Can I visit my husband during CR1 process?

[lynndy38 64]

Hi guys,

Well my wedding is 4 weeks away

I will get to spend the grand total of 3 days with my husband once we are married. He has to return after only a week in the UK due to work commitments.

As soon as he returns he'll be applying for the CR1 to get me over there,we understand the process could take up to a year.

Is there anyway I can still enter the US for a visit during that time?

I'd originally told my fiance there was no way would I even try as I have been made to feel like ####### on my past 4 trips over and I find the whole ordeal a nightmare,but the thought of not seeing him for a year kills us both so I must at least look into it.....POE is RDU and the immigration officers there are rude and nasty in my experiance. I have never overstayed,and am a law abding citizen no matter what country Im in.I always take evidence of my ties to the UK. The supivisor on my last trip told me they didnt have time for 'niceness'after one particular officer had me in tears. I'm terrified of flying and it takes 40mgs of Valium to get me on the flight as it is,so the thought of being turned away onto another flight terrifies me.

If you all seem to be saying it will be difficult I'll have to just wait it out,and after 4 years of transatlantic flights and many months of having to be apart I guess I can make another year.

Thanks for your input its really appreciated

[canadian_wife 1,785]

Yes you can visit, nothing says you cannot. However entrance and duration of stay are never a guarentee and the bar might be set higher for you once they learn you are married

Good luck

[Keeto 12]

Hi there,

I have never seen such limitations for ESTA.

Therefore I can't see why you can't go and visit him. Just stay in the limitations of your allowance and also only answer questions that they ask you, to keep things basic.

BTW the the folks at IAH - Houston - aren't very polite as well, so don't feel alone on that one!

Edited June 21, 2012 by Keeto

[navchusu11 5]

Techically You can....Practically, its Tough to get a Visa on these kind of situation. ( just married and Initiating for I-130 Petition)

but it is totally legal to apply for the visa...so, it does not hurt on trying.....

its not easy to be on such situation... ...I was almost in the same situation.....

good luck...

[sms78 18]

Techically You can....Practically, its Tough to get a Visa on these kind of situation. ( just married and Initiating for I-130 Petition)

but it is totally legal to apply for the visa...so, it does not hurt on trying.....

its not easy to be on such situation... ...I was almost in the same situation.....

good luck...

She doesn't need to apply for a tourist visa as OP is from UK.

Sorry to hear you have had bad experiences. As the previous poster said, entry is not guaranteed, but you can still try because of your VWP benefit. I think your husband vising you in UK is better though in your situation. USC is completely free to travel at any time of visa process. Can he do that?

But geez POE officers were that nasty?? Unbelievable. I always use LAX, and maybe I was just lucky, but they are always nice to me.... I mean some people look irritated and unfriendly, but they've never been rude...

[lynndy38 64]

Thankyou so much for the replies guys,

It seems it would be a fly and see then?

I just don't think I can cope with the immigration guys at RDU,I know its their job to suspect every traveller wants to stay in the US forever but the anxiety of facing them coupled with my fear of flying may be too much.

Would it help if my fiance got his local Congressman involved or we hired an immigration attourney?

Or is it always down to the guys at your POE?

What a cruel system this is,but thats the price of falling in love with a foreigner I guess

[Krikit 1,163]

Awww, big hugs to you. ((((Lynndy))))

I totally know where you're coming from with RDU. It is one of the worst run airports I have ever had the misfortune to fly in and out of. Are you making sure you are bringing lots of ties to the UK? I would bring a copy of the NOA, also, once it's received, to prove that you are abiding by the rules.

I wonder if you could fly into another airport.... NC appears to have four international airports:

Charlotte/Douglas

Greensboro-Piedmont Triad

RDU

Wilmington

Failing that, you could always fly out of a pre-clearance airport in Dublin or Shannon, Ireland. That way you get the Customs & Immigration experience behind you and you can relax a little during the flight.

Oh, and to answer your question.... a Member of Congress or an Attorney will never be able to influence an entry at the POE. The CBP Officers always have the final say.

[Rooky 1]

Hi,

I know where you are coming from and I can tell you first hand information since I have visited my wife more than twice within the last six months while having a pending I-130 application.

I actually wrote to CBP office directly and asked the question and this was their answer:

"You can travel under the Visa Waiver program while an I-130 is pending. Admission is always at the discretion of the port of entry, but you could bring copies of your petition, evidence of residency and employment in the UK and any other relevant documents to help facilitate your entry."

When I got this reply my ESTA had actually expired but I applied for it while I-130 pending and got approved. I was prepared for questions and I declared my purpose of visit is to see my wife. Every time I go it's not smooth sailing as they will grill you with questions..... one time it was almost 45 minutes of questioning my intention of visiting. I was blunt and honest and it worked out well in the end. Because they keep the history of all conversation I have had with them in the past and they can see my I-130 application it becomes easier after the first time. I did take a lot of supporting documents but they did ask but they never wanted to see them.

If you ask me, its a 95% chance you will be fine, just be honest and be prepared for questions, you may be lucky they may not ask too many questions after all.

