Can American visit UK without problems?

[txant 0]

My husband and I will be filing for the IR1/CR1 soon. He is in the UK and I am in the US. We know once we file that he would have trouble visiting the US so we don't plan to attempt that, but would there be any trouble for me to visit him in the UK during his pending immigration?

Thanks

[John & Flor 3]

My husband and I will be filing for the IR1/CR1 soon. He is in the UK and I am in the US. We know once we file that he would have trouble visiting the US so we don't plan to attempt that, but would there be any trouble for me to visit him in the UK during his pending immigration?

Thanks

I know for a fact that there is no problem with the USC visiting the foriegn spouse/fiance(e), since you are allowed to attend the Visa interview. Plus, the more time you spend together would lend itself to a stronger evidence of a bona-fide marriage.

On the UK Embassy page: Can fiance(e)/spouse attend the interview? Yes

Good luck!

[txant 0]

I wouldn't be able to go for the interview due to the timing of my allowed vacation, but do plan to visit before that. Looks like there shouldn't be any problem regardless.

Thank you for your reply.

[lesleysizeland 0]

My husband and I will be filing for the IR1/CR1 soon. He is in the UK and I am in the US. We know once we file that he would have trouble visiting the US so we don't plan to attempt that, but would there be any trouble for me to visit him in the UK during his pending immigration?

Thanks

This is a yes, my US guy used to come and visit me during the visa process as we did not want to risk me coming to the US and he had no problems at all.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

There is nothing that says the UK spouse can't visit the US or vice versa. We visited multiple times back and forth during the process. You just have to act like a tourist with a return ticket and some ties to indicate you plan to go back home. The people who have the most trouble are the ones that stay for the full allowed visitor stay, then go home for a few weeks only to come back and try the full visitor stay again. If you're going for a 2 week vacation and not going back for months then they likely won't question your intentions. If he packs 5 suitcases full of belongings to bring as a "tourist" then they might think he plans to stay illegally. Think along the lines of look/act like a tourist, not an immigrant.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Both of you can visit each other. Spouses visit the US all the time during the visa process. Yes, you may be questioned more sharply about your intentions, but as Nich says, you just have to plan for that and react by bringing more evidence that you'll be following the laws. Proof of ties, your return ticket printed out, and on VJ we even recommend you bring proof of your filing, because it shows that you are invested in completing the correct process.

I know that this page says it is for fiance(e)s, but it has a really great list of proof of ties.

http://www.visajourn...content/k1visit

Regarding our own experiences: Nik came to visit me in the US for 2 weeks after we had filed. He brought a number of things on the list, a letter from his supervisor approving his vacation (with dates for when he was expected back), a copy of the wedding invitation which was the spark for his visit - it was in Hawaii!!- and the receipt notice for our petition. He was definitely asked for his return dates, and they would have seen his printed itinerary if the printer hadn't run out of ink the night before! Ultimately, it was actually the proof of filing for the K-1 visa which was the last piece of documentation shown and sealed the deal for the immigration officer who let him into the country, but I'm sure that all of the rest of the evidence helped immensely.

Although the two countries are in fact different, my experiences going to the UK have been quite similar if not even a bit milder than Nik's entries here. Of course, I was always going before we had anything more formal than bf/gf status. My 22yr old sister (unmarried, recently graduated, no job, only a little savings) was grilled for quite some time before ultimately being let into the UK! Actually, I have heard a lot of similar stories when people go through Manchester. Maybe it's that particular POE. Bring the same sort of evidence going to the UK as your husband should coming to the US.

Also, though there are some 'scary' stories about denials of entry, just keep in mind also that most people from Visa Waiver countries are let in without much fuss at all, so don't self-impose a miserable separation needlessly.Most of those denial of entry stories do have some factors which I feel should have been obvious, as Nich said visiting too long already, or other sort of odd behavior.

Edited August 6, 2010 by Nik+Heather

[Boiler 43,790]

We visited in both directions.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Oh, forgot to say....

The immigration guys at the US airport do NOT know you have filed a petition. Just wanted to mention that since OP stated "We know once we file that he would have trouble visiting the US ..." Filing has nothing to do with it since they don't know. I always quiz the people on both sides just out of curiosity. I asked the US CBP guy while he was processing my passport, " What's on that computer of yours about me? Can you tell that I have filed a petition for a foreign fiance?" He said , "No." He said they have information about entries, exits, overstays, suspected bad guys, terrorists but don't know who has filed a petition or who might be the beneficiary of one.

[txant 0]

Thank you all again for the valuable information.

[souljah4christ 0]

Thank you all again for the valuable information.

Make sure you and your fiance both tell the truth when you enter .. I had a bad experience getting detained going through Manchester.

I had been a couple times before, no problem, but this was the first time after getting engaged. In order not to raise any "red flags", I thought it would be best not to mention the engagement. I figured that it would be easier to just say the same stuff that I had in the past (just coming to visit my gf, etc.), but the guy started drilling me with questions about our intentions in our relationship.

