Do I need CR1/IR1 or ESTA vwp?

[Saihtiam 11]

Hey everyone,

 

I´m a EU citizen currently in the US and I just got married to a US citizen. I came in on an ESTA and I will be leaving as planned with my new wife in a few days before my ESTA runs out. We plan to live in Europe for a few years and come live in the States in say 5-10 years. I know that in the long term I´ll need a visa to live and work in the US but my doubt exists in the short term: 

 

Can I keep using ESTA when my American wife and I come visit family here in the US occasionally? How will the Customs and Border agents view this? Will I need to apply for a CR1? I´ve read it takes forever and I´m not currently looking to immigrate at this point in time. 

 

Any help/advice/comments/suggestions would be very appreciated. 

 

PS - For those of you worried about getting married on ESTA, it wasn´t a problem at all. 

[JPD91 35]

Yes you can keep using an ESTA to visit the US, I would just ensure that each time you visit you show strong times to home to show that you have no intent to stay and adjust status. 

 

CR1/IR1 are taking around a year or 2 to be approved at the moment, so I wouldn't worry about applying for that yet if you don't plan on moving to the states for another 5-10 years. Possibly by then the processing times may have sped up.

 

I'm sure more experienced users will chip in with better answers for you. 

[SalishSea 17,458]

On 9/14/2021 at 9:04 PM, Saihtiam said:

Hey everyone,

 

I´m a EU citizen currently in the US and I just got married to a US citizen. I came in on an ESTA and I will be leaving as planned with my new wife in a few days before my ESTA runs out. We plan to live in Europe for a few years and come live in the States in say 5-10 years. I know that in the long term I´ll need a visa to live and work in the US but my doubt exists in the short term: 

 

Can I keep using ESTA when my American wife and I come visit family here in the US occasionally? How will the Customs and Border agents view this? Will I need to apply for a CR1? I´ve read it takes forever and I´m not currently looking to immigrate at this point in time. 

 

Any help/advice/comments/suggestions would be very appreciated. 

 

PS - For those of you worried about getting married on ESTA, it wasn´t a problem at all. 

Visits are totally fine.  You will want to plan ahead and make sure you can show evidence of ties to your home country when seeking admission on ESTA however - return ticket, letter from employer with your return to work date, etc.  May be worth pointing out here that even if you have a job that enables you to work remotely, this is not allowed when visiting the US on ESTA.