B tourist visa while married to a US citizen possible?

[my_gf_wants_cr1 13]

Seen in my post history, I am looking to getting a CR-1 visa for my fiance, so she can move with me on a job offer to US.

 

I know it's not guaranteed, so I am thinking - what if she is not granted a visa, we BOTH stay in home country, but we still want to travel together and visit family in the US.

 

But...we are married and we petitioned her to a CR-1 immigration visa, which may look bad because obviously it's "a previous intention to immigrate".

 

This situation may leave us "screwed" with no CR-1 immigration but also without a tourist visa, denying her the ability to visit US with me (and come back to home country).

 

Odds of getting a tourist visa if we both stay in home country and can prove our jobs and lives are here?

 

[JeanneAdil 6,606]

You've been together 5 years

why would u think a CR1 would be denied ?

 

odds of tourist visa?   that is country / embassy dependent

 

[Crazy Cat 42,033]

Why would she be denied a spousal visa?   The "what ifs" will drive you crazy if you dwell on them.  The immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and money.  There are no guarantees.  When she applies for a tourist visa (married or not), she MUST be honest about your relationship if asked.  

Edited December 24, 2021 by Crazy Cat

[my_gf_wants_cr1 13]

7 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

You've been together 5 years

why would u think a CR1 would be denied ?

 

odds of tourist visa?   that is country / embassy dependent

 

 

4 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Why would she be denied a spousal visa?   The "what ifs" will drive you crazy if you dwell on them.  The immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and money.  There are no guarantees.  When she applies for a tourist visa (married or not), she MUST be honest about your relationship if asked.  

 

Thank you both; I am just taking everything into consideration with this process.

And yes obviously there will be 0 lies, all honesty.

[Crazy Cat 42,033]

13 minutes ago, my_gf_wants_cr1 said:

Thank you both; I am just taking everything into consideration with this process.

If she has strong ties to her country (Non-ESTA/VWP, as I recall), she can apply for a B2 first.  Even if denied, it will not affect the CR-1 case.  If approved, she can use that B2 (at the discretion of CBP) to visit the US during the spousal visa process.  The problem will be getting a tourist visa appointment. There is a long queue in some countries.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Crazy Cat

[millefleur 5,047]

41 minutes ago, my_gf_wants_cr1 said:

Odds of getting a tourist visa if we both stay in home country and can prove our jobs and lives are here?

Hard to say. I've been in this exact situation (American living abroad for years and I had a proper work visa and job and everything) and the US consulate/embassy does not consider anything about the American spouse. It's kind of frustrating but the applicant is the one who has to show the ties. Since there's hardly anything asked about concerning the American spouse, I have no idea how the USC spouse can show ties to the foreign country they live in. It seems to me as soon as they see that the applicant is married to a USC (regardless of where USC lives), chances of denial shoot way up for a B visa.

 

Still worth trying as you never know, it sometimes depends on the nationality of the applicant. Applying for a B after you already submitted an I-130 petition would make it even harder to overcome intent to immigrate. Just things to be aware of.

 

 

[my_gf_wants_cr1 13]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

If she has strong ties to her country (Non-ESTA/VWP, as I recall), she can apply for a B2 first.  Even if denied, it will not affect the CR-1 case.  If approved, she can use that B2 (at the discretion of CBP) to visit the US during the spousal visa process.  The problem will be getting a tourist visa appointment. There is a long queue in some countries.

The waiting times are the exact reason we are not applying for B2 first, otherwise we'd try it.

As for ESTA/VWP, you recall correctly (thanks!) ... the funny thing is, she might be at some point eligible for German passport, and afaik its an EU passport which is ESTA/VWP?

Complicates matters.

 

41 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Hard to say. I've been in this exact situation (American living abroad for years and I had a proper work visa and job and everything) and the US consulate/embassy does not consider anything about the American spouse. It's kind of frustrating but the applicant is the one who has to show the ties. Since there's hardly anything asked about concerning the American spouse, I have no idea how the USC spouse can show ties to the foreign country they live in. It seems to me as soon as they see that the applicant is married to a USC (regardless of where USC lives), chances of denial shoot way up for a B visa.

 

Still worth trying as you never know, it sometimes depends on the nationality of the applicant. Applying for a B after you already submitted an I-130 petition would make it even harder to overcome intent to immigrate. Just things to be aware of.

 

 

Interesting. Your situation does seem similar but a bit diff.

In our case, we don't want (and can't due to time) wait for a B2 appointment, hence the marriage and application for CR-1.

On the odd (according to everyone) chance that they do decline her that, most likely I will decline the job offer and stay here with her.

I will still want her to travel with me to the US for vacations and family visits, but that makes B2 applications way harder, as we have discussed.

Assuming what you said "the US consulate/embassy does not consider anything about the American spouse" is true then it should be better, since she still has strong ties here if we stay - that is, a job. An apartment lease. We can even open a joint bank account.

"Since there's hardly anything asked about concerning the American spouse" in what situation? B2 or CR-1?

