How much longer till we get our interview date?

[Bray666 9]

2 minutes ago, aphr0dite said:

My French fiance used his B visa to visit me for 5 months last year. He was very honest with CBP about his intentions. They asked for his return ticket as well as proof of funds. He got sent to a room for additional questioning, but they eventually let him through. Honesty is the best policy in my opinion. There is a chance you get refused entry, but being dishonest and getting caught is far worse.

 

We are K-1 filers as well and know that we have a long road ahead of us due to everything that is going on at the moment. While I understand that it is very difficult to be away from your lover, try to prioritize long term success over short term gratification. Later on you will be happy you did things the legal and honest way to avoid any potential negative consequences. 

 

I wish you the best of luck with your upcoming trip and your visa application as well!

Thank you for a positive outlook! It's definitely a tough journey ahead. When you say proof of funds, does that mean proof of a job or just proof of money to last the 5 months? My biggest fear is getting denied entry and dealing with that. Could a person attempt to get another flight and not get denied entry later that day or week even? From my understanding there is no laws against extending the flight to the max once yous arrive to your destination, hence why I'm asking.

[SalishSea 18,145]

43 minutes ago, Bray666 said:

Could a person attempt to get another flight and not get denied entry later that day or week even?

Uh, CBP can see that a prior attempt was made, and the reason for denial.   They're probs not going to say "on Tuesday you were trying to enter with immigrant intent, but today you're clearly not."

[bpg123 12]

57 minutes ago, Bray666 said:

Thank you for a positive outlook! It's definitely a tough journey ahead. When you say proof of funds, does that mean proof of a job or just proof of money to last the 5 months? My biggest fear is getting denied entry and dealing with that. Could a person attempt to get another flight and not get denied entry later that day or week even? From my understanding there is no laws against extending the flight to the max once yous arrive to your destination, hence why I'm asking.

If you get denied entry your account will be flagged indefinitely. I was denied last year as I was going to stay with my fiancé for 4 months while I train for triathlons full time. I had recently gave up my apartment and was bringing my cats with me. All my family lives in Canada, I had a letter from my boss stating that he was giving me four months off work and expected my return. I was completely honest but they didn't buy it. My account was flagged and they threatened to ban me for 5 years. I had Nexus for almost 15 years prior and that was taken away. I ended up speaking with a CBP officer who gave me some tips to visiting with the flag and I was able to fly down a few more times before our K1 was approved but everytime I crossed the border whether in Vancouver, Seattle, Atlanta or Dallas. I was interrogated for around 2-3hours by CBP officers. 

Also FWIW, CBP goes through phases where they give out very few 5 year bans and years where they give them out like crazy. They are currently giving them out like crazy and they are nearly impossible to fight.

 

Also, if you have a flight for a month later, you are lying and risking a 5/10 year ban but also, they may restrict your B2 visa for a couple days after your return flight. They once restricted my B2 from 6 months down to 10 days and on day 7 Hurricane Dorian was going to make landfall closing all airports nearby. Luckily Dorian turned a corner and the airport opened before my 10 days so I made it home safely. 

 

Moral of story, play it very carefully as distance sucks, but not sure any relationship could handle 5 years without crossing the border.

[bpg123 12]

23 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Uh, CBP can see that a prior attempt was made, and the reason for denial.   They're probs not going to say "on Tuesday you were trying to enter with immigrant intent, but today you're clearly not."

I have been told by CBP officers that if you try again that quickly you are almost 100% going to get the 5 year bar.

[Bray666 9]

8 minutes ago, bpg123 said:

If you get denied entry your account will be flagged indefinitely. I was denied last year as I was going to stay with my fiancé for 4 months while I train for triathlons full time. I had recently gave up my apartment and was bringing my cats with me. All my family lives in Canada, I had a letter from my boss stating that he was giving me four months off work and expected my return. I was completely honest but they didn't buy it. My account was flagged and they threatened to ban me for 5 years. I had Nexus for almost 15 years prior and that was taken away. I ended up speaking with a CBP officer who gave me some tips to visiting with the flag and I was able to fly down a few more times before our K1 was approved but everytime I crossed the border whether in Vancouver, Seattle, Atlanta or Dallas. I was interrogated for around 2-3hours by CBP officers. 

