Travelling on tourist visa whilst waiting for I-130

[EmmaWigs 17]

Husband and I traveled to Mexico for 2 weeks in December during pandemic and had no problems re-entering. Husband (with advance parole card) was pulled aside, interviewed and released to enter US....took about 45 mins. They asked why did you visit Mexico (see son), where did you stay, with who, how long

[JKLSemicolon 411]

1 hour ago, EmmaWigs said:

Husband and I traveled to Mexico for 2 weeks in December during pandemic and had no problems re-entering. Husband (with advance parole card) was pulled aside, interviewed and released to enter US....took about 45 mins. They asked why did you visit Mexico (see son), where did you stay, with who, how long

Glad to hear, although that is not quite the same situation as what this thread was created to discuss. Those waiting for the CR-1/IR-1 process are still residing outside of the U.S. and not adjusting status like your husband, so advance parole does not come into play. Similarly, someone already adjusting status would not need to prove ties to their home country in the same way that someone going through the CR-1/IR-1 process would, so the questions asked by CBP would likely be different.

[EKT 117]

I haven't read through the entire thread, but does anyone have experience travelling to the US together as a couple (USC and spouse beneficiary) or family for a short stay while spouse is going through the IR process? We live overseas and would really like to visit my family in August or Sept 2021 as I have not been able to see most of them since 2018. We are still at NVC stage awaiting DQ so might have an interview date by then or maybe not. We would stay with family in the US for 3-4 weeks and then hopefully move permanently early 2022 if green card has been issued by then. We would book return tickets and still have jobs, house and kids enrolled in school here, etc to show we intend to go back... just curious if we are likely to have difficult time at the border. Also would he go for ESTA or apply for a B-2? Thanks

[Chancy 6,241]

On 6/11/2021 at 8:00 AM, EKT said:

would he go for ESTA or apply for a B-2?

 

Use ESTA.  Do not risk VWP privileges by applying for and possibly getting denied a B2 visa.

 

[blchaddy 15]

On 7/30/2020 at 11:05 AM, JFH said:

I did it multiple times. Are you traveling on a B-2 or using the VWP? In any event, it’s certainly possible to visit during the process. As with any visit, entry is never guaranteed but having a pending I-130 is no reason not to be admitted. If you are coming from the UK then note that only certain groups of people are allowed to enter the US from the UK at the moment due to infection concerns. Spouses fall into the category of permitted visitors but there have been mixed reports of how successful people have been since proving to an airline employee you are married to a USC is almost impossible. We married in Washington state and nowhere on the marriage certificate does it confirm that my husband is a USC. The average airline employee will not know, or need to know, what an I-130 is. It’s certainly easier right now if both spouses are traveling together. 

Just in case anyone is wondering about entering the US during the pandemic w/ current presidential proclamations in place and what to show as proof —I gave my husband (UK citizen) my US birth certificate, a notarized copy of my US passport, and a print out of the presidential proclamation (and also had the official US government  website  with the proclamation bookmarked on his phone) —he brought these along with our marriage license—and while he was stuck in a room with a couple CO’s for 20 min, they did let him pass through. He did almost have an issue at the airport during initial check in because the airline employee thought you needed a specific visa to visit the US—she wasn’t aware that spouses of US citizens could travel into the country. So my husband had her call a supervisor and provided her with all the paperwork he had with him…and after all that, he ended up arriving into the US just fine (thankfully  )

[ChrisV1 0]

Hi everyone, my immigration  visa is currently pending. Full context is I have already had my interview and am awaiting some further documentation as well as my medical which has been deferred (with approval) as my wife is currently pregnant and will give birth in here in Ireland. After which we plan to move to the US (assuming the medical goes ok and the visa is issued).

 

We planned to visit her family next month in the US for a week as we haven't travelled there since the beginning of the pandemic. I just applied for an ESTA (I have had a few before) but shortly after submitting it was denied.

 

Ireland was recently listed under the travel ban due to COVID, although I would be exempt from this as the spouse of a US citizen. What I cannot tell if it is because of this ban that ESTA applications are being blanket denied from Ireland at present and thus mine too, or whether my pending visa application has caused my application to be denied.

 

Has anyone with a pending visa application applied for an ESTA and had it denied before? 

