Travel Ban and K1 Visa, allowed entry?

[TimothyLeeFoss 4]

Does anyone have any idea if entry into the U.S. will be allowed on a K1 Visa? The travel ban states that only U.S. permanent residents or immediate family members will be allowed in, and I know a fiance on K1 is technically not an immediate relative yet. However, I have heard a couple cases on WeChat of Chinese fiances being let in at the airport with their K1 Visa in the last few days. We are living in Guangdong together right now, and want to get the hell out, but we don't want to spend all that money, travel all that way, and then have her be denied at the border and sent back to China.

 

Anyone have any insights to share? It would be greatly appreciated. 

[Boiler 45,525]

To clarify, she has been issued a K1 visa?

[igoyougoduke 1,656]

30 minutes ago, TimothyLeeFoss said:

Does anyone have any idea if entry into the U.S. will be allowed on a K1 Visa? The travel ban states that only U.S. permanent residents or immediate family members will be allowed in, and I know a fiance on K1 is technically not an immediate relative yet. However, I have heard a couple cases on WeChat of Chinese fiances being let in at the airport with their K1 Visa in the last few days. We are living in Guangdong together right now, and want to get the hell out, but we don't want to spend all that money, travel all that way, and then have her be denied at the border and sent back to China.

 

Anyone have any insights to share? It would be greatly appreciated. 

 if you are living in china currently, you will be denied entry due to the corona virus 

[TimothyLeeFoss 4]

Yes, she has been issued the Visa. I am a U.S. citizen, she has a K1 Visa in her possession, and we will both be traveling from Guangzhou to the U.S. together.

[flfreddy 92]

Please go to a 3rd country and wait 14 days.   The ban is for 14 days prior travel in China.    There are countries that let Chinese in without visa.  Thailand

[P&T23 2]

13 hours ago, TimothyLeeFoss said:

Does anyone have any idea if entry into the U.S. will be allowed on a K1 Visa? The travel ban states that only U.S. permanent residents or immediate family members will be allowed in, and I know a fiance on K1 is technically not an immediate relative yet. However, I have heard a couple cases on WeChat of Chinese fiances being let in at the airport with their K1 Visa in the last few days. We are living in Guangdong together right now, and want to get the hell out, but we don't want to spend all that money, travel all that way, and then have her be denied at the border and sent back to China.

 

Anyone have any insights to share? It would be greatly appreciated. 

You are not alone, my fiancée with her k-1 visa issued in December 2019, was ready for March 2nd to come to Los Angeles, CA. Unfortunately her flight was cancelled last week for Air China. Originally my fiancée works in Futian-Shenzhen, China. She is still stuck in her hometown in the countryside in Hunan Province while visiting her family before the crazy national lockdown took place.

I am in the United States as trying to figure out what's best to do for her but now it's just to wait to see what will our US Gov't will do. As I've been reading the new proclamation over and over, it seems there is no way yet for any Chinese citizens or any foreigners who visited China for the last 14days to come to the US since February 2nd that was announced. I am on standby to book any flights for her to come America from Guangzhou or Shenzhen directly to USA.

I am interested in your stance as well because we are kinda on the same boat, but for me already in United States.
I am investigating this what you said for K-1 visa holders from China being let through at US Port of entry, but I don't have an answer yet.
 

[TimothyLeeFoss 4]

So, the official reply I got from U.S. CBP is that K-1 will not be allowed in. However, I am in a WeChat group with about 200 Chinese K-1 cases, and many are reporting that they were allowed in.

 

Personally, we have decided to not take the risk, and are flying to Malaysia for 2 weeks, then we will fly back to America. The hardest part right now is finding a country that will even let my Fiance transit through on our way home. Pretty much all flights from Asia to America currently transfer through Taiwan (Chinese citizens are currently banned completely), South Korea (also completely banned), or Japan (banned if you are from certain provinces, and the list is growing).

 

Afraid that after our two weeks in Malaysia we won't even be able to find a flight to America that she can take.

