October 2014 Filers - Texas Service Center

[SantyAndAllie 155]

JDWright- no questions asked ? I read your post, but it didn't look like you said they brought up the visa? Can you give like a brief overview of what it was like?

I'm just worried about our airport, too. Not many people have mentioned JFK experiences.. at least not last time I checked. Also, I want to know how many of these people had to show 'proof of ties' to their country (the pay stubs and stuff!). april & JDwright, did you have to do that? Or they just asked for the round trip ticket?

[Wooderz 314]

Yay!!! Aw, Nurse April. too cute. How was his experience? Which airport? Did they ask him anything or mention the visa?

He flew into IAH in Houston. It's always easy for him and I've read others say the same. POE today was a joke. He chatted with the officer about how there was nobody in line to go through immigration. He didn't even get asked how long or why he was visiting. Just stamped his passport and moved on. After you get your bags you go through another line for customs declarations and that officer asked him how long he was staying, but that's it.

He had his boss sign a letter stating when he was returning to work (which he left at home) and so all he had with him as proof was confirmation of his return flight.

[SantyAndAllie 155]

He flew into IAH in Houston. It's always easy for him and I've read others say the same. POE today was a joke. He chatted with the officer about how there was nobody in line to go through immigration. He didn't even get asked how long or why he was visiting. Just stamped his passport and moved on. After you get your bags you go through another line for customs declarations and that officer asked him how long he was staying, but that's it.

He had his boss sign a letter stating when he was returning to work (which he left at home) and so all he had with him as proof was confirmation of his return flight.

Congrats on him getting through! That's so great!

I wrote a post on the "yes you can visit" asking about people's specific experiences with not having strong proof of ties (since apparently a round trip ticket alone isn't much). I know it's harder, so I want to see if anyone has done it successfully and what their experience was. It seems that it's a risk regardless, but when you can show sufficient ties, it's not as much of a problem. Unfortunately we don't have those So I'm going to see what they say.

[yuna628 9,547]

I had a rather... miserable Christmas unfortunately. It started out fine enough but a family member arrived that has been causing all sorts of problems about why they are not included in the wedding party and why they cannot bring additional guests. I calmly explained but it led to a big blowup. It makes him upset as he can't be there to support and add additional backup for the situation. To make matters worse, my pet is terminally ill and I'm dreading on making a really hard decision about it.

I'm thankful to have this four day weekend with him so that we can just chat all the time and try not to think so hard about everything. I'm glad that everyone that is able to be with their loved ones this year (whether they be approved yet or not) made it through their POEs successfully. Onwards to the new year... can't come fast enough.

[SantyAndAllie 155]

I had a rather... miserable Christmas unfortunately. It started out fine enough but a family member arrived that has been causing all sorts of problems about why they are not included in the wedding party and why they cannot bring additional guests. I calmly explained but it led to a big blowup. It makes him upset as he can't be there to support and add additional backup for the situation. To make matters worse, my pet is terminally ill and I'm dreading on making a really hard decision about it.

I'm thankful to have this four day weekend with him so that we can just chat all the time and try not to think so hard about everything. I'm glad that everyone that is able to be with their loved ones this year (whether they be approved yet or not) made it through their POEs successfully. Onwards to the new year... can't come fast enough.

UGH. So sorry I notice a few people (especially family) aren't so understanding when it comes to weddings. Like, not everyone can shell out over $10k to have every single family member and their plus ones come to the wedding/be involved in the wedding. It's frustrating. At this point, my fiance & I know that we can't be worried about who we offend in this process. It's OUR wedding, OUR day, and we invited those we know will make it enjoyable and will celebrate with us drama-free. It's not easy to not get bothered by what others say/think about it, but we both agreed to try to avoid talking too much about it with our family/friends so that we avoid as much drama as possible. We invited close friends and not much family because our families are too big (and we're having 2 weddings!), so we're going to enjoy it without worrying about who gets offended- inevitably SOMEONE will (not even my grandma is invited & she keeps asking!). However, we're thinking of having a family potluck pre-wedding celebration and those not invited to the actual wedding will be invited there. Maybe that could be an option for you, too?