Also FWIW, CBP goes through phases where they give out very few 5 year bans and years where they give them out like crazy. They are currently giving them out like crazy and they are nearly impossible to fight.

 

Also, if you have a flight for a month later, you are lying and risking a 5/10 year ban but also, they may restrict your B2 visa for a couple days after your return flight. They once restricted my B2 from 6 months down to 10 days and on day 7 Hurricane Dorian was going to make landfall closing all airports nearby. Luckily Dorian turned a corner and the airport opened before my 10 days so I made it home safely. 

 

Moral of story, play it very carefully as distance sucks, but not sure any relationship could handle 5 years without crossing the border.

Damn, that sounds really intense. I didn't expect things to that extent can happen.

[Bray666 9]

11 minutes ago, bpg123 said:

If you get denied entry your account will be flagged indefinitely. I was denied last year as I was going to stay with my fiancé for 4 months while I train for triathlons full time. I had recently gave up my apartment and was bringing my cats with me. All my family lives in Canada, I had a letter from my boss stating that he was giving me four months off work and expected my return. I was completely honest but they didn't buy it. My account was flagged and they threatened to ban me for 5 years. I had Nexus for almost 15 years prior and that was taken away. I ended up speaking with a CBP officer who gave me some tips to visiting with the flag and I was able to fly down a few more times before our K1 was approved but everytime I crossed the border whether in Vancouver, Seattle, Atlanta or Dallas. I was interrogated for around 2-3hours by CBP officers. 

Also FWIW, CBP goes through phases where they give out very few 5 year bans and years where they give them out like crazy. They are currently giving them out like crazy and they are nearly impossible to fight.

 

Also, if you have a flight for a month later, you are lying and risking a 5/10 year ban but also, they may restrict your B2 visa for a couple days after your return flight. They once restricted my B2 from 6 months down to 10 days and on day 7 Hurricane Dorian was going to make landfall closing all airports nearby. Luckily Dorian turned a corner and the airport opened before my 10 days so I made it home safely. 

 

Moral of story, play it very carefully as distance sucks, but not sure any relationship could handle 5 years without crossing the border.

Why did they restrict your b2 down to 10 days? I'm Canadian, so our passports are essentially our b2 visas. Can they still restrict them? How did you get informed of the restriction?

[bpg123 12]

18 minutes ago, Bray666 said:

Why did they restrict your b2 down to 10 days? I'm Canadian, so our passports are essentially our b2 visas. Can they still restrict them? How did you get informed of the restriction?

I am Canadian as well. The B2 visa is a privilege, not a right. They restricted me to 10 days so that my trip was short and I was unable to lie and extend. They usually have zero reason to do this but they can restrict your B2 visa however much they like. They told me right after they interrogated me for 2 hours. They ended it with "We believe that you are just going down for a quick trip and not a risk to immigrate illegally. We will however be restricting your i94 to 10 days. (I had a return flight 7 days later) If you don't have a flag, the CBP officers are usually friendly and will give you a shot. Once you have that flag on your account though every single time you cross the officers will be looking at you like you are a potential illegal immigrant, especially considering the extreme backlogs with the K1. They are going to be looking for people to try and bypass the system and get married on a B2.

[Bray666 9]

14 minutes ago, bpg123 said:

I am Canadian as well. The B2 visa is a privilege, not a right. They restricted me to 10 days so that my trip was short and I was unable to lie and extend. They usually have zero reason to do this but they can restrict your B2 visa however much they like. They told me right after they interrogated me for 2 hours. They ended it with "We believe that you are just going down for a quick trip and not a risk to immigrate illegally. We will however be restricting your i94 to 10 days. (I had a return flight 7 days later) If you don't have a flag, the CBP officers are usually friendly and will give you a shot. Once you have that flag on your account though every single time you cross the officers will be looking at you like you are a potential illegal immigrant, especially considering the extreme backlogs with the K1. They are going to be looking for people to try and bypass the system and get married on a B2.

