QUOTE(AntandD @ Aug 7 2008, 11:39 AM) 
Hi eric_and_teresa,
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In answer to your question:
As I said before, I was questioned under scrutiny for 2hrs when I arrived at the border/POE on a B-2 Visa. And it certainly didn't help either that we had a full carload of mainly/mostly my husband's (not mine) personal belongings at that time when we crossed over then. It was definitely an unpleasant experience at that time when we crossed over. What a nice way to say "Welcome to America. Enjoy your visit." indeed! Since then, other than that one time, I've had no problems crossing back and forth over the Canadian/American border, especially now that I have my green card when I cross back home into the USA. Even when I went back to Canada a few months later, after I got my green card, with a full carload of my personal belongings to bring back to the USA, I didn't have problems then either.
As for the AOS interview, in contrast, I was surprised that they never asked us about my intent to immigrate on a B-2 visa, even though I thought beforehand that they would ask that then. The AOS interview for us lasted about 10-15 minutes or so, and the few questions they asked were more so about our relationship/marriage and other issues. Funny thing though, at the AOS interview, the Immigration Officer did ask, "Since you came over from Canada, why did you get a B-2 Visa for your short-term visit here?" (as Canadians are exempt from getting visitor's visas when crossing over to the US and commonly travel over the border at that location without passports or visas at all). And I replied back, "I don't know, you tell me. I just gave them my Canadian passport to show as identification for my visit here, and I was issued and stamped with a B-2 Visa in it." And to this day, I still don't know why I got that B-2 Visa stamp in my Canadian passport, though the stamp there makes for an interesting souvenir of that nightmare-ish experience I had that day.
And yes, maybe in the end, as you said, "the USCIS has many other things to worry about that they don't really care if people use a B-2 to immigrate, in this type of cases."
[size=2]Good luck with your immigration journey too, eric_and_teresa.
Ant
[/size]
In answer to your question:
As I said before, I was questioned under scrutiny for 2hrs when I arrived at the border/POE on a B-2 Visa. And it certainly didn't help either that we had a full carload of mainly/mostly my husband's (not mine) personal belongings at that time when we crossed over then. It was definitely an unpleasant experience at that time when we crossed over. What a nice way to say "Welcome to America. Enjoy your visit." indeed! Since then, other than that one time, I've had no problems crossing back and forth over the Canadian/American border, especially now that I have my green card when I cross back home into the USA. Even when I went back to Canada a few months later, after I got my green card, with a full carload of my personal belongings to bring back to the USA, I didn't have problems then either.
As for the AOS interview, in contrast, I was surprised that they never asked us about my intent to immigrate on a B-2 visa, even though I thought beforehand that they would ask that then. The AOS interview for us lasted about 10-15 minutes or so, and the few questions they asked were more so about our relationship/marriage and other issues. Funny thing though, at the AOS interview, the Immigration Officer did ask, "Since you came over from Canada, why did you get a B-2 Visa for your short-term visit here?" (as Canadians are exempt from getting visitor's visas when crossing over to the US and commonly travel over the border at that location without passports or visas at all). And I replied back, "I don't know, you tell me. I just gave them my Canadian passport to show as identification for my visit here, and I was issued and stamped with a B-2 Visa in it." And to this day, I still don't know why I got that B-2 Visa stamp in my Canadian passport, though the stamp there makes for an interesting souvenir of that nightmare-ish experience I had that day.
And yes, maybe in the end, as you said, "the USCIS has many other things to worry about that they don't really care if people use a B-2 to immigrate, in this type of cases."
[size=2]Good luck with your immigration journey too, eric_and_teresa.
Ant
I'm so sorry you went through all that, visiting the U.S. can easily become an awful experience for some visitors! They make you feel sooo nervous with all the questions, and of course they are just doing their job, but they are very rude sometimes. I have had my share of nice and not so nice CBP officers while visiting the U.S. but I had never been question for hours though. My aunt had a similar experience than yours while entering through Houston, she was held for a couple hours and almost missed her next flight. I'm just glad that my next trip to the U.S. will be the last time entering with a visa and next time I'll have my green card (hopefully!).
Good luck to you too
