I-130 July 2019 Filers

[S&J2013 117]

5 minutes ago, juninho10 said:

Very interesting...Is there any chance you have a link to a government website that says there is no further cost?

 

I think I'm going to go anyway, but it will mean I have to leave after 90-days. A huge nuisance as I really need to start work as soon as my wife goes back to University in September.

it’s on the instructions for the i129f and if you search on the forums here regarding filing of the k3 you’ll see that no one pays the fee if you have a pending i130 and you enclose the NOA1 as evidence. 

[LilyJ 1,258]

6 minutes ago, juninho10 said:

Very interesting...Is there any chance you have a link to a government website that says there is no further cost?

 

I think I'm going to go anyway, but it will mean I have to leave after 90-days. A huge nuisance as I really need to start work as soon as my wife goes back to University in September.

[ThePeripatetic 4]

1 minute ago, juninho10 said:

I don't know what a B2 visa is but, yep, I can travel on my ESTA. I was hoping to be established in the US by July/August: apartment locked down, health insurance, job etc. I'll have to leave after 90-days with my ESTA, and will be living in limbo in Mexico or Colombia until I'm cleared to work in the States. It's something I'm now planning for, and it's manageable, but it's going to be a costly pain due to this absurdly, needlessly, drawn-out bureaucratic process.

If you don’t mind me asking, how many times have you entered the US on your ESTA and how long do you usually stay for? This questions also goes to any others who have been traveling to the US under ESTA since submitting their I130.

 

I’ve made two rather long trips now on my ESTA (both around 70 days) in the past year to visit my husband and our lawyer has recommended for me to just wait for my CR1 visa before making another long trip again.

 

does anyone have experience with this/ has anyone been denied entry for using their ESTA for entry too many times?

[juninho10 42]

44 minutes ago, S&J2013 said:

it’s on the instructions for the i129f and if you search on the forums here regarding filing of the k3 you’ll see that no one pays the fee if you have a pending i130 and you enclose the NOA1 as evidence. 

 

43 minutes ago, LilyJ said:

If you two every find yourselves in Portland, OR then please hit me up for a couple of pints. Just saved me 500 big ones.😎

[juninho10 42]

41 minutes ago, ThePeripatetic said:

If you don’t mind me asking, how many times have you entered the US on your ESTA and how long do you usually stay for? This questions also goes to any others who have been traveling to the US under ESTA since submitting their I130.

 

I’ve made two rather long trips now on my ESTA (both around 70 days) in the past year to visit my husband and our lawyer has recommended for me to just wait for my CR1 visa before making another long trip again.

 

does anyone have experience with this/ has anyone been denied entry for using their ESTA for entry too many times?

Good question. I filed for it in March 2019 and spent about 6 days in the US to get married shortly after. I haven't re-entered since so I don't have much in terms of helpful info with this. I'll be there for 30-days in July, 3-weeks out for a wedding in the UK, and then hopefully another month after.

 

I called ESTA 2-weeks ago and asked about this. They said you can't simply hop into one country and back to the US in a matter of days, but didn't think there'd be an issue if I left for a month and came back. However, they did say I'd be at the mercy of the border agent. It's annoying that this isn't formalized. For example, here in Colombia, you get 3-months in the country as a tourist. After that, you can go to Panama/Ecuador and return for another 3-months in the same calendar year.

[S&J2013 117]

@juninho10 anything is worth a try with being stuck with Nebraska. No guarantee it’s helping anymore, we are July filers and we filed for the k3 in August but still haven’t had any news, but at least we can say we’ve done everything we can to be together ASAP 

I’ll keep my fingers crossed we both get there this summer when we need to!

[ThePeripatetic 4]

2 hours ago, juninho10 said:

Good question. I filed for it in March 2019 and spent about 6 days in the US to get married shortly after. I haven't re-entered since so I don't have much in terms of helpful info with this. I'll be there for 30-days in July, 3-weeks out for a wedding in the UK, and then hopefully another month after.

