Advice: NOA2, Pregnancy, and things getting complicated

[goursh 3]

Long story short, we are waiting on the KVC response after receiving NOA2 in the mail (Dec 16). My fiance is 6 months pregnant. Even if the stars aligned and we received the response tomorrow, and the embassy had plenty of available appointments in the immediate weeks, and the doctor said it was OK to fly at 36 weeks--not to mention there is no RFE at the interview--we would be cutting it seriously close to try to obtain the fiance visa in time to come back and have the baby in the States.

 

We just returned to her home country after 6 weeks in the States for the holidays. She had no problem entering on her B-2 tourist visa (I'm not sure if the officer could tell she was pregnant or not at that time). She mentioned the fiance visa as part of why she was visiting, and has a clean tourist record as far as leaving/entering the country on her previous travels.

 

Things got "complicated" when we realized that her tourist visa (with passport stamp) was good for a 6 month stay. Meaning that theoretically we could have stayed, had the baby, and then headed back to her home country peacefully to finish the visa situation--or even figured out a different situation, if the fiance interview would have expired by that point, I'm not sure (don't we need to schedule the interview within 90 days?). From what I have gathered, it's not illegal to come to the States to have a baby--just risky.

 

For now, I have no desire to deal with all the paperwork for getting my baby's passport immediately after birth. We also have no desire to stay in her home country any longer than necessary (we're basically AirBnb-ing around here using her parent's home address, plus I've got work to do back home). We're ready to start this new chapter of our lives, in the place we know we'll be for at least a while.

 

We are heavily leaning on heading back to the states in a few weeks, when it still wouldn't be too uncomfortable/dangerous for her to travel (doc already said he'd sign a note), and returning to her country in time to do her interview. As far as I can tell, the only thing we'd be banking on is the judgment of the border patrol officer (like usual). We'd bring all fiance visa paperwork as the reason for returning back to her home country, and if they ask about the baby, explain that we want to have the baby in country (I'd sign an affidavit or something confirming I am the father). As she hasn't yet stayed close to that 6 month limit in the past year, and the truth of the matter is that we are in the midst of transitioning our life together from her country to mine (proving with documentation that we will be doing so legally), it doesn't really feel like anything is out of place. It would be awesome if we were permitted to pass through immigrations together so I could help with the story, though I'm not sure they would let us.

 

Anyway, what would you do in this situation? Do you have any other creative (and legal) ideas? I understand the safest and most comfortable route would just be to stay in her country and wait, but let's imagine the impatience was critical 😛  Thanks!

 

EDIT: one more question for those that may have experience: if she can demonstrate it came from an inheritance + savings, can she safely bring more than $10k cash? I know that would also help her case with the border patrol officer.

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by goursh

[designguy 1,179]

8 minutes ago, goursh said:

As she hasn't yet stayed close to that 6 month limit in the past year,

There is no 6 month limit per year, its that usually a person entering on B2 is granted a stay of 6 months. Technically someone could leave for a day and re-enter. However it is totally up to the CBP officer to make a determination whether to let you in. If they feel the person is using their visa to live in the states / at risk of trying to adjust status, then they may deny the person entry. You could try to enter again on the B2 but I would say you are at a higher risk of denial of entry than before due to the recent visit and the pending K1

 

You probably want to start doing some research on CRBA. What country will your fiance be immigrating from?

[Nat&Amy 623]

25 minutes ago, goursh said:

We would be cutting it seriously close to try to obtain the fiance visa in time to come back and have the baby in the States.

I can understand your impatience but when it comes to having the baby in the US, there are many more factors to consider than what the judgement call of a CBP officer. Is your fiance insured, for starters? The cost of childbirth in the US is wicked high even for those WITH insurance. What financial guarantees or arrangements have you made - or would be able to show, if asked - proving you can afford the costs associated with it? 

 

Financial matters aside, let's look at the "enter the US, have the baby and leave" scenario, as you mentioned. What are the odds of that actually happening? What kind of tie back home would be compelling enough for your fiancee to return home for her interview instead of staying, getting married and choosing to abandon the K1 to adjust status instead?

 

Things that a CBP officer will certainly take into account... And while no one here has a crystal ball to know for sure whether she would be refused entry or not, it is easy to see the shortcomings of that plan.

 

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by Nat&Amy

[Nat&Amy 623]

31 minutes ago, goursh said:

We'd bring all fiance visa paperwork as the reason for returning back to her home country,

Not a good reason to return. K1s get dropped everyday and we see loads of people doing AoS instead.

 

What other evidence would she be able to present? What kind of ties does she still have in her home country?

 

31 minutes ago, goursh said:

if they ask about the baby, explain that we want to have the baby in-country (I'd sign an affidavit or something confirming I am the father). 

Your affidavit would not confirm you are the father, and in all honesty, what Immigration would be concerned with is whether or not your fiancee would have to resort to public benefits for childbirth. 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by Nat&Amy

[goursh 3]

@designguy it's Argentina. I've looked into the CRBA and while it looks straightforward enough, I'm just sick of paperwork (and thus the impatience :P)

 

@Nat&Amy very ood points, thank you. She is a yoga teacher. We've traveled a lot in our time together and her "ties" back home are always workshops she plans for the week she returns to and advertises on social media. Hasn't been a problem but like I mentioned, I'm not sure they knew she was pregnant before. Every time she's crossed a border into US or UK she's gotten through faster than me.

 

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What financial guarantees or arrangements have you made - or would be able to show, if asked - proving you can afford the costs associated with it? 

She's got enough cash to cover a childbirth, which brought up my second question about bringing in more than 10k cash. Besides that, we have the I-134s from me and my co-sponsor, so if they would accept that as on-the-spot evidence, then that is covered.

 

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What are the odds of that actually happening? 

Quite frankly, there is no question we would not follow the plan (I say that now, at least). From what I've read it could be considered visa fraud if during AOS they see that she came on a tourist visa to get married... and to be honest, after all this money, time and energy, we don't want to jeopardize anything. Not sure how far that'll go explaining that to the CBP officer, but it's the truth. 

 

Anywho, thanks for the questions helping me think about things!