Also so sorry about your pet. It's so hard losing a pet; they really are like family.

Hope you have a wonderful trip & enjoy the time being away from the drama for now!

[av8or1 246]

Congrats on him getting through! That's so great!

I wrote a post on the "yes you can visit" asking about people's specific experiences with not having strong proof of ties (since apparently a round trip ticket alone isn't much). I know it's harder, so I want to see if anyone has done it successfully and what their experience was. It seems that it's a risk regardless, but when you can show sufficient ties, it's not as much of a problem. Unfortunately we don't have those So I'm going to see what they say.

Hi-

Thanks for the kind words regarding our situation, I appreciate it. In a way this process will rip you up in such a scenario as ours because I haven't seen Elena since early August. And seeing her now 5 months along, wow, she doesn't look like the same woman. But in a very good way I might add! The point being that I would have liked to have observed these changes gradually as it happened rather than being forced to miss all of it. It pulls at the heartstrings to think about, so I try not to. Choosing instead to focus on the positive. Not easy, but...

As for your POE stuff, I'm confused by all of this, sorry. What's the problem? Elena has visited me 3 times in the past without complication. She has a job, sure, and family here, yes, and maintains their family home in Moscow, absolutely. But she didn't bring proof of any of that with her during her trips to tour TEXAS and had no issues with getting through passport control. Heck I've never even asked her about it because it never seemed like there would be much to talk about. But what do I know? lol

Anyway, good holidays to everyone!

[Wooderz 314]

Yuna, so sorry to hear about the family drama. I agree with lovecometruex. The wedding is about you and your fiance. Stick to what you both want. Family should be understanding, unfortunately they aren't always. Good luck with your family. I'm sure there will be people in my family unhappy with our plans when they learn what our plans are. But I don't care. I've already enlisted my mom to be the middleman to interface with the rest of the family about what I expect from them at the wedding. Maybe you can do the same? Put the burden on someone else who can relay your feelings without you having to deal with it.

And condolences for your pet. I have 2 dogs and they absolutely are family. That is such a difficult decision. Sending peace for you to know when the time is right and to be able to accept it and heal.

Edited December 28, 2014 by April+Daniel

[SantyAndAllie 155]

Hi-

Thanks for the kind words regarding our situation, I appreciate it. In a way this process will rip you up in such a scenario as ours because I haven't seen Elena since early August. And seeing her now 5 months along, wow, she doesn't look like the same woman. But in a very good way I might add! The point being that I would have liked to have observed these changes gradually as it happened rather than being forced to miss all of it. It pulls at the heartstrings to think about, so I try not to. Choosing instead to focus on the positive. Not easy, but...

As for your POE stuff, I'm confused by all of this, sorry. What's the problem? Elena has visited me 3 times in the past without complication. She has a job, sure, and family here, yes, and maintains their family home in Moscow, absolutely. But she didn't bring proof of any of that with her during her trips to tour TEXAS and had no issues with getting through passport control. Heck I've never even asked her about it because it never seemed like there would be much to talk about. But what do I know? lol

Anyway, good holidays to everyone!

Aw, it is such a hard situation to be in, but you're with her now!

And it's because border control can deport you if you come under the visa waiver program and are awaiting a visa. It's really dumb actually but since you show intent to stay in the future border control can decide that you'll stay and marry illegally and forget the visa process that you're already in. Hence why our lawyers didn't recommend it (along with border control when I called ). Any time you come in they VWP it's kind of a risk though. Does she have a visa or can she come on thru VWP? I'd think that if she had a visa she wouldn't have a problem visiting. Jot everyone is so lucky with coming in thru the VWP though. It's by the border controls discretion, honestly, which is why it's a risk. They don't HAVE to let anyone in, and some officers don't even fully understand the concept of VWP. That's what they showed us at Newark when they questioned if everyone's passports were fake because they could come in thru VWP hahah. Then again Newark is an awful airport. We had no problems at JFK.