 

I called ESTA 2-weeks ago and asked about this. They said you can't simply hop into one country and back to the US in a matter of days, but didn't think there'd be an issue if I left for a month and came back. However, they did say I'd be at the mercy of the border agent. It's annoying that this isn't formalized. For example, here in Colombia, you get 3-months in the country as a tourist. After that, you can go to Panama/Ecuador and return for another 3-months in the same calendar year.

I usually leave at least two months between my entries. However, our lawyer did say that border officers really don’t like it if they see on your record that you’ve been spending a significant amount (i.e. 6 months+) of the year in the US on an ESTA - he did supplement this by saying that it is at the discretion of the border agent though. It just depends on how much of a risk they think you pose in terms of remaining illegally in the country subsequent to entry.

 

I myself am currently in that “limbo state” that you talked about in your earlier post. It definitely is not pleasant having to fly in and out of countries every few months just so you can spend as much time as possible with your loved one. Fingers crossed that our approvals come through ASAP.

[Just Paul 4,595]

3 hours ago, juninho10 said:

Good question. I filed for it in March 2019 and spent about 6 days in the US to get married shortly after. I haven't re-entered since so I don't have much in terms of helpful info with this. I'll be there for 30-days in July, 3-weeks out for a wedding in the UK, and then hopefully another month after.

 

I called ESTA 2-weeks ago and asked about this. They said you can't simply hop into one country and back to the US in a matter of days, but didn't think there'd be an issue if I left for a month and came back. However, they did say I'd be at the mercy of the border agent. It's annoying that this isn't formalized. For example, here in Colombia, you get 3-months in the country as a tourist. After that, you can go to Panama/Ecuador and return for another 3-months in the same calendar year.

A good rule for using ESTA (or any other non immigration visa) is to stay out of the country for more time than you were in the US.   So if you were in the US for 2 months, stay out for 3.   You need to show that you still have ties  to your home country so leaving to a 3rd country does little to do to support that.

 

Another option is to look at a working holiday visa in Canada.  Mexico also has a 180 day tourist visa.

[juninho10 42]

Very interesting takes. I was really hoping to do a 3-month stretch with 3-weeks away in the middle and then a month away. I've luckily got a base in Colombia so it's not a million miles away, but still such a hassle to hop out when I need to be getting settled.

 

FWIW, I'm a resident in Colombia and have lived here for 6 years. I'm from the UK but I've worked as an independent contractor for a US company for a long time now.

Edited February 3, 2020 by juninho10

[ayestaci 121]

I've been trying to wait out visiting with the CR-1 in process (aside from a visit late last year) but it's getting harder with the unpredictability! 

I was initially hoping to be there in April, but that's now looking impossible. If Potomac hadn't slowed down so much... ah well. 

[Shemuz 60]

Hi guys. Anyone here unable to access their USCIS account today? I logged in to check the case status, but I’m getting an error message. 

[Ma Isabel 13]

10 minutes ago, Shemuz said:

Hi guys. Anyone here unable to access their USCIS account today? I logged in to check the case status, but I’m getting an error message. 

Yea, I also tried and got the error message.  I guess it must be down.

[Shemuz 60]

3 minutes ago, Ma Isabel said:

Yea, I also tried and got the error message.  I guess it must be down.

Oh ok. Thank you. 

[Pqm527 14]

Any Potomac approval today?

On 1/29/2020 at 4:01 PM, Alix64 said:

thank you LilyJ

 

 

[ThePeripatetic 4]

17 hours ago, ayestaci said:

I've been trying to wait out visiting with the CR-1 in process (aside from a visit late last year) but it's getting harder with the unpredictability! 

I was initially hoping to be there in April, but that's now looking impossible. If Potomac hadn't slowed down so much... ah well. 

It’s absolutely fine to visit the US under an ESTA while your I130 is under review. Just be honest with the customs officers that you’ll be visiting your spouse and disclose that you have an i130 under review if they ask.

 

I’ve visited twice in the past 6 months under ESTA and it has been fine every time