K1 visa honeymooners

[Djarian2000 5]

After your fiancé enters USA and you get married, can you go on a cruiseship, say to Bahamas or Caribbean? She holds Moroccon passport. We can check the visa requirements of our destinations but will she have to go thru USA customs & immigration after we return? Will she need a travel document or we can travel without it? Bahamas are USA territories and I don't know if she would need a travel document for that?

Any help or insight will be appreciated!

Thanks in advance to all of you who comment!

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

After your fiancé enters USA and you get married, can you go on a cruiseship, say to Bahamas or Caribbean? She holds Moroccon passport. We can check the visa requirements of our destinations but will she have to go thru USA customs & immigration after we return? Will she need a travel document or we can travel without it? Bahamas are USA territories and I don't know if she would need a travel document for that?

Any help or insight will be appreciated!

Thanks in advance to all of you who comment!

You can not travel out of the country until after you marry and receive your advance parole document.

The Bahamas are NOT US territories and never have been.

Some acceptable alternatives are flying to Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands or waiting for AP to come through (60-90 days after filing).

[Darnell 8,478]

most cruise ships require some immigration stuff and passport checking, so , no, a K-1 visa holder, although can get on the boat, won't be allowed to get off the boat.

sure, think about getting off the boat in the USA, but what just happened? Her invalidated K-1 visa does not allow her entry back into the USA at a marine-based USA Port of Entry.

[Kastrs 723]

You can not travel out of the country until after you marry and receive your advance parole document.

The Bahamas are NOT US territories and never have been.

Some acceptable alternatives are flying to Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands or waiting for AP to come through (60-90 days after filing).

Yup

[Cathi 5,771]

She can only travel to US territories, the Bahamas is not one of them, the US Virgin Islands are, and it is just as beautiful there as in the Bahamas

Edited March 30, 2013 by mimolicious

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

She can only travel to where her Moroccan passport allows until she gets advanced parole.

She can not travel at all outside the country until she gets AP without starting the whole process all over.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

America is huuuuuge, she just got here- how about exploring her new country?

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

mot for a year can the person leave the country

not even on cruise ship

my brother in law married a Russian woman and they planned a honeymoon and could not go

If you leave on cruise or any other out-of-country vacation within the first year, you have to reapply for new visa to return.

[AZRG <3 13]

America is huuuuuge, she just got here- how about exploring her new country?

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

mot for a year can the person leave the country

not even on cruise ship

my brother in law married a Russian woman and they planned a honeymoon and could not go

If you leave on cruise or any other out-of-country vacation within the first year, you have to reapply for new visa to return.

That is incorrect. Once they marry they can apply for AOS and AP, and this will usually be granted in 2-3 months, so if they get married and apply for Adjustment of Status right away, she can travel in 10+ weeks for a delayed honeymoon, just not right away.

[Djarian2000 5]

Thanks for the comments!

US Virgin Islands sounds good. Hawaii is also an option and even though its not the main land but I am assuming that it should be acceptable to USCIS as well.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

mot for a year can the person leave the country

not even on cruise ship

my brother in law married a Russian woman and they planned a honeymoon and could not go

If you leave on cruise or any other out-of-country vacation within the first year, you have to reapply for new visa to return.

This is completely incorrect. There is no such rule of waiting a year or get a new visa. You can travel outside the US and re-enter as soon as you are granted AP or get your green card. It takes 2-3 months to receive AP after applying for AOS. Travel and re-enter within the first year all you like as long as you have your valid AP or green card. I have seen others post here confused and thinking their spouse would not be able to leave the US for a year. It is untrue. Please do not post this type of misinformation.

[rickalamo02 3]

http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k1k2visa-enter.html

5.12)...Is it okay for us to go to the US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico on our honeymoon without Advance Parole?

A...Maybe not a wise thing to do. Even though these islands are US territories or possessions, you may have to deal with Immigration and Customs to get back to the United States. You might have trouble getting back home if you encounter an insane USCIS (INS) inspector, plus, there are too many opportunities to "technically" leave US jurisdiction (by visiting the adjacent islands, for example). Best to take the honeymoon somewhere in the 50 States, where there is plenty to see and do.

A..Let me make it as clear as it was explained to me and which the regulation bears out: So long as the K-1'er does not depart ("depart" is also defined in the reg.) the US after making a legal entry s/he can travel to any other location which includes the USVI, PR, Guam, Hawaii, and Alaska.

The inspector I spoke to gave clear examples. (My alien fiancée) can enter the US and we can fly directly from the mainland to the USVI. We can go wherever we want on the islands so long as we don't "touch" ground or water not under US jurisdiction. When we leave she shows her K-1 and I-94 to immigration (which shows she legally entered the US) and off we fly directly to the mainland. However, if while we are there (USVI) we decided to take a trip to the British islands then she would be denied re-entry. I know I used "directly" in this example but we could fly "outbound" mainland-PR-USVI and "inbound" USVI-PR-mainland without fear because in this case she never "departs" the US.

Inspectors (both mainland and USVI) told me that this is not an unusual occurrence. They see K-1'ers all the time.

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[del-2-5-2014 1,339]

America is huuuuuge, she just got here- how about exploring her new country?

http://www.visajourn...visa-enter.html

5.12)...Is it okay for us to go to the US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico on our honeymoon without Advance Parole?

A...Maybe not a wise thing to do. Even though these islands are US territories or possessions, you may have to deal with Immigration and Customs to get back to the United States. You might have trouble getting back home if you encounter an insane USCIS (INS) inspector, plus, there are too many opportunities to "technically" leave US jurisdiction (by visiting the adjacent islands, for example). Best to take the honeymoon somewhere in the 50 States, where there is plenty to see and do.

A..Let me make it as clear as it was explained to me and which the regulation bears out: So long as the K-1'er does not depart ("depart" is also defined in the reg.) the US after making a legal entry s/he can travel to any other location which includes the USVI, PR, Guam, Hawaii, and Alaska.

The inspector I spoke to gave clear examples. (My alien fiancée) can enter the US and we can fly directly from the mainland to the USVI. We can go wherever we want on the islands so long as we don't "touch" ground or water not under US jurisdiction. When we leave she shows her K-1 and I-94 to immigration (which shows she legally entered the US) and off we fly directly to the mainland. However, if while we are there (USVI) we decided to take a trip to the British islands then she would be denied re-entry. I know I used "directly" in this example but we could fly "outbound" mainland-PR-USVI and "inbound" USVI-PR-mainland without fear because in this case she never "departs" the US.

Inspectors (both mainland and USVI) told me that this is not an unusual occurrence. They see K-1'ers all the time.

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So what happens when the cruise ship develops a propulsion system and gets towed to the nearest port which happens not to be US territory?

[Anna Grant 169]

There is so much in mainland US to see - why take any potential risk by flying outside of the 50 states?

Edited March 31, 2013 by Anna Grant