[millefleur 5,047]

7 minutes ago, my_gf_wants_cr1 said:

"Since there's hardly anything asked about concerning the American spouse" in what situation? B2 or CR-1?

B visa. It's basically just the applicant fills out the DS-160 and then goes alone to the interview. Having a USC spouse is considered a strong tie to the US even if the USC lives abroad in the same country with their spouse. 

[my_gf_wants_cr1 13]

 

5 minutes ago, millefleur said:

B visa. It's basically just the applicant fills out the DS-160 and then goes alone to the interview. Having a USC spouse is considered a strong tie to the US even if the USC lives abroad in the same country with their spouse. 

So if our CR-1 is denied, we are basically screwed.
Because applying for a B2 while being single with me is one thing.

But applying for a B2 if we are married AND with a record of CR-1 as well, I assume chances of B2 are practically 0.

This is ridiculous...obviously we all know USCIS and their shenanigans, but saying "we are denying CR-1" and then saying "Ye we denied CR-1 but she can't do B2 as well haha" would be insane.

Ofcourse I am jumping ahead, but I am just thinking out loud here.

 

"Having a USC spouse is considered a strong tie to the US even if the USC lives abroad in the same country with their spouse. "
BTW this also means that had we wanted to marry just because, it would also be a bad idea, since they could just deny us a B2 on those ground as well.

Leaving us in a limbo of "either don't marry and apply for a B2 with good chances" or "marry and apply for a B2 with low chances, or try CR-1".
But then for CR-1 we can't just apply and continue living where we are, we need to show intent of moving to US.

This is bananas.

[SalishSea 18,072]

31 minutes ago, my_gf_wants_cr1 said:

 

So if our CR-1 is denied, we are basically screwed.
Because applying for a B2 while being single with me is one thing.

But applying for a B2 if we are married AND with a record of CR-1 as well, I assume chances of B2 are practically 0.

This is ridiculous...obviously we all know USCIS and their shenanigans, but saying "we are denying CR-1" and then saying "Ye we denied CR-1 but she can't do B2 as well haha" would be insane.

Ofcourse I am jumping ahead, but I am just thinking out loud here.

 

"Having a USC spouse is considered a strong tie to the US even if the USC lives abroad in the same country with their spouse. "
BTW this also means that had we wanted to marry just because, it would also be a bad idea, since they could just deny us a B2 on those ground as well.

Leaving us in a limbo of "either don't marry and apply for a B2 with good chances" or "marry and apply for a B2 with low chances, or try CR-1".
But then for CR-1 we can't just apply and continue living where we are, we need to show intent of moving to US.

This is bananas.

I think you are misunderstanding some basic concepts about US immigration here.

 

The chance of your partner being denied a CR-1 is low, as long as you can demonstrate that you have a bonafide marriage, and based on your previous post, you should have no trouble with that.

 

The chance of denial for a B-2 with a pending CR-1 is much higher, because she obviously has immigrant intent.  Them's the breaks, and you have all those on B-2s who circumvented the immigrant visa queue by adjusting status to blame for that.

 

In either case, whether you pursue a CR-1 or a B-2, you have a very long wait ahead of you.  High volumes of would-be immigrants and visitors, along with COVID has created this situation worldwide.

 

The best thing you can do in the meantime is read, research and learn every bit of info you can about the process of US immigration.   Educating yourselves is the best means possible to avoid extra delays and costly mistakes.

[millefleur 5,047]

55 minutes ago, my_gf_wants_cr1 said:

So if our CR-1 is denied, we are basically screwed

No, it's actually a bit easier with CR-1. Firstly, the chances of a denial are extremely low unless there is a really good reason to deny, such as misrepresentation (aka lies), criminal history, high fraud country, security reasons like terrorism, or even if they denied because they thought your relationship wasn't bona fide, with CR-1 you can appeal the decision or reapply. If you get a denial, they will specify in detail why you were denied and will say: "Hey we have a problem with this very specific thing, so you need to fix this and then we can approve you." Only time where you end up 100% banned with little to no chance of appeal is terrorism/security concerns, misreps where they have proof the applicant lied or certain criminal charges like Adam Walsh Act, etc. I sincerely doubt your CR-1 situation falls into any of those.

 

55 minutes ago, my_gf_wants_cr1 said:

Leaving us in a limbo of "either don't marry and apply for a B2 with good chances" or "marry and apply for a B2 with low chances, or try CR-1".

By contrast, there's no appeal with a B visa. If they deny you, all you can do is apply again. I would not assume the chances are "good" without being married. We've seen denials here when people so much as mention a USC boyfriend or fiance. When my husband applied for a B visa, at that time we were not married but engaged (so he marked USC fiance on the DS-160) and I had been living in his country for about 4 years but he was denied. We've also seen stories here on VJ when someone had a USC girlfriend or boyfriend and got denied a B or they got denied entry at the US border because they were suspected to have immigrant intent.

 

1 hour ago, my_gf_wants_cr1 said:

As for ESTA/VWP, you recall correctly (thanks!) ... the funny thing is, she might be at some point eligible for German passport, and afaik its an EU passport which is ESTA/VWP?