So I don't know. Maybe we'll try it. It's just safe to have proof of ties in case they want to give problems (which some airports really will- I've read the experiences!). I know they have no hesitation sending the person back. So I'll let you guys all know if we try it!

Hey April- did they ask Daniel to see his proof? And av8or1, they didn't ask for anything? What'd they ask her?? The more I think about it, they never asked my fiancé for proof of ties the other times he came, and it seems like it's always a possibility to send them back without it.. Regardless of waiting on a visa or not. So it seems like it'd be like the other times he came- just that now we're waiting for the visa. Do they look your name up in the system or anything? Like would they even know you were waiting on a visa unless they decided to run your name?

[Wooderz 314]

They did not ask to see any ties to the UK from Daniel. They never have and this was his 12th visit, I think. They usually do ask how long he will be visiting and who he's visiting. When they hear girlfriend (this was his first time back since we got engaged and they didn't ask this time), they usually joke with him that he must really love me to make so many trips. In fact I have a harder time going there than he has coming here through IAH.

I understand that you've been advised of the risk by several different sources and its a tough risk to take given the expense of the flight as well as how upsetting that would be, but from all I've read the vast majority get through no trouble. Especially if the visit is short. Visits that last almost the entire duration of the vwp seem to be scrutinized more from what I've read. If I were you, I'd risk it for your sisters wedding. Is your fiancé not working right now? I think I remember you mentioned that maybe he's working for a family business? If so, could they provide a letter? Daniel doesn't have rent or a mortgage either. He lives with his parents. All 12 times he's gotten through with zero questioning. I don't even think he's ever had to show proof of his return flight.

I do not believe the officers at the airport can see that there is a visa pending. Not sure how they would since currently all we have filed is the petition listing us as petitioner and them as beneficiary. The petition doesn't require we provide the beneficiaries passport numbers to identify them by. I could be totally wrong but I think the only way the officers would know about the visa is if our fiancé's told them at the airport. And I wouldn't volunteer that information unless asked by the officer.

[ForgottenNotes 12]

That's good to hear AprilDaniel, you would think after 12 visits and establishing a strong record for returning after one's visit he should not get any scrutiny at this point.

[SantyAndAllie 155]

They did not ask to see any ties to the UK from Daniel. They never have and this was his 12th visit, I think. They usually do ask how long he will be visiting and who he's visiting. When they hear girlfriend (this was his first time back since we got engaged and they didn't ask this time), they usually joke with him that he must really love me to make so many trips. In fact I have a harder time going there than he has coming here through IAH.

I understand that you've been advised of the risk by several different sources and its a tough risk to take given the expense of the flight as well as how upsetting that would be, but from all I've read the vast majority get through no trouble. Especially if the visit is short. Visits that last almost the entire duration of the vwp seem to be scrutinized more from what I've read. If I were you, I'd risk it for your sisters wedding. Is your fiancé not working right now? I think I remember you mentioned that maybe he's working for a family business? If so, could they provide a letter? Daniel doesn't have rent or a mortgage either. He lives with his parents. All 12 times he's gotten through with zero questioning. I don't even think he's ever had to show proof of his return flight.

I do not believe the officers at the airport can see that there is a visa pending. Not sure how they would since currently all we have filed is the petition listing us as petitioner and them as beneficiary. The petition doesn't require we provide the beneficiaries passport numbers to identify them by. I could be totally wrong but I think the only way the officers would know about the visa is if our fiancé's told them at the airport. And I wouldn't volunteer that information unless asked by the officer.

That's really great to hear, April! (And 12 visits gives us definite hope that he'd be okay! And that's funny that you say that about UK immigration- I noticed on another thread that people say they think the UK's immigration is harder than the US', like you mentioned! A few people in one of the threads - can't remember which- said they had a harder time with the UK's immigration than their significant other did with the US!)

