Am i allowed to go to the USA to visit my husband??

[nunyab 0]

I am sorry but even if you tried after you've filed the I130 you wouldn't get approved for a tourist visa they know which apps you've filed and for some reason don't like many visitors from Morocco while immergrant status is pending to visit. Sorry.

[tomsarah11 0]

It is confusing. I went to the American Embassy in London while I was visiting my husband in England. The man that I spoke to there, an immigration officer, said my husband could travel on the visa waiver program while the K-3 was being processed (without jeopardizing the K-3). He said that he must travel with ample documentation showing that he plans to return. He did say that it really all depends on the person you deal with at the Port of Entry. Hope that helps...

[star_dragon 0]

Visa waiver program is one thing. But for countries that don't have that (like Morocco), then she'd need a tourist visa and that would likely be denied....

[Princess In Love 0]

getting a tourist visa sounds complicated, better stay here and wait for cr-1 visa even if it's a long wait and i miss my husband so much Edited January 12, 2009 by Princess In Love

[FCH 1]

I tried in manila to get a tourist visa for my wife with the explicit intent to file for her k3 written on the visa, they denied her right off the bat, no other questions asked, they just stated that she can not have a tourist visa if i was applying for the k3

exactly.

[Tom and Novie 1]

Of course you can apply for a tourist visa and there is no good reason not to. It may not be granted but there is no reason not to apply. Anyone can apply.

[faryan 4]

I was in the same boat as you are. After our wedding, we assume that id be able to visit my husband asap, and luckily we checked with a friend of a friend who is a CO with the embassy and he told us that since my B2 expired and we are married now, dont bother with trying to get a new tourist visa while working on the immigration visa of course being apart is difficult, and fellow VJers here can attest to that definitely. what me and my husband did during this CR1 wait was we met up in another country for a nice get together a couple of weeks, and then he visited me and my family in my country a couple of weeks. and we think very soon it will be time for my interview (we hope).. of course money is always tight esp now that im not working ever since the wedding (coz we thought id leave soon, and then theres a lot of things going on that i dont feel good to impose on any organisations in case i will need to go off every so often working on visa papers/traveling) and yet we have to meet up and pay rent and bills also.. but its just something we know we have to do for us and dont regret it..

Be patient and make plans.. if u are feeling down, you are welcome to PM me for a chat

[KimandRuss 0]

Wow, lots of misinformation being given here. Please, if you are unsure or just running on something you were told by someone else...check the facts before you answer. This is how the misinformation is spread.

While it's true that it can be virtually impossible to obtain a visitor's visa from a non-vwp Country after applying for a fiance/spousal visa ..it is not illegal to do so. You will most likely be denied because you have a USC fiance/spouse and therefore have immigrant intent. It's common sense really.

Also, we see many people, married and not, travelling just fine on VWP or other visa's for visits as they await the process to be completed.

btw... K-1 fiance visa is a non-immigrant visa with immigrant intent. It's handled like a immigrant visa BUT it is not labeled as such.

If you are travelling on VWP you have simply to show a return ticket as well as ties to your home Country to prove you will be returning. Also, as of today, you must register your travels to the US with ESTA.

Edited January 12, 2009 by KimandRuss

[trailmix 77]

thankyou all for your replies....i think i'd better wait , i don't want to ask for a visa and get denied and have problems later for the cr-1 interview

As neonred and KimandRuss said, you can apply for a visa to visit but the chance of it being denied is greater.

If you want to apply for one, go ahead and do it - being denied for a visitor's visa will not affect your other visa application. People get denied entry all the time and still get approved. Canadians get denied in this situation and have been told time and time again at their interview that it will not affect their visa application.

It's up to you, it is neither better nor worse to wait.

[moonhunt 1]

Now that we have sent our I-130 petition and we are waiting for our noa1, can i ask for a tourist visa to visit my husband while our case is pending???

anyone of you tried this solution to be together until the i-130 approval???

please help

For short answer, No.

Tourist Visa is not dual intent visa such as H/L/V visa.

So if you have immigration intent such as I-130 petition, you are not allowed to use it.

But in some cases, if you have strong tie to home country, US Embassy Consular office may allow it.

It is whole discretion of Consular officer whether he/she will allow it or not.

But that doesn't mean you will be o.k. with POE and/or USCIS immigration officer.

It may catch you later when you have final interview with them.

They may give hard time since you are not allowed to use tourist visa or other type of visa from their viewpoint.

Some USCIS officer may think you didn't reveal truth to POE officer or others that you have immigration intent.

As a rule, if you have immigration intent, you are not supposed to allow to issue tourist visa and/or use it.

But depending on POE officer, and/or US Embassy consular officer, they may override that requirement, or miss that part.

It may be o.k. for that moment, but it may catch you later when you have interview for green card or US citizenship.

[moonhunt 1]

Wow, lots of misinformation being given here. Please, if you are unsure or just running on something you were told by someone else...check the facts before you answer. This is how the misinformation is spread.

While it's true that it can be virtually impossible to obtain a visitor's visa from a non-vwp Country after applying for a fiance/spousal visa ..it is not illegal to do so. You will most likely be denied because you have a USC fiance/spouse and therefore have immigrant intent. It's common sense really.

