Denied at Customs for Being Married?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

31 minutes ago, mallafri76 said:

This is a direct effect of those people entering the US as a tourist and adjusting status, more scrutiny for legitimate visitors married to USCs who just want to come visit for awhile and go home.  Hopefully Trump and the republicans remove the adjustment from tourist visa/vwp option, which should remove some of that scrutiny and make it easier for family coming to visit. 

 

A good rule of thumb when visiting the US as a tourist is to have three times as much time out of the US as you do inside. E.g if you visit for two months, stay in your country for six months before returning to the US.

 

When married to a USC, it's also a good idea to bring strong ties to your home country, e.g letter from your employer, rental agreement/mortgage deed etc.

Oh for heavens sake!  I'm so tired of this being blamed on those who aos.  Is it part of it?  Perhaps.  But it's also a result of the many who come here, stay, and stay illegally. Not Aos.  

 

Removing it it as an option would cause havoc in prices going up with uscis mark my words.  Without it, I'd be stuck in the country being illegal.

 

OP, as I already stated, gather your ties and try again.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Transborderwife

[Boiler 43,397]

Obvious solution is for him to visit you.

[JFH 12,189]

1 hour ago, Transborderwife said:

Oh for heavens sake!  I'm so tired of this being blamed on those who aos.  Is it part of it?  Perhaps.  But it's also a result of the many who come here, stay, and stay illegally. Not Aos.  

 

Removing it it as an option would cause havoc in prices going up with uscis mark my words.  Without it, I'd be stuck in the country being illegal.

 

OP, as I already stated, gather your ties and try again.

 

I don't know the full details of your case (and I dint need to, it's a very private matter) but from what I've read it involved a life-or-death situation with your baby. I believe that AOS from visitor status should, as a general rule, be abolished but with the provision that emergencies such as yours will be permitted on a case-by-case basis with a hearing before a judge where medical or other such official evidence would be required. People in your situation would have no problem at all convincing a judge that you stayed to save the life of yourself and your child. 

 

What mallafri was referring to was the "I've changed my mind" people. I've seen some ridiculous reasons for that on this very site that convince me it was planned that way. Especially in the case of VWP countries in Europe, I don't believe that it's as spontaneous as they would want us to believe. I know of three people who have AOSed from VWP. One is a family friend who actually arrived with 2 cats. No one can convince me she was "just visiting". Another was someone I got to know well on another, completely unrelated forum (we got to know each other well because we had two big things in common - the subject matter of the other forum and also that we were dating men from the same city in the USA). She had a ticker on her posts on the other forum that said "x days until I move to Seattle to be with my love". She told me in full detail about her leaving party from work, packing up her apartment, etc and how it was so simple, arrive as a tourist, get married and file AOS. Another one I dealt with at work - I worked for a US airline - where I was training a junior res agent who had a customer wanting to purchase a one-way ticket to Illinois. The res agent checked with me whether this could be done and I advised only if the customer had the necessary permission to stay in the country, e.g. US passport, green card or visa that wasn't a tourist visa. Caller advised he was going to adjust anyway, "because he could". 

 

For people from Europe, which most VWP countries are, it is very difficult to just "disappear". Life is very structured and complex in such countries. We have so many obligations and commitments. Which is why I am sure, barring life-or-death situations, most of them plan this. Despite what they say. And for me it would have to be a life-or-death situation for me to even consider AOS - walking out on my career, mortgage, credit history, free health care, family, etc at home and walking into unemployment and no real status here. No way! Not unless my life depended on it. Sure I hated leaving my husband behind at the airport each time i had to go back home. The separation was the worst thing I've ever had to deal with. But we knew it was temporary and I could come back to visit. And that kept us going. 

 

And for VWP people this is exactly the reason we are stopped. I visited my husband in April this year and CBP at Las Vegas gave me a grilling. He kept saying to me "I know what's going on so tell me the truth. You're using the VWP to get in and then your husband is going to file AOS for you. Admit it." There are illegals here from VWP countries but not many. Why would anyone from the UK, for example, risk being illegal in a country that provides them with no free health care and where they have no access to benefits like they have in the U.K.? Why would anyone put themselves in jeopardy to live a life worse than they came from? 

Edited January 15, 2017 by JFH

[Dualie 185]

17 hours ago, DaniM said:

Hi I'm really lost right now, and I am looking for all the help I can get for this topic. I am a Canadian citizen and me and my husband got married in the U.S. on October of 2016, we filed the CR-1 visa around December, in the CR-1 we claimed that I would be receiving my visa in Canada. I came back to Canada in November, and without knowing there would be any problems I had planned to get a trip back to U.S early January. So It's January, and they stopped me in customs, declining my travel request. They told me I wasn't able to travel because I was married and I had to wait until I received my CR-1 visa. I had no idea this would be a problem, I'm not too sure what is the problem, if there is a law that I have failed to come across about being Canadian and being married to a U.S. citizen. They said that they didn't have any proof that would show I would be coming back to the U.S. but I don't understand that when my CR-1 visa application completely states that I need to go to a U.S. embassy in Canada to receive my visa. I am at a loss for words that I am unable to even see my husband. Am I able to apply for a temporary visa to be able to see him? Are there any other solutions to this, or do I indefinitely need to wait for my application to be accepted?

Hi OP. As many have said here, it is up to the CBP officer on duty as to whether you will be admitted or not, and it sounds as though you may have spent more time in the US than in Canada. While I was waiting for my CR-1, I was working and maintaining a residence in Canada. I drove down to visit my husband every other weekend, sometimes spending a week of my vacation there. I compiled a file of evidence which I carried with me always. The file contained my NOA1, a copy of my Canadian apartment lease, A couple of bank statements showing my pay cheques directly deposited, a letter from my employer stating than I was full time employed and what my position was. I crossed every other weekend, sometimes every weekend, and I only had to show that file maybe twice. Traveling by car they had my license plate and passport on file and knew my story, so I had no problem.

 

If I were in your situation, I would compile a similar file with as much proof of ties to Canada as possible and try again. The next CBP officer may accept that and you may not have any further problems.  This worked for me, although there was always the risk that I could have been turned away if I was visiting too often in someone's opinion.  Good luck OP!

[Dianalorena 1,153]

I'm sorry! that's awful. I hope you get to see your loved one soon <3