Either way goodluck and congratulations on your wedding

R

[Keeto 12]

But geez POE officers were that nasty?? Unbelievable. I always use LAX, and maybe I was just lucky, but they are always nice to me.... I mean some people look irritated and unfriendly, but they've never been rude...

Out of the 3 times I have been through IAH with VWP/ESTA and a B1/B2 I only had one POE officer that was at least polite, lots of questions, which is fine, but at least polite.

The other 2 were really nasty and I had the urge to ask one of them if she got out of bed on the wrong side this morning and if she did, not to take it out on us because she was being nasty and loud with everyone.....sheeesh.

The last time we went, for some reason, all the people we dealt with, officer at the queue, the gate and the custom officers could not understand that we were not married....I mean really? Is that a concern for them if we were not married yet, guess it's a Texan thing....living in sin....God forbid

The custom officers should have been more concerned about the stuff in our luggage! Best of all, we were there for a funeral and by the end of this dilemma my USC wife - then girlfriend - was in tears! Freekin asswipes....

[PleaseDeleteAcct 7]

Hi,

I know where you are coming from and I can tell you first hand information since I have visited my wife more than twice within the last six months while having a pending I-130 application.

I actually wrote to CBP office directly and asked the question and this was their answer:

"You can travel under the Visa Waiver program while an I-130 is pending. Admission is always at the discretion of the port of entry, but you could bring copies of your petition, evidence of residency and employment in the UK and any other relevant documents to help facilitate your entry."

When I got this reply my ESTA had actually expired but I applied for it while I-130 pending and got approved. I was prepared for questions and I declared my purpose of visit is to see my wife. Every time I go it's not smooth sailing as they will grill you with questions..... one time it was almost 45 minutes of questioning my intention of visiting. I was blunt and honest and it worked out well in the end. Because they keep the history of all conversation I have had with them in the past and they can see my I-130 application it becomes easier after the first time. I did take a lot of supporting documents but they did ask but they never wanted to see them.

If you ask me, its a 95% chance you will be fine, just be honest and be prepared for questions, you may be lucky they may not ask too many questions after all.

Either way goodluck and congratulations on your wedding

R

OP,

1st-- congrats on the wedding! yay!

We are kinda in the same situation, I am the USC and my husband is from England. WE got married here though in the US and he had to leave just 3 or 4 days later. I then sent the I-130 petition and planned to go visit him in the UK a few times since it would be easier customs/border patrol wise for me to go there than for him to come here. I went for 10 days in Feb but then I ended up getting pneumonia a few weeks later and burned up almost ALL my sick and vacation time at work and I def cant afford to miss that much work for go back so he came here just yesterday.

I read tons of stories of people getting in and not getting in while having a petition/visa pending... I was a nervous wreck the whole time he flew especially since he lives with his parents currently so doesn't have evidence of a lease agreement or mortgage or anything like that.. he also just finished school (school was always a tie to England, ya know, a reason to go back... but now hes done so he didnt have that as a reason anymore) and he isn't working because as I said he JUST finished school and he hasnt begun looking for a job there yet (and might now since he will have to quit in like 3 or 3 months anyway to move here. lol) but anyway yea... all he had to prove he was coming home was a copy of his itinerary showing his return flight in 2 weeks, a copy of our NOA1 proving that we are in the visa process and are doing it the "right way" and wouldn't want to ruin that by overstaying or causing any delays, and the only other thing he had was his passport history where he came and left numerous times in the alst 2 years and always stayed only as long as he told them he was staying.

I was really nervous because so many other people bring lease agreements, car information, job/employment letters, etc. But we didn't have that option.

His POE was at JFK in NYC and this particular officer didn't give him any trouble at all. And he didn't need to give any evidence, he just stated that he had a return flight in two weeks... they didnt even ask him for proof (which he did have just in case).

As everyone says, sometimes it's kind of luck... its USUALLY fine for you to come here, but definitely be prepared to show ties home and have a return flight booked.

Also, like someone else stated, can you possibly go to a different internation airport in your spouses state? If they POE at the airport you usually use is that bad then maybe try your luck somewhere else...

You can check out peoples reviews of POE on here and maybe that would help your situation more?

Good Luck!!

[lynndy38 64]

You guys are awesome,

Thankyou again for you advice,suggestions and support.

Hearing a little of your stories helps alot too,this process can feel very personnal when stuck in the middle of it,constantly having to prove youre a genuine and law abiding citizen,who has happened to fall in love with a person that lives in the USA and not some schemer trying to get into the country.

I LOVE England,all my family and friends are here,not to mention my son who wishes to remain here with his father which KILLS me.So it infuriates me when questioned about my sincerity. Again I understand why they have to protect the borders and I guess its hard to find the people that are just looking for a way into America.

Its just bloody unfair to those of us that have to jump through hoops.

I'm interested in hearing about flying first to Ireland,how does this work? How come you get through the POE easily in the US afterwards?

[hikergirl 277]

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/preclear_locations.xml

It's a preclearance location so you clear US customs in Ireland and then you are treated as a domestic passenger on arrival.