travel to US with tourist visa but w pending K3

[molet 0]

Hi everyone. We have a pending K3 application, still waiting for our NOA2. My husband is still here in manila and managed to be here for the last few months, we're both lucky that he can work away from home. I have a US tourist visa, I already visited him last year (but we were not married yet at that time and i was using my old passport with my maiden name, now i have to renew it with my new surname), and were thinking of the possibility of me going with him next month to look for a house and try to settle things. I have every intention of coming back here, it is just going to be a month or so vacation. I was just wondering if any of you have tried that before.... Thank you again. Good luck to everyone.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Show strong ties to the home country - be honest with answers - and you should be ok.

It has been tried before and plenty of people have been able to visit.

Some get turned around - but with any visa that can happen.

Good Luck!

[mrsB 0]

I still don't understand how so many people have tourist visas and can visit USA all they want when I can't get a tourist visa, because I'm still legally able to use our Visa Waiver program... yet, since it's not a visa, Homeland Security can send me home at the airport if they feel like it. I'm starting to get pretty sick and tired of seeing how rules are so different to other people.

However, with a tourist visa in your hand, they can't really send you home, since that's what the officials in USA told me to get when I was asking about being able to go visit my husband. However due to the visa waiver program, the Embassy won't give me a tourist visa so life very much sucks now. Today was also the anniversary of our NOA1... 1 year since we received it. No news of anything as of yet.

So good luck to you, I hope you get to enjoy your visit to USA.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

If you have a B1 tourist visa, they most certainly can send you home without allowing you to enter. No visitor is guaranteed entry, regardless of their visa status.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

I still don't understand how so many people have tourist visas and can visit USA all they want when I can't get a tourist visa, because I'm still legally able to use our Visa Waiver program... yet, since it's not a visa, Homeland Security can send me home at the airport if they feel like it. I'm starting to get pretty sick and tired of seeing how rules are so different to other people.

However, with a tourist visa in your hand, they can't really send you home, since that's what the officials in USA told me to get when I was asking about being able to go visit my husband. However due to the visa waiver program, the Embassy won't give me a tourist visa so life very much sucks now. Today was also the anniversary of our NOA1... 1 year since we received it. No news of anything as of yet.

So good luck to you, I hope you get to enjoy your visit to USA.

That is not entirely true.

A visa in hand does not automatically allow you into the US. You still have to pass through the POE, and if the CBP denies you entry, even if you have a valid visa, you have no recourse but to return home.

How Can I use a Visa to Enter the U.S.?

Having a U.S. visa allows you to travel to a port of entry, airport or land border crossing, and request permission of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspector to enter the U.S.

While having a visa does not guarantee entry to the U.S, it does indicate a consular officer at a U.S Embassy or Consulate abroad has determined you are eligible to seek entry for that specific purpose. DHS/CBP inspectors, guardians of the nation’s borders, are responsible for admission of travelers to the U.S., for a specified status and period of time DHS also has responsibility for immigration matters while you are present in the U.S..

Souce: Visa FAQ State Department