Also, we see many people, married and not, travelling just fine on VWP or other visa's for visits as they await the process to be completed.

btw... K-1 fiance visa is a non-immigrant visa with immigrant intent. It's handled like a immigrant visa BUT it is not labeled as such.

If you are travelling on VWP you have simply to show a return ticket as well as ties to your home Country to prove you will be returning. Also, as of today, you must register your travels to the US with ESTA.

Applying Tourist Visa is not illegal no matter what.

But if you conceal the fact you are under I-130 process, it will be the problem such as lying to US government officer.

If you stated so, since Tourist Visa is not DUAL INTENT visa, it will be denied.

If US Embassy Consular officer missed that part, and he/she approve your case, you may use it.

But it will be a problem when you deal with USCIS later for Green Card and/or US citizenship interview.

In some cases, if you use tourist visa during I-130 processing, it can be considered as giving up I-130 petition.

Especially if you file I-130 in U.S., then you use your tourist visa or something like that,

there is large possibility that your I-130 case will be denied based on the intention of non-immigrant visa use.

So there are loopholes, but don't use it. It may catch you later with big price.

It will be same as speed ticket.

Most of people drive faster than posted speed limit.

But if you caught by police officer, you have very little chance.

"Why me?" ?

For Speed Ticket, you can just pay for small price.

But given the price you have to pay for, I would not recommend this option at all.

If you are not caught by US Embassy Consular officer, there is still chance that USCIS will come back later with huge price.

Yes, some people says, "Been there, done that!"

But that doesn't mean that you will be lucky, too.

[vof 0]

Now that we have sent our I-130 petition and we are waiting for our noa1, can i ask for a tourist visa to visit my husband while our case is pending???

anyone of you tried this solution to be together until the i-130 approval???

please help

no way u will be commited of fraud

[AddyG 0]

I am from Canada and we normally get 90 days unpon arrival. If you need a tourist visa to enter normally it may be much harder (maybe impossible for you). I can say that as a Canadian I was able to visist my US husband although it is up to the immigration officer at the POE. They will likely take you to secondary questioning and explain that as a pending immigrant you cannot be a tourist too. So technically the cannot let you in because you do not fall into a catagory of visa while your immigrant visa is pending.

To put it simply - it is possiible depending on what country you are from but you will need proof you intend on returning such as:

-proof of job that you are going back to - letter from employer etc.

-lease, deed to a property or something that shows you have ties to your home country and are returning

-dependants in your country help - proof of children, parents someone you hav eto look after helps

-all applicaiton papers filed eg. i-129F or I-130 to show you are following the rules

-proof of return flight

-proof of funds and or spouses funds

-list of all past visits showing how much time you have spent in the US compared to your home country (this helps show you have gone on visits in past and always returned - if you have already been there a long time they will probably deny you entry if you try again)

-any other commitments that you can prove you have in home country will also help

They may still deny you even if you have all of this - I was unemployed, I own nothing, and I have no dependants but had all my paperwork with me and could explain everything so they let me in for a visit although they gave me 30 days instead of 90 Canadians normally get. They basically want to be sure you are spending more of your time at home and not in the USA before you are approved - and eliminate the risk of those that may try and stay in the USA.

There is no clear answer to your question - because like everything else - it's all up to them on the day!

[Dwayne250 0]

Is it possible for me to just apply for a Tourist Visa and apply for a K-3 Visa for my wife at a later date, after getting the Tourist Visa in my wifes hand, she is from the philippines ?

[franklie 0]

I am from Canada and we normally get 90 days unpon arrival. If you need a tourist visa to enter normally it may be much harder (maybe impossible for you). I can say that as a Canadian I was able to visist my US husband although it is up to the immigration officer at the POE. They will likely take you to secondary questioning and explain that as a pending immigrant you cannot be a tourist too. So technically the cannot let you in because you do not fall into a catagory of visa while your immigrant visa is pending.

To put it simply - it is possiible depending on what country you are from but you will need proof you intend on returning such as:

-proof of job that you are going back to - letter from employer etc.

-lease, deed to a property or something that shows you have ties to your home country and are returning

-dependants in your country help - proof of children, parents someone you hav eto look after helps

-all applicaiton papers filed eg. i-129F or I-130 to show you are following the rules

-proof of return flight

-proof of funds and or spouses funds

-list of all past visits showing how much time you have spent in the US compared to your home country (this helps show you have gone on visits in past and always returned - if you have already been there a long time they will probably deny you entry if you try again)

-any other commitments that you can prove you have in home country will also help

They may still deny you even if you have all of this - I was unemployed, I own nothing, and I have no dependants but had all my paperwork with me and could explain everything so they let me in for a visit although they gave me 30 days instead of 90 Canadians normally get. They basically want to be sure you are spending more of your time at home and not in the USA before you are approved - and eliminate the risk of those that may try and stay in the USA.

There is no clear answer to your question - because like everything else - it's all up to them on the day!

A&M has a pretty good answer IMO. My wife is Mexican, she has a border crossing card/ tourist visa and she comes a couple of times a week and spends weekends as well here with me. Our I130 paperwork is currently at the NVC and she has had NO problems crossing. She was once sent to secondary and questioned about why she was crossing so frequently. Her answer was truthful - she visits friends and goes shopping. She had the tourist visa before we started the I130 process, before we got married so perhaps that makes a difference.

Her being able to cross definitely makes this long drawn out process more bearable.