[Just Paul 4,595]

1 hour ago, TimothyLeeFoss said:

Afraid that after our two weeks in Malaysia we won't even be able to find a flight to America that she can take.

United has a direct flight from Singapore to SFO.

[TimothyLeeFoss 4]

37 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

United has a direct flight from Singapore to SFO.

Singapore currently has a ban on all Chinese citizens, regardless of when they were in China. Right now it looks like our best choice is an Emirates flight from Malaysia to LAX with a transfer in Dubai, which currently has no restrictions. 

[Hemutian 68]

On 2/12/2020 at 10:38 PM, TimothyLeeFoss said:

So, the official reply I got from U.S. CBP is that K-1 will not be allowed in. However, I am in a WeChat group with about 200 Chinese K-1 cases, and many are reporting that they were allowed in.

 

Personally, we have decided to not take the risk, and are flying to Malaysia for 2 weeks, then we will fly back to America. The hardest part right now is finding a country that will even let my Fiance transit through on our way home. Pretty much all flights from Asia to America currently transfer through Taiwan (Chinese citizens are currently banned completely), South Korea (also completely banned), or Japan (banned if you are from certain provinces, and the list is growing).

 

Afraid that after our two weeks in Malaysia we won't even be able to find a flight to America that she can take.

Does your Wechat group say anything about Chinese citizens who already came to the US on K1 visas, married their USC spouses, applied for AOS (green card), and are currently still waiting for the green card, but already have AP (advanced parole, aka the "travel document")? Are they going to be allowed back into the US (without 14 day quarantine) if they've been in China (not Wuhan)?

[TimothyLeeFoss 4]

1 hour ago, Hemutian said:

Does your Wechat group say anything about Chinese citizens who already came to the US on K1 visas, married their USC spouses, applied for AOS (green card), and are currently still waiting for the green card, but already have AP (advanced parole, aka the "travel document")? Are they going to be allowed back into the US (without 14 day quarantine) if they've been in China (not Wuhan)?

Sorry, I don't have any info on that, most people in the group haven't gotten to AoS yet. According to the current restrictions, that should be allowed, but if your wife is still in America, I would cancel the trip to China. Better to be safe right now.

[givionte 138]

On 2/18/2020 at 3:33 PM, Hemutian said:

Does your Wechat group say anything about Chinese citizens who already came to the US on K1 visas, married their USC spouses, applied for AOS (green card), and are currently still waiting for the green card, but already have AP (advanced parole, aka the "travel document")? Are they going to be allowed back into the US (without 14 day quarantine) if they've been in China (not Wuhan)?

If you are married to a US citizen, and have a entry visa of some type including AP or green card, they'll be allowed to return.  The most difficult part will be convincing the airline at the airport that your spouse legally can fly.

[P&T23 2]

Update to this, with all the cluster going on now in East Asia and Europe no way connecting or near those areas. In order to leave before my fiancee's K-1 expires on June 1st. The plan still set for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia route with 30day visa and 14plus days there and then to Doha, Qatar or Dubai and land on the Eastern cities like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport or Washington D.C Dulles Airport.

Back to the update I tried to investigate on weChat group saying some people got in, well I can't confirm if it's true, I called many US gov't authorities and said K-1 visa holders with Chinese passport cannot enter US if they just came from Mainland China. 

 

[TimothyLeeFoss 4]

So, my fiance and I just got into JFK today after spending 16 days in Malaysia. I asked many questions, and hopefully I can clear some things up for everyone.

 

1. The rule for America is *more than* 14 days out of China, meaning you need to be out of China for *at least* 15 days.

 

2. K1 Visa absolutely is not exempt from the 2 weeks ban. A fiance is not an immediate relative, and they will not let them in the border.

 

3. Many airlines are uncertain on the rules set by America, or just don't want to deal with the hassle and will turn your fiance away, not allowing them on the flight, and they will blame the U.S. Thus, the more airlines your ticket is through, the higher the risk is. For minimal risk, book your ticket through a single airline going all the way from your origin to destination so you only have to check in once.

