had read so much online that said not to tell CBP that you are getting married, to avoid saying that you are in a relationship. My experience is that the best thing is to be completely honest with them and try to be as relaxed as possible when answering their questions. If you know you aren't breaking any of the rules and can prove everything you say, it will be okay. Of course there will always be exceptions - some CBP agents are just unpleasant and want to throw their weight around. But my two trips to secondary have both ended in approved entry. 

 

Maybe this info can be helpful to someone else. 

I know, essay af BUT I forgot to mention that in my third entry, I had letters in my bag from my work and the friend I rent a room from saying I was expected back in January. I was not asked to prove anything I said on these topics. I was however asked to prove my bank balance and I showed the agent using my mobile banking app. I had £2,300 (GBP) for an 11 week visit, the agent was satisfied with that. 

 

He warned me that I should be sure to leave reasonable gaps between my visits or I would be at risk of being denied entry on future trips. As a rule of thumb I try to leave a little longer than the length of the previous visit before attempting entry again. 

Edited January 11, 2019 by Sarah G
Extra info

[Ryan H 3,812]

~~Non-English post removed; if you wish to use a language other than English, please do so in the regional forums only.~~

[IzzyKL 21]

Just sharing in case the information might be helpful to anyone :

 

Our CR1 visa is still in progress (NVC stage). 

I have a B1/B2 visa since before our application and have been there 4 times since first submitting the I-130 last year. 

I have only ever been asked about my application the first time after getting married - I was asked who I'd be staying with, and after telling them I was going to visit my husband/in-laws, they asked if I was going to move to USA. I told them truthfully : yes eventually, but not yet as the process will take a while and I still had a job back home; to which no further questions were asked.

 

My last visit was last week, the CBP officer only asked if I was there on business or vacation and no other questions. I am fairly certain that the multiple US stamps on my passport indicating I always leave, is why.

Basically they just need enough proof that you're not gonna try stay illegally.

[Jethro130 0]

hi! I know this has been asked/posted here on vj but I guess every journey is unique and different. 

 

We submitted back in early December 2018 our I-130 and will not hear not until the end of October 2019-September 2019. My husband is pcs-ing come May from Egypt back to the states and is driving cross country to move out his stuff to his new assignment. I do have a valid visitor/tourist visa on hand and is it okay to join him on the trip that will take less than 30 days? 

Would love to hear your thoughts! Thank you! ☺️

[Boiler 45,499]

That will very much depend on the unique and different aspects of your case compared to the normal.

[Yasmin Stephenson 0]

nice