Visiting US after K-1 is approved

[CQ & CS 2]

Hi VJers, I know this topic has been posted before but I really couldn't find it after I spent a fair amount of time searching. So I decide to start one again. So my interveiw is set on July 13 and I'm hoping to have it approved on spot However, my employment contract is holding me till Oct and my fiance will then come to Vancouver to pick me up. There are two long weekends coming up in Aug (BC Day) and Sept (Labour Day) and I hope to visit my fiance in LA. I'm wondering if I can enter USA with my Canadian passport as usual without activating my K-1 visa? Any share of experience is welcome. By the way, I think I should post it in Canada Portal but I don't know how Please feel free to move it if this is not the correct forum to post. Thanks guys!

[Justine+David 218]

Nope, sorry, the K1 is a one-way entry. Good luck on the interview!

[trailmix 77]

Some people have done this successfully. It is 100% up to the border personnel on the day, one that comes to mind is a VJ member named krikit.

A few have requested, at their Montreal interview, that their visa not be issued until later - basically you mail in your passport when you are ready to have it issued. Be forewarned though that Montreal is very slow in getting through mail, it can take weeks and weeks for them to get to additional documents that are mailed in, so if you decide to request that and they ok it, be sure to mail your passport in immediately after labour day.

I will move your post to the Canada forum. In future, to find it, just scroll down the forums list until you see Regional Discussion, Canada is listed there.

(moved from K1 visa progress reports forum)

Edited July 8, 2010 by trailmix

[CQ & CS 2]

Some people have done this successfully. It is 100% up to the border personnel on the day, one that comes to mind is a VJ member named krikit.

A few have requested, at their Montreal interview, that their visa not be issued until later - basically you mail in your passport when you are ready to have it issued. Be forewarned though that Montreal is very slow in getting through mail, it can take weeks and weeks for them to get to additional documents that are mailed in, so if you decide to request that and they ok it, be sure to mail your passport in immediately after labour day.

I will move your post to the Canada forum. In future, to find it, just scroll down the forums list until you see Regional Discussion, Canada is listed there.

(moved from K1 visa progress reports forum)

Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely request it after my K-1 is approved.

[Justine+David 218]

trailmix--wow. I was under the impression that the K1 was only a one-way ticket. Does this only apply to Canada?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

trailmix--wow. I was under the impression that the K1 was only a one-way ticket. Does this only apply to Canada?

Nope K1 is good for one entry only . It doesn't matter where you are from. But many couples aren't routinely visiting each other . Those are the ones that have an issue. It is normally activated the first time you arrive. You are not the one that really can delay it.

[Flames9_RN 358]

As trailmix stated some just ask for them to delay the issuing of the visa. others have had success in going to the POE and not activating it!! BUT thats entirely up to the POE officer.

[Justine+David 218]

Does it only apply to Canada though? I've read a ton of K1 threads before and I've never heard of this.

[Sprailenes 47]

Some are told at the interview that they cannot enter without activating their visa.

[Pauley 2]

Does it only apply to Canada though? I've read a ton of K1 threads before and I've never heard of this.

It's not a Canada-only policy or anything that I'm aware of, just a quirk of the system in that, typically, Canadians do not require a visa to enter the US to visit. Occasionally (and solely at the discretion of the officer at the border), people with K-1 or IR-1/CR-1 visas have convinced the officer to let them enter the US as a Canadian visitor and not have the visa endorsed until a future trip. Doesn't always work; the border officer has the ultimate say in whether you're entering the US and on what documentation entry is being permitted.

Edited July 8, 2010 by Pauley

[Sprailenes 47]

Right after my interview and visa approval I entered the US to continue a visit. I was in the states for 3 weeks prior, and found out I had missed my interview - called, rescheduled (there was a time when you could do such things) and went up, drove up for it and drove back down. A week later I drove back to Canada to pick up my visa and moved and activated it.

I had no idea and no one told me I couldn't leave though.

[LeslienScott 6]

Out of curiousity...the visa is attached to the passport, so if I entered using my Nexus, they wouldn't have a clue that I have a visa & would let me in as usual?

[trailmix 77]

I don't know, do they have a record of your visa in their system, even if they did, would it matter, i'm not sure.

CQ & CS, as Sprail said, they can say no at the border (or at the interview) so you will need a plan B. If you get to the border and they insist you use your visa, your only option would be to withdraw your request for entry and head back for Canada.

Justine+David - I don't think it's a Canada only thing, others have probably done it and we just haven't heard about it. As with all this stuff, up to the border guard or the CO.

[Krikit 1,164]

The Consulate Officer I spoke with about this (at the interview) told me there is no policy stating the visa must be used once it has been issued..... but that it is entirely up to the discretion of the CBP Officer at the POE.

As for the NEXUS question..... I wouldn't have a problem doing this based on the no-policy situation. You are not doing anything illegal as you are not having your visa endorsed. I believe they would have to do some digging through their database to see whether a visa has been issued as the only way the officers were alerted to mine was by seeing it in the passport. Technically, you could use an approved alternate form of ID to cross if you're a Canadian citizen going through a land border.

[AandB 3]

I entered the US after my Visa was issued, but i brought proofs that i was gonna return back to Canada. I said: I don't want to activate my visa now. They were suspicious, asked me a lot of questions, but they let me enter the US without too many problems.. But be sure you seem honest in your answers and bring some proofs you want to come back to Canada. It's all up to the guard at the border.