Thanks for the information.  I have no intentions of doing this illegally as we are so close to being done with our paperwork which I will try to use as much as I can in explaining myself to them.

Did they restrict your B2 directly after passing customs or only since you have been flagged?

[SalishSea 18,145]

1 hour ago, bpg123 said:

They are going to be looking for people to try and bypass the system and get married on a B2.

THIS.

[aphr0dite 22]

4 hours ago, Bray666 said:

Thank you for a positive outlook! It's definitely a tough journey ahead. When you say proof of funds, does that mean proof of a job or just proof of money to last the 5 months? My biggest fear is getting denied entry and dealing with that. Could a person attempt to get another flight and not get denied entry later that day or week even? From my understanding there is no laws against extending the flight to the max once yous arrive to your destination, hence why I'm asking.

CBP asked to see proof of how much money he had in his bank account. I suppose it was to determine whether or not he could afford a five month long visit, but I could be wrong. I wish he could come visit since the K-1 process will take longer than expected, but I am sure they will deny him entry because we have a pending I-129F which presents intent to immigrate. Thankfully France is offering the laissez-passer for international couples, so I am hoping to visit him in December. 

[bpg123 12]

1 hour ago, aphr0dite said:

CBP asked to see proof of how much money he had in his bank account. I suppose it was to determine whether or not he could afford a five month long visit, but I could be wrong. I wish he could come visit since the K-1 process will take longer than expected, but I am sure they will deny him entry because we have a pending I-129F which presents intent to immigrate. Thankfully France is offering the laissez-passer for international couples, so I am hoping to visit him in December. 

Obviously unaware of your situation but a pending I-129F doesn't make your situation any more likely to be denied. If its a short trip, not much longer than 2 weeks and he has ties to France, the I-129F shows that you have started the process and you intend to have him come legally. 

That helps your case rather than hurts it. It's when you try to come for longer periods of time that aren't considered vacation along with no ties to home country that the chance of them denying you goes up. 

[Canerican 242]

20 hours ago, Bray666 said:

Me and my fiancé got our 2nd NOA roughly 8 weeks ago, they said they would send me a letter in the mail informing me of when to call to book the interview, documents I need to bring, etc. 2-4 weeks after receiving that letter.. It's been over 8 weeks since then. I'm in Canada, she's in Chicago.

Also, at this point I'm going to be going to stay with her for the max 6 months I'm allowed on the Canadian visa passport until we were back about getting an interview date. Is that something frowned upon and will it affect our paperwork?

 

@Bray666,

 

In my opinion, your plan is very risky. You are planning a 6 month stay, yet earlier than my post, you state that before this upcoming stay you visited for a month a couple months ago. If you indeed go through with attempting to stay for 6 months you could get interrogated and very possibly denied entry. CBP does not need proof to deny you entry, all they need is suspicion. If you attempt to enter for 6 months on this visit you have been in the US 7 months out of the last 12. The general rule is to spend more time in your home country than in the US. For example, 8/12 months in home country, 4/12 months in US. I have also observed others stating that once you have exceeded the 6 month mark you could jeopardize your Canadian health insurance and may qualify for physical presence in the US. As another poster stated, CBP is giving out 5 years bans frequently at the moment. 
 

Ultimately, the decision is yours, but I wanted to give you some things to think about so you can make an informed decision. 

[Peach_ 17]

On 8/25/2020 at 3:32 PM, Bray666 said:

We have been approved, and I'm not sure where the case is sitting at the moment. We got our 2nd NOA and are waiting for the letter to inform us when I can call to book the interview. It's at the Nvc and waiting to move to the consulate in Canada (the Montréal location)

I emailed them asking for my case number and ID so I can follow it better.

I see. We have the same situation. 😢 I hope it gets process soon.