 

4. If you are travelling in a group,  or especially with your American fiance there is a MUCH higher chance of being allowed in. JFK's CBP Warden sepcifically told me that if they have been out for at least 15 days, and are travelling with an American citizen, they will absolutely not be turned away at JFK unless there is some special circumstance.

 

----------------------

 

I left China, stayed in Malaysia for 16 days, then booked a flight from Kuala Lumpur to JFK, transferring through Dubai via Emirates. Emirates was hesitant to let my fiance check in at Kuala Lumpur, but allowed it after consulting the computer.

 

Once I got to Dubai, we had to go through a special security screening before being allowed to board the flight bound for America. They were much more serious with their questioning of my fiance there, and I am fairly certain that if I wasn't there to firmly and confidently talk with them on her behalf, Emirates would have denied her entry, leaving her stranded in Dubai. I have many other contacts on WeChat reporting similar experiences at virtually every airport around the world before the last flight to America.

 

Once at JFK, we were separated into different lines since I am a citizen. However, I made a point of saying that I am with my fiance, and explaining our situation to the immigration agent. She took me aside to a special room to have the warden ask me question as I had been in China so recently myself. There my fiance was already waiting, as she had been taken there for the same reason. The warden then asked me and my fiance a series of questions about our journey. He was very professional, but I feel he would have been less understanding and willing to help had I not been there again. Once more, I have WeChat contacts who have reported similar situations by themselves, and being denied entry.

 

Hopefully you all can learn from my experience, and be a little more prepared for what to expect.

[P&T23 2]

3 hours ago, TimothyLeeFoss said:

So, my fiance and I just got into JFK today after spending 16 days in Malaysia. I asked many questions, and hopefully I can clear some things up for everyone.

 

1. The rule for America is *more than* 14 days out of China, meaning you need to be out of China for *at least* 15 days.

 

2. K1 Visa absolutely is not exempt from the 2 weeks ban. A fiance is not an immediate relative, and they will not let them in the border.

 

3. Many airlines are uncertain on the rules set by America, or just don't want to deal with the hassle and will turn your fiance away, not allowing them on the flight, and they will blame the U.S. Thus, the more airlines your ticket is through, the higher the risk is. For minimal risk, book your ticket through a single airline going all the way from your origin to destination so you only have to check in once.

 

4. If you are travelling in a group,  or especially with your American fiance there is a MUCH higher chance of being allowed in. JFK's CBP Warden sepcifically told me that if they have been out for at least 15 days, and are travelling with an American citizen, they will absolutely not be turned away at JFK unless there is some special circumstance.

 

----------------------

 

I left China, stayed in Malaysia for 16 days, then booked a flight from Kuala Lumpur to JFK, transferring through Dubai via Emirates. Emirates was hesitant to let my fiance check in at Kuala Lumpur, but allowed it after consulting the computer.

 

Once I got to Dubai, we had to go through a special security screening before being allowed to board the flight bound for America. They were much more serious with their questioning of my fiance there, and I am fairly certain that if I wasn't there to firmly and confidently talk with them on her behalf, Emirates would have denied her entry, leaving her stranded in Dubai. I have many other contacts on WeChat reporting similar experiences at virtually every airport around the world before the last flight to America.

 

Once at JFK, we were separated into different lines since I am a citizen. However, I made a point of saying that I am with my fiance, and explaining our situation to the immigration agent. She took me aside to a special room to have the warden ask me question as I had been in China so recently myself. There my fiance was already waiting, as she had been taken there for the same reason. The warden then asked me and my fiance a series of questions about our journey. He was very professional, but I feel he would have been less understanding and willing to help had I not been there again. Once more, I have WeChat contacts who have reported similar situations by themselves, and being denied entry.

 

Hopefully you all can learn from my experience, and be a little more prepared for what to expect.

Thank you for sharing your experience I will reference this if going this route. Mind I ask what airliner you use to fly from China to Kula Lumpur? Did you flew from Guangzhou, China?