Travel while K-1 is in process

[moleary 2]

Hi - this is my second post to the forum. My first was over in the embassy and consulate threads regarding Ciudad Juarez. Since any thank yous from a lurker might get lost over there, let me first thank VisaJourney and all the posters. This site has been helpful along the way, and provides a certain level of comfort knowing that there are other folks going through this same process.

I am a US Citizen and my fiancee is a Mexican citizen. Last week we received notification from the NVC that the K-1 package has been forwarded to the consulate in Ciudad Juarez. She has not been contacted by them yet but we are waiting now for packet 3. I think the process is going along about as fast as one could reasonably hope.

I haven't seen this topic anywhere and wanted to offer up a bit of information that I learned today firsthand.

I have tickets to an event next week, and we were hoping to be able to attend the event together. However, we wanted to be sure there would be no problem with her making the trip. A couple of months ago when I was traveling through Atlanta, I spoke briefly with the immigration official who checked my passport. I told him we were applying for a K-1, and that my finacee already had a B1B2 good for another 4 years. My question was whether she could travel to the states while the petition was in process. His answer seemed simple enough - as long as she has a valid visa, she can travel here. Period. Great.

Now that the NVC has assigned a case number and sent the package to the consulate, we are waiting to get packet 3 any day now. But, we still have this event next week here in the states that we would both like to attend. So, I called USCIS and asked the question again. I was told that as far as they were concerned, if she still had a valid visa, there was no problem for her to travel here, BUT that I may want to contact the Dept of State Visa Services. So, I did. The lady at DoS was clear. It is NOT a good idea for my fiancee to travel now that she is in the system. She runs a very high risk of being turned away at the port of entry (ATL), and then that could throw a wrench into everything we have worked for up to this point. Here is her reasoning: Now that my fiancee is in the system, her status is that of an Intending Immigrant. If she were to apply for a tourist visa now, she would be denied. It is a certainty. While she said that no one can guarantee rejection or admission at the port of entry, she felt very strongly that it just wasn't worth the risk. So, I'll go see George Winston with out her

There you have it. I believe that I received good information from this site and thought this was worth creating an account and passing along. If anyone has any other experience in this, please share. Thanks. Michael

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1/11/2010 I-129F petition received by VT

1/11/2010 NAO1 sent

3/17/2010 NAO2 sent

3/24/2010 Letter sent from NVC to consulate

4/7/2010 Dept of State verified that consulate has file

[Audy_Rob 26]

You got a very good response from the DOS and less reputable responses from Customs/ICE and the USCIS.

A B-1/B-2 visa does not guarantee admission by the CBE at the POE. She could be rejected if the I-129F petition shows up when she tries to enter.

This question is often asked and most members know there is a risk. That said, many people go ahead and take the risk, particularly people from VWP countries.