This would 100% be the best bet if you want your spouse to have freedom to travel. Germany is indeed VWP and if she had a German passport, her coming and going to the US would become way easier. Being from a country that requires a B is absolutely terrible for situations where the USC-foreign couple lives abroad because of the high denial rate, if my husband had any remote chance to get an EU passport, we would've been lining up for that the next day!

Edited December 25, 2021 by millefleur

[Redro 4,611]

@my_gf_wants_cr1 are you talking about DCF being rejected or the actual CR1 visa application?

If DCF is rejected you're still able to file online or paper file via lockbox. 

 

But, if you file online your partner will likely not be joining you in the States when your job starts in 6 months. She might be able to join you in a year or two. 

If the actual CR1 visa is rejected you'll most likely be able to file a waiver or reaffirm your case. Unless your partner has committed a crime that make her ineligible to enter the USA and then she definitely won't be able to obtain a B2 visa and it won't just be because she is married to a US citizen. 

 

If you're still wondering about the success of Utah Marriage Certificates- a couple in Italy just had their I-130 approved (in the July filers thread). 

They were together in Italy and decided to go the Utah route because the process to get married in Italy is fairly expensive. 

[Skyman 327]

Maybe this has already been said but applying for a tourist visa she is on her own. You don't matter as far as income, etc. In fact, you can work against her as they may view this as your attempt to get her immigrated cheap.

[my_gf_wants_cr1 13]

@Skyman @Kor2USA @millefleur @Jorgedig

Thank you all for your clarifications (easier to tag than to quote everyone).

 

9 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

The chance of denial for a B-2 with a pending CR-1 is much higher, because she obviously has immigrant intent.  Them's the breaks, and you have all those on B-2s who circumvented the immigrant visa queue by adjusting status to blame for that.

Here I am talking about a case where we apply for a B2 AFTER CR-1 is rejected.

At no point in time will we ever try to B2 if she has a pending CR-1, that would of course be stupid.

 

9 hours ago, millefleur said:

This would 100% be the best bet if you want your spouse to have freedom to travel. Germany is indeed VWP and if she had a German passport, her coming and going to the US would become way easier. Being from a country that requires a B is absolutely terrible for situations where the USC-foreign couple lives abroad because of the high denial rate, if my husband had any remote chance to get an EU passport, we would've been lining up for that the next day!

Sadly the German passport will take another year at the very least, but obviously once she has that opportunity she will go for it.

 

8 hours ago, Kor2USA said:

If you're still wondering about the success of Utah Marriage Certificates- a couple in Italy just had their I-130 approved (in the July filers thread). 

They were together in Italy and decided to go the Utah route because the process to get married in Italy is fairly expensive. 

Thanks for remembering the Utah route, and for mentioning that successful couple.

We are actually considering a 3rd country wedding instead.

I consulted several immigration lawyers who know for a fact the Utah marriage in a situation similar to ours was OK.
But then one lawyer said "You can try, but why put yourself in a situation which is not guaranteed? Just go the 3rd country wedding which will be recognized 100%, look more valid, so you won't have any scrutiny about it".

Which we kinda agree with; this is a delicate matter which we want to minimize the risk of scrutiny and denial.

[Redro 4,611]

18 minutes ago, my_gf_wants_cr1 said:

@Skyman @Kor2USA @millefleur @Jorgedig

Thank you all for your clarifications (easier to tag than to quote everyone).

 

Here I am talking about a case where we apply for a B2 AFTER CR-1 is rejected.

At no point in time will we ever try to B2 if she has a pending CR-1, that would of course be stupid.

 

Sadly the German passport will take another year at the very least, but obviously once she has that opportunity she will go for it.

 

Can you clarify.

Are you talking about the DCF request being denied or the actual CR1 visa application.

Remember requesting DCF is not an actual application. You're just asking the embassy if you can go direct through them and not via USCIS. 

And your relationship with your partner is possibly a barrier to her obtaining a B2 regardless of your marital status. 

 

If an immigration benefit is denied, your partner might not be approved for an ESTA once she obtains her German passport.

 

If you were previously denied a visa, or previously refused entry to the United States, or previously removed from the U.S., your ESTA application will most likely be denied.

If you were allowed to board your carrier, you may be subject to additional processing upon arrival at U.S. ports of entry, and may be denied admission to the U.S. Applicants who are uncertain of whether they qualify for travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) are encouraged to apply for ESTA authorization early, to allow time to apply for a visa, if needed.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that if they were denied a visa when they were a citizen of one country, then become a citizen of another country, they can travel to the U.S. under the visa waiver program using their new passport. That is wrong. The eligibility question about having been denied a visa does not ask whether or not the denial was made after you became a citizen of another country. It asks, "Have you ever been denied a visa?" - period. If you answer "No" then we determine that you have been denied a visa in the past, we consider that to be fraud, and you will be barred from entry for a number of years. It is better to admit the truth, and then apply for a visa, than go through the experience of being deported for fraud.

 

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1097?language=en_US#:~:text=If you were previously denied,will most likely be denied.&text=It is better to admit,of being deported for fraud.