Entering US after IR-1 Visa approval

[Mjc2021 8]

15 minutes ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

Thank you for your information!  It's strange that the Officers would tell you not to travel until you received your physical card considering the temporary Green Card serves the exact same legal purpose as a physical Green Card.  What if you have to travel at least twice a month abroad for work purposes?  I have read on numerous legal pages that you can leave the US with the temporary Green Card stamp as long as the absense is not too extended (over 3 months or more).   I have also read that there seems many officials both from Immigration and Social Security don't quite understand the rules of how things are supposed to work.  We have done all the paperwork without an immigration lawyer but I think having one now would be a good idea so he/she can set things straight.  Another question:  Did you have to show them proof that your spouse was living in the US when they asked you?

Yeah, I think it’s silly they told me to avoid international travel for 90 days, too.  I don’t have any travel planned since family is coming to visit us for the holidays. So, I won’t really have to unless there’s an emergency. 

They didn’t require proof. They didn’t even ask his name. They just asked where he was. I didn’t think much of it at first and said he was home with our dogs and for work, and the first officer noted he was asking for domicile reasons. The second officer asked “where is your husband at this very moment since he doesn’t appear to be with you?” she was intense. I said he was at our home in California. She asked if it was the address associated with my green card, and I said yes. That was it. 

[top_secret 2,421]

Just to throw in a current timetable.  My wife and stepdaughter arrived at LAX a week ago Tuesday night 10/26.  Social Security cards showed up in my mailbox earlier today, Tuesday 11/02.  So 7 days exactly from POE for the SS cards to be delivered.

 

The CBP Officer processing them at LAX had a rather sarcastic outlook towards his collogues at USCIS and told my wife it might be 6 months or more for the Green Cards to show up, if at all, and she may need to call USCIS a few times to nudge the process along since they are being so slow lately,,,, but that she is fine to travel with just her stamped visa.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

5 hours ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

No, my home has been in Costa Rica but I will be going back with home with my husband at the end of November.  Yes, I signed an agreement but this is mainly for the interview purpose so as not to think it was an arranged marriage and the USC will remain in the foreign country while the beneficiary moves to the US to start a new life.  Each IR-1 case is different and in our case, after 25 yrs married and with a daughter, as well as me being a housewife and my husband the provider, it's pretty obvious I have no intention of staying here nor is our marriage fraudulent.   If it were it would also be very easy for me to enter the US with him and then just take the next flight back to Costa Rica.

 

No, no, no. You don’t sign an agreement “mainly for the interview purpose”. If you sign an agreement for the department of the government that is granting your husband a visa, you need to uphold it. You may be correct about the intention behind the requirement but that does not change the fact that it IS a requirement. You need to travel with him on his first entry using the immigrant visa. Yes, even if you take the next flight back to Costa Rica.

 

 

Edited November 3, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[Gisselle Villegas 15]

8 minutes ago, top_secret said:

Just to throw in a current timetable.  My wife and stepdaughter arrived at LAX a week ago Tuesday night 10/26.  Social Security cards showed up in my mailbox earlier today, Tuesday 11/02.  So 7 days exactly from POE for the SS cards to be delivered.

 

The CBP Officer processing them at LAX had a rather sarcastic outlook towards his collogues at USCIS and told my wife it might be 6 months or more for the Green Cards to show up, if at all, and she may need to call USCIS a few times to nudge the process along since they are being so slow lately,,,, but that she is fine to travel with just her stamped visa.

Thanks for your input.  Right now we aren't so stressed about the physical Green Card.  All we are interested in is for my husband to get his SSN as quickly as possible for things like a salary, opening bank accounts, acquiring a US credit card among other things.   This was solely the only reason why he was intent on flying to the US this weekend and returning the following day (activate the process).

[Redro 4,611]

7 hours ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

Hello,

We are selling our things to make the move to the US by the end of November.  My husband who is the beneficiary already has a job waiting for him and plans to start Dec. 13th.  His passport IV Immigrant Visa stamp reads:  "Upon endorsement serves as temporary I-551 Evidencing permanent resident for one year".   According to what we have read in many sites, as soon as he enters the US the immigration officer will go into the system and this will activate the process to have his GC sent to him by mail and the officer will also endorse his temporary Green Card on the existing stamp.  We also submitted DS-260 to the National Visa Center prior to his interview where we chose to have his Social Security number created and sent to the address specified by mail.    To hurry the process of all this (especially the SS No. which he needs ASAP), he is going to travel to Florida this weekend for just one day to the next.  He will return to Costa Rica for 2 more weeks and then we will both move permanently to the US.   Has anyone done this?  Will it be ok for him to come back to his country the next day considering he already has his passport stampled with a temporary GC valid for one year?  Thanks in advance to anyone that may have answers.  

All the cases I've read involve the beneficiary and petitioner traveling to the States together to activate the visa .They then both return the next day to finish up business in the beneficiary's country. I'd be interested to know if your husband encounters any problems if he travels to the US without you.As it goes counter to the the I-864 where "You intend in good faith to reestablish your domicile in the United States no later than the date of the intending immigrant’s admission or adjustment of status." I would play it safe, follow the law and travel to the States with him. 

 

3 hours ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

Thank you for your information!  It's strange that the Officers would tell you not to travel until you received your physical card considering the temporary Green Card serves the exact same legal purpose as a physical Green Card.  What if you have to travel at least twice a month abroad for work purposes?  I have read on numerous legal pages that you can leave the US with the temporary Green Card stamp as long as the absense is not too extended (over 3 months or more).   I have also read that there seems many officials both from Immigration and Social Security don't quite understand the rules of how things are supposed to work.  We have done all the paperwork without an immigration lawyer but I think having one now would be a good idea so he/she can set things straight.  Another question:  Did you have to show them proof that your spouse was living in the US when they asked you?

