i-130 Visitor Visa while pending I-130

[overthesea 0]

2 minutes ago, JamieCO said:

My son's Italian fiancée has visited 3 times with ESTA in the 1 1/2 years since filing K1.   She always brings proof of intent to return including the paid account at Rapid Visa. She has never been denied entry.   They have a 3 year old who is a a US citizen via CBRA, we are never sure if that helps of is the officer just doesn't want to risk a 3 year old tantrum! 

They definitely wanna avoid a tantrum!😂

For how long did she stay each time? couple weeks or more?

[JamieCO 11]

The longest stay was 2 1/2 months - the last one was just 3 weeks.

[Boiler 45,519]

Applying for a B is high risk and others have mentioned the illogicality of a K1

 

First think they may ask is what do you do that gives you so much time off?

[overthesea 0]

3 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Applying for a B is high risk and others have mentioned the illogicality of a K1

 

First think they may ask is what do you do that gives you so much time off?

I am a student (the italian), I can take classes and exams remotely

That gives me the opportunity to be wherever I want

[Boiler 45,519]

38 minutes ago, Tere&Cami said:

I am a student (the italian), I can take classes and exams remotely

That gives me the opportunity to be wherever I want

Sadly does not help with a B

[powerpuff 6,702]

~~ Topic moved from CR1/IR1 Progress Reports to Tourist Visas as the question is about visiting as a tourist ~~

[SalishSea 17,829]

5 hours ago, Tere&Cami said:

The tourist visa would allow me to stay longer

My concern is if they would let me in at customs, cause they might be suspicious since I'd have a pending I-130

Not smart to go for a tourist visa when you can use the VWP, especially as you have already established immigrant intent.  

 

If you are denied for a B visa for immigrant intent, you can assume your ESTA is gone as well.

 

You cannot "live" in the US while your immigrant visa is pending.  Wanting to stay for 6 months will attract scrutiny, as you cannot work remotely without a work permit, and most people can't afford to take a 6 month leave of absence from work.

[JamieCO 11]

My son's F was also working in the US when the couple met, so she has SSN and prior work visa - that hasn't come up as an issue at all. They both lived and worked in Italy after her job here ended, had a beautiful baby boy, and decided to return to the US when the economy in Italy hit the Covid wall.  Had we known how long the process would be, they would have either married in Italy or had him stay there until the Visa was ready.  

For visiting - fortunately, Italy does not raise a lot of eyebrows, and the family  has been able to visit and stay connected through this very long process.  The impact has been on her ability to work in Italy - they aren't fond of temporary or gig work. 

Wishing your family the very best luck on your journey!

[Daphne . 1,865]

5 hours ago, Tere&Cami said:

Thank you

I'm just worried about multiple entries too, maybe I'll make the first time, not sure if the second or third will work.

Do you know someone who experienced this?

I visited my husband multiple times on my Esta without any issues. DO NOT apply for a visitor visa if you are eligible for an Esta.

The reason I was able to successfully visit multiple times while my CR1 was pending, was because I had strong ties (stable job, house) to my home country and couldn’t have long visits because of those ties. If you apply for a B visa because you want to visit longer, you show that you don’t have strong ties, and together with your immigrant intent, you’ll probably face a denial of your B visa. 
 

Keep your ties strong, your visits short and DO NOT apply for a B visa. 

[SalishSea 17,829]

3 minutes ago, Daphne . said:

I visited my husband multiple times on my Esta without any issues. DO NOT apply for a visitor visa if you are eligible for an Esta.

The reason I was able to successfully visit multiple times while my CR1 was pending, was because I had strong ties (stable job, house) to my home country and couldn’t have long visits because of those ties. If you apply for a B visa because you want to visit longer, you show that you don’t have strong ties, and together with your immigrant intent, you’ll probably face a denial of your B visa. 
 

Keep your ties strong, your visits short and DO NOT apply for a B visa. 

Great points.  My (now) husband applied for and received a B visa before we realized that was not a great choice when he had an ESTA.  Luckily, his ties to NZ were very strong and we genuinely never had any plan or capability of him staying to adjust status in the interim.  Even on the B, longest stay was like 6-8 weeks when I had a surgery.

 

His job, property, kids etc in NZ were the ties that showed CBP that he was indeed visiting and not trying to jump the queue during the visa process.

[Pat&Vince 97]

21 hours ago, Tere&Cami said:

Me and my partner are looking for the best way to proceed. I'm from Italy, he's USC.

Since the waiting time is almost the same, we're leaning to get married and proceed with a CR-1 visa, more than picking the K1 path.
Our concern about this is the traveling while the I-130 is pending.

What are the chances of a tourist visa getting denied because of this? Would this be a problem only with a pending I-130 or also with a pending I-129F?
I know for this purpose there's the K3 visa, but the waiting time is the same so there's no point.
We are willing to wait for the whole procedure to go through, but not being able to see each other in the meantime would be crazy.

Thank you for the help!

I entered the country twice to visit my husband while the I-130 was being processed, going through custom was a breeze, no questioning whatsoever. Both times I had some solid evidence of ties to my country of origin should have they been needed.

no need to worry, you’re doing everything legally! Use the ESTA and don’t bother with a tourist visa.

[Scott-Ilyn 81]

21 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

There are a few circumstances & some countries which might still warrant a K-1.  However, the introduction of the Utah Zoom marriage has overcome some of those. 

COVID and lack of the UTAH online marriage option prevented us from getting married and filing a CR-1.  I definitely would've chosen a CR-1 if we were to do it over again.  We're still waiting for my wife's green card, and / or EAD & AP after filing in Feb 2022.  She is VERY ready to work / travel internationally.