I kept to my story through the questioning, saying we were just dating and no intention to get married. Then he sent me to detainment and called my fiancee in the lobby to ask her the same questions (to which she immediately told the truth about our engagement and the K-1 we had just filed lol).

There was another girl there who was also being detained for the same reason (she seemed to be lying as well)..she was crying because they didn't want to let her in.

The officer called me back and gave me a second chance to come clean, but I stuck to my story (hoping my fiancee said the same thing I did). He was taking notes, seemed to give me 3 chances with 3 questions..3rd strike sent me back to detainment. I just wanted to come clean right then so bad.

Later he came to me and told me the problem was that my fiancee was telling a different story than I was.. I immediately apologized and told him the whole story. I told him that I thought he might not let me enter if we were engaged. He left and came back later, and took me (and that other girl) to baggage claim to search our bags and belongings. After going through all my stuff (I had taken so much for just a short stay because my fiancee's clothes dryer didn't work, so I was explaining why I had 14 changes of clothes, etc. lol... he asked why I had a heavy jacket, gloves and scarf in the summer.. I said "because it is always so cold over here!"), he sent me back to detainment. I was so nervous and in "heavy prayer" mode!

Finally, after about a total of 3 hours of detainment, he allowed me to enter...telling me that it would have been much easier to tell the truth in the beginning! He said that he would only allow me to stay for 2 weeks, instead of the regular 6 months, and that he was stamping my passport with a code that will trigger them to detain me next time I enter also. He said that I will have to explain what happened this time again when they detain me in the future, and that there will be notes in the computer about this.

6 months later, I went again (through Manchester) to accompany my fiancee to her interview in London. They detained me for a short time, checked the computer and let me through no problem! I had evidence to show about the interview, etc... but I don't think I even had to use it.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Make sure you and your fiance both tell the truth when you enter .. I had a bad experience getting detained going through Manchester.

Manchester again!!

Those guys really take their jobs seriously.

[MelissaJulian 30]

When I went over in 2008 to spend 6 months with my fiance (who at that point was only my boyfriend) I was asked why I was staying so long and if I had enough means to support myself. I was ready with paperwork to show I could support myself, and that I would be staying with my boyfriend and also looking at postgraduate degrees in the UK (I had letters from universities and institutes showing I had been in contact). I was asked if we were actually already engaged, and I could truthfully say no. They looked in my bags and I guess they didn't find anything that raised any suspicions, because I was let in for the full six months.

I think being honest and having proof of my plans helped a lot.

[Rob and Jill 82]

I know for a fact that there is no problem with the USC visiting the foriegn spouse/fiance(e), since you are allowed to attend the Visa interview. Plus, the more time you spend together would lend itself to a stronger evidence of a bona-fide marriage.

On the UK Embassy page: Can fiance(e)/spouse attend the interview? Yes

Good luck!

You don't know for a fact that there is "no problem" with visiting. You don't know the whole situation, nor the utter non-sense you get from saying you're going to visit your FIANCE while going through Manchester. While generalizations are to be expected on this board, please don't automatically assume that what works in one country ALWAYS works in another.

Manchester again!!

Those guys really take their jobs seriously.

Precisely my point when correcting the above. I will NEVER and I mean NEVER EVER go through Manchester again. After traveling for something in the range of 12 hours, with a sprained back, and cramps, the last thing you want to deal with first thing in the "morning" is some jacka$$ immigration guy throughly quizzing you about why you are or are not coming into the country. Saying you're visiting your FIANCE caused more grief than if I had just said "I'm a tourist". Those guys got through johnny on the spot. I told the 100% truth the whole time I was questioned.

With all of that being said...to the OP, just bring A LOT of proof...a return ticket, make sure you know the exact date you're going back to work, all the contact info on your employer, proof you have your own money, and things to tie you to home, and it SHOULD be ok.

Edited August 9, 2010 by Rob and Jill

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

You're feisty Jill.

(I have no idea what that smiley is supposed to be, but it's kinda cute.)

[Gemmie 142]

Precisely my point when correcting the above. I will NEVER and I mean NEVER EVER go through Manchester again. After traveling for something in the range of 12 hours, with a sprained back, and cramps, the last thing you want to deal with first thing in the "morning" is some jacka$$ immigration guy throughly quizzing you about why you are or are not coming into the country. Saying you're visiting your FIANCE caused more grief than if I had just said "I'm a tourist". Those guys got through johnny on the spot. I told the 100% truth the whole time I was questioned.

With all of that being said...to the OP, just bring A LOT of proof...a return ticket, make sure you know the exact date you're going back to work, all the contact info on your employer, proof you have your own money, and things to tie you to home, and it SHOULD be ok.

Agreed, my then-fiance went through Heathrow and was given trouble once for saying he was visiting his fiance. Nothing to write home about, just an extra grilling on how he was able to afford a month away, and what not.

But personally, I would say US border control are WAY worse, at least they have been in our experience. I was always 100% honest and told them that I was visiting my boyfriend/fiance/whatever-he-was-at-the-time, because I didn't know how to get through by saying "I'm just a tourist, seeing the sights, and my friends" when I had been over every other month. But yeah, it wasn't always easy.