Coronavirus and currently visiting in the US (K1 Approvdd)

[Sinead91 249]

Hi everyone. Strange situation here at the moment. 

 

I am currently in the US visiting my fiance. We had our K1 approved a few days before I left. My original flight home was on the 17th of March but as I work in schools, I have been temporarily laid off until the end of the month with my boss saying I will probably be out of work for 12 weeks in total. 

 

I entered the states on my esta and was granted the usual 90 day window to stay as a tourist. 

 

My question is: as the airline are offering free flight changes, I would love to stay an extra 2 or 3 weeks here. Could that cause an issue? 

 

 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

1 minute ago, Sinead91 said:

Hi everyone. Strange situation here at the moment. 

 

I am currently in the US visiting my fiance. We had our K1 approved a few days before I left. My original flight home was on the 17th of March but as I work in schools, I have been temporarily laid off until the end of the month with my boss saying I will probably be out of work for 12 weeks in total. 

 

I entered the states on my esta and was granted the usual 90 day window to stay as a tourist. 

 

My question is: as the airline are offering free flight changes, I would love to stay an extra 2 or 3 weeks here. Could that cause an issue? 

No as long as you don't get married in the US while here. That would be visa fraud and you don't want that. You will have to be aware of your NOA2 expiration dates and if you must go beyond the first 4 month window then ask your embassy to extend it for you for another 4 months. Do it ahead of time so you don't run into any problems along the way.

 

There might be other things you'll need to be aware of but I am sure someone will chime in to add to my list. 

 

Be careful you are in one of the hotbed zones for the virus. Just saying.

[Sinead91 249]

1 minute ago, Greenbaum said:

Be careful you are in one of the hotbed zones for the virus. Just saying.

This is another reason why I'm cautious, I've been in Washington state now for about 10 days now. I will obviously be going into self quarantine when I arrive home. 

 

And also thanks for the reminder about my NOA2, our expiry date is early July I believe 

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

29 minutes ago, Sinead91 said:

My question is: as the airline are offering free flight changes, I would love to stay an extra 2 or 3 weeks here. Could that cause an issue? 

Just don't overstay the 90 days.....good luck.

[Sinead91 249]

1 hour ago, Lucky Cat said:

Just don't overstay the 90 days.....good luck.

Yes that was never the intention. I've only been here for 10 days anyway so I'd be nowhere near it if I leave after 3 weeks rather than 2...or whatever. But trump has broadened the travel ban to Ireland also right now so I am just up in a heap 😔

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Not sure if this out of line (I’m sure others will let me know if it is)  but given how rapidly everything has changed, is it actually wrong just to marry and adjust now ? Visa fraud applies to intent which clearly wasn’t there, OP arrived before the big wave of social distancing measures announced this past week and obviously before the UK/Ireland ban.  If OP returns home, who knows when she can return - as would not yet be spouse of USC & therefore not exempted from ban.  Obviously this option assumes OP could feasibly just leave everything behind as wouldn’t be able to travel back till AP, 4-6 months down the road. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

13 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

is it actually wrong just to marry and adjust now ?

Perfectly legal........and maybe practical.....or not.

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[Boiler 45,486]

I rather assumed that would be the question, stay and adjust, but maybe needs to go home? AP will take some time to get.

[JFH 12,190]

The K-1 has already been issued? You mentioned it has been approved. When you arrived did they record your arrival as a K-1 or VWP arrival? What does your I-94 say?

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

9 minutes ago, JFH said:

The K-1 has already been issued? You mentioned it has been approved. When you arrived did they record your arrival as a K-1 or VWP arrival? What does your I-94 say?

Although uncommon, some embassies don't cancel VWP/B2 visa and allow you to travel even with a K1 in the passport. My husband's K1 was approved in October, he traveled on his B2 in November to celebrate Thanksgiving and left 2 weeks later, and entered as a K1 in March.

 

OP, as long as you don't stay past the 90 days, you should be good to go. Just re-enter before your K1 expires.

Edited March 14, 2020 by Sarah&Facundo

[JFH 12,190]

Just now, Sarah&Facundo said:

Although uncommon, some embassies don't cancel VWP/B2 visa and allow you to travel even with a K1 in the passport. My husband's K1 was approved in October, he traveled on his B2 in November, and entered as a K1 in March.

 

OP, as long as you don't stay past the 90 days, you should be good to go. Just re-enter before your K1 expires.

That’s why I was wondering how they processed her when she arrived. We have seen a case before where someone had an approved K-1 but wanted to visit before using the K-1 but the CBP Officer actually recorded their entry as a K-1 which caused problems when they left without AP. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

2 minutes ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

 

 

OP, as long as you don't stay past the 90 days, you should be good to go. Just re-enter before your K1 expires.

Easier said than done with a travel ban on non-nationals from where she lives.

[Sarah&Facundo 595]

Just now, SusieQQQ said:

Easier said than done with a travel ban on non-nationals from where she lives.

Yup, that's why the K1 expiration matters here.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

4 minutes ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

Yup, that's why the K1 expiration matters here.

Considering no-one actually knows how long the ban may or may not be in place for, that’s still not useful information imo. She could get the visa reissued if it expires , there is a provision for reissue of visas expiring without use for circumstances beyond control, but it could end up being months beyond when they had planned. And obviously would not be able to visit if it’s because of a ban on non nationals. Depends what level of uncertainty she can take how she approaches this now imo.  We hope it’s going to be short but no one actually knows.

Edited March 14, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[Fr8dog 312]

Assuming they approved the petition but you had not yet had the interview, I would say marry, stay and adjust. There was clearly no intent when entering the US so you are good there. The current travel issues make it very hard to get a good estimate on when you could get to travel back to the US if you would return.

 

If adjusting now is not an option than by all means stay longer, but not beyond the 90 days. Do keep in mind that changes happen daily and entry could become an issue for Ireland down the line as well. Also when things are starting back up again you may look at some delays at embassy and airlines as they try to get rid of the backlog.