 

And has anyone with a pending visa application applied for an ESTA from a country on the travel ban list. (Yes I know fairly unlikely).

 

It's hard to find any conclusive info on ESTA status as the volume of people applying for them at present is obviously very low. Any insights welcome!

[blchaddy 15]

6 hours ago, ChrisV1 said:

Hi everyone, my immigration  visa is currently pending. Full context is I have already had my interview and am awaiting some further documentation as well as my medical which has been deferred (with approval) as my wife is currently pregnant and will give birth in here in Ireland. After which we plan to move to the US (assuming the medical goes ok and the visa is issued).

 

We planned to visit her family next month in the US for a week as we haven't travelled there since the beginning of the pandemic. I just applied for an ESTA (I have had a few before) but shortly after submitting it was denied.

 

Ireland was recently listed under the travel ban due to COVID, although I would be exempt from this as the spouse of a US citizen. What I cannot tell if it is because of this ban that ESTA applications are being blanket denied from Ireland at present and thus mine too, or whether my pending visa application has caused my application to be denied.

 

Has anyone with a pending visa application applied for an ESTA and had it denied before? 

 

And has anyone with a pending visa application applied for an ESTA from a country on the travel ban list. (Yes I know fairly unlikely).

 

It's hard to find any conclusive info on ESTA status as the volume of people applying for them at present is obviously very low. Any insights welcome!

My husband applied for ESTA during the travel ban (he is English) and his was approved (as you know, UK is on travel ban list, too). He applied and was approved in February of 2021, one month after we got married. So I definitely don’t think the cause of your denial was due to the ban during the pandemic. The denial had to  be due to your pending 130, some other visa denial reason in your background or answers to the questions, or maybe even something administrative. 

[Racks08 1]

Has anyone recently been able to have their spouse travel to the US on the VWP program while their I-130 was in process?

 

I am thinking about trying this but I feel as though there is a lot of risk involved and we would need a lot of luck as well. 
 

Any insight is appreciated. 

[ND9811 1]

On 8/15/2021 at 12:57 PM, Racks08 said:

Has anyone recently been able to have their spouse travel to the US on the VWP program while their I-130 was in process?

 

I am thinking about trying this but I feel as though there is a lot of risk involved and we would need a lot of luck as well. 
 

Any insight is appreciated. 

This forum is filled with people who have done it this year. Have you read the previous responses to this thread?

[AnnaCa 63]

On 8/15/2021 at 8:57 PM, Racks08 said:

Has anyone recently been able to have their spouse travel to the US on the VWP program while their I-130 was in process?

 

I am thinking about trying this but I feel as though there is a lot of risk involved and we would need a lot of luck as well. 
 

Any insight is appreciated. 

Yes, I travelled on VWP in June 2021, we filed the I-130 in April 2021! Had no issues

[blchaddy 15]

16 hours ago, AnnaCa said:

Yes, I travelled on VWP in June 2021, we filed the I-130 in April 2021! Had no issues

How many times had you traveled to the US prior to this? I’ve been wondering if it has any bearing on whether or not someone gets admitted during 130 process. Thanks!

[AnnaCa 63]

10 hours ago, blchaddy said:

How many times had you traveled to the US prior to this? I’ve been wondering if it has any bearing on whether or not someone gets admitted during 130 process. Thanks!

I was there in February->April 2021, March->April 2020, Januar 2020, January 2016 and August2011->June2012 

[TedsGirl 193]

On 8/26/2021 at 8:29 AM, AnnaCa said:

I was there in February->April 2021, March->April 2020, Januar 2020, January 2016 and August2011->June2012 

Hello AnnaCa🙂

Can I ask how long you visited (in days) when you went in February this year please? 

 

Thank you🌻 

[AnnaCa 63]

14 hours ago, TedsGirl said:

Hello AnnaCa🙂

Can I ask how long you visited (in days) when you went in February this year please? 

 

Thank you🌻 

I was there 53 days, I left on the 7th of April. Then I went back there on May 31st and stayed until June 30th 😊

[TedsGirl 193]

12 hours ago, AnnaCa said:

I was there 53 days, I left on the 7th of April. Then I went back there on May 31st and stayed until June 30th 😊

Thank you kindly! I’m hoping to go soon for a longer visit than my last, in June when we got married🌻