When the beneficiary interviews at the embassy they have to show evidence the petitioner is either domiciled in the States or intends to re-establish domicile, a couple of people received 221Gs when the CO doubts the petitioner's intention return to the States.

One assumes they would be able to see if the USC was abroad or in country as they have the petitioner's passport details from the application and could check when the petitioner last exited or entered the States. 

[Troy B 223]

Btw, my sister-n-law got a new stamp in her passport (while waiting for a replacement green card),  and was brought back to secondary screening and given a hassle about having the stamp (after a 2 week trip to Brazil).

[pishposhpeshy 17]

6 hours ago, top_secret said:

Just to throw in a current timetable.  My wife and stepdaughter arrived at LAX a week ago Tuesday night 10/26.  Social Security cards showed up in my mailbox earlier today, Tuesday 11/02.  So 7 days exactly from POE for the SS cards to be delivered.

 

The CBP Officer processing them at LAX had a rather sarcastic outlook towards his collogues at USCIS and told my wife it might be 6 months or more for the Green Cards to show up, if at all, and she may need to call USCIS a few times to nudge the process along since they are being so slow lately,,,, but that she is fine to travel with just her stamped visa.

This is awesome intel thanks. Flying to LAX on Friday and have 12 days between arrival to ideally get my SSN for my new job onboarding stuff to go smoothly! 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

15 hours ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

Another question:  Did you have to show them proof that your spouse was living in the US when they asked you?

Are you considering your husband lying to CPB that you have already moved to the US?

 

If so, lying to CPB is never a good idea. Also know that CPB can check for themselves in their records of the last time you (petitioner) crossed the border to the states, and they will know you are currently not in the country…

Edited November 3, 2021 by From_CAN_2_US

[African Zealot 1,455]

This may be different however I have read a follow to join court case where seven years after arriving, a person who had arrived as a derivative beneficiary had his naturalization denied and put in deportation proceedings because he arrived a few days before the primary beneficiary. In his case the immigration officer at the airport several years ago made the mistake of letting him in instead of denying him entry.

 

The federal district (or circuit?) court judge handling the appeal was very sympathetic however said there was absolutely nothing he could do because the law is clear, derivative beneficiary must either follow or travel with the primary. He subsequently asked USCIS if they could backdate (nunc pro tunc) the primary beneficiaries  entry date so that the derivative beneficiaries arrival date would be in compliance.

 

In summary although this may be the original poster is risking great grief for her husband if she insists on following this plan contrary to what she’s being advised to. Immigration sometimes catches the problem several years down the line

[Gisselle Villegas 15]

11 hours ago, Troy B said:

Btw, my sister-n-law got a new stamp in her passport (while waiting for a replacement green card),  and was brought back to secondary screening and given a hassle about having the stamp (after a 2 week trip to Brazil).

Thank you, I already spoke to my husband and explained how it has to be done so we'll wait until the end of the month when we can both travel to the US without the need to return to Costa Rica.  Everything has gone so smoothly since the beginning of the procedure we certainly don't want to screw it up in the end.

 

[Redro 4,611]

1 hour ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

Thank you, I already spoke to my husband and explained how it has to be done so we'll wait until the end of the month when we can both travel to the US without the need to return to Costa Rica.  Everything has gone so smoothly since the beginning of the procedure we certainly don't want to screw it up in the end.

 

Good luck! I hope your husband gets his SSN sooner rather than later and you're able to set up his bank and credit card accounts. 

Bank of America is always an option for setting up an account without a SSN (or it least it was in 2018). You (the USC) would just have to be the primary account holder. 

[Wouter 141]

10 hours ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

Thank you, I already spoke to my husband and explained how it has to be done so we'll wait until the end of the month when we can both travel to the US without the need to return to Costa Rica.  Everything has gone so smoothly since the beginning of the procedure we certainly don't want to screw it up in the end.

 

This is the way 

😊

[Soloenta 2,218]

On 11/2/2021 at 1:12 PM, Gisselle Villegas said:

The only thing I found relatable to this particular issue is this from Travel.state.gov  "When traveling, the primary (or principal) applicant must enter the United States before or at the same time as family members holding visas".   The applicant is our case is my husband.  I am the sponsor/petitioner.  If I were to fly with him, wouldn't I have to go through another door with other US Citizens while my husband has to go on his own through Immigration?  At least that is how its always been when we have traveled together in the past.  I pass through quickly while I have to sit and wait for him to pass through.

No you go with your husband I did.  They do not seperate you. 💗

[Dede Ferreira 0]

Make sure you pay the GC fees $220 before you leave your country. The paper you received with your passport states that you can pay it after you arrive, but it will take longer to receive your green card. Also, make sure you print the receipt and save it. I know at least 2 people that received a letter from USCIS requesting the pay again.

[Gii78_GeeMadbouly 5]

On 11/2/2021 at 9:53 PM, Gisselle Villegas said:

No, my home has been in Costa Rica but I will be going back with home with my husband at the end of November.  Yes, I signed an agreement but this is mainly for the interview purpose so as not to think it was an arranged marriage and the USC will remain in the foreign country while the beneficiary moves to the US to start a new life.  Each IR-1 case is different and in our case, after 25 yrs married and with a daughter, as well as me being a housewife and my husband the provider, it's pretty obvious I have no intention of staying here nor is our marriage fraudulent.   If it were it would also be very easy for me to enter the US with him and then just take the next flight back to Costa Rica.

 

And how was your proof of domicile then? Did the consular officer asked you about it to make sure you'll reside to the US