But I think we may do that. It's worth the risk for my sister's wedding! Besides, plane tickets to the US from Ecuador actually aren't all that expensive considering some of Europe's prices, so we're lucky we wouldn't risk TOO much. I guess my lawyers were telling me not to do it because it's their job to look out for us legally, and I know they wouldn't want to see anything happen (they're actually friends of ours; one is my neighbor!) and they know the risks of it. My lawyer told us he's had a few people do it, and they were fine, but he still told us he didn't recommend it to be safe. And as for Border Control, I realize that what they were probably saying is what would happen ANY time my fiance comes on the VWP. We never had to show ties before, and any time you come on the VWP they could give you problems about overstaying. We were just more worried now about it. Our Ecuadorian consulate in Newark (literally called everyone, hahaha) actually told us they didn't really think he'd have a problem with it. And I did only see a handful of people on here that got sent back, but that handful was enough to scare us.

And now that we talk about his first experience coming in at JFK, he really had NO hassle at all. It's not super convenient to go all the way to NY (a good 2 hours or so), but man, it's worth it when it comes to immigration. They were so nice and literally asked maybe two questions. Didn't even ask to see the letter my family & I had prepared about his visit. I really do think it depends on the airport (which is why I asked which one he was at).

It was the stunt that Newark pulled last year that freaked us out. I've read some other terrible experiences, too, plus just in general a lot of people there are rude! I just hate that airport in general, but they have a pretty bad rep with immigration, for sure. JFK it is!

Anyway, I digress.....

I'm assuming we'll get the NOA2 by beginning of April (we're early Oct filers!), or at best the beginning of March, but that's still too close of a call, as we wanted to plan for bachelor parties and things like that. Not to mention we'd also love to get our engagement pictures finally! I wanted him to be able to come at the beginning of March maybe and stay until my sister's wedding in April, like the 21st, which would probably be like a month and a half (like 50 days or something?). What do you think of that time? I would love for him to be able to come for Valentine's Day, but you think maybe that's pushing it (that's like 71 days)? I'd honestly take anything at this point.

When was the longest Daniel's ever stayed? Did they give him more problems for staying longer? Also, when they ask about our intentions, does he just say a friend's wedding, or like visiting fiance & her family? Obviously we want to be honest, but he'd be there for both, hahah. I'm assuming the fact that I'm his fiance will be brought up, so if they ask about the visa, do you think they'd give him a problem? (Oh, I also brought my sister's wedding invitation with me to Ecuador in case he needs to show it to them!)

Also, yes, he does still work for his uncle's business. His uncle is self-employed but does pay taxes, but most of his employees (ie: my fiance) get paid just in cash. It's harder for local Ecuadorian businesses to do the whole tax thing and everything with every employee, and it's so minimal considering the little amount of wages. So a lot of people just avoid it. But we probably will have his uncle write some kind of letter just in case!

Random sidenote, but I feel like I should like change my username on here to like "Allie and Santy" like you have for you & Daniel. I feel like I'm back on AIM days with people knowing me by a screenname (lovecometruex was my AIM screenname when I was 10 years old, LOL!)

Oh also- anyone have any idea why all of a sudden VJ is giving us SUPER earlier estimation dates? Obviously they're skewed in general, but I'm really curious as to what data on here caused the date to change all the way from April to January, especially seeing as June isn't even done yet?! Just a glitch? Where do they even get that data from? It seemed somewhat accurate when they had listed the 5-6 month mark, and now it seems all out of whack.

Sorry, guys.. I'm talking way too much. hahaha I just like being able to get a second opinion on this and from people with the same experiences. It just makes me feel better being able to talk through it all. You guys are all great! Thanks for your help!!

[yuna628 9,547]

Thank you everyone for all the kind words. I'm holding firm with our decision, and will not let them bully us.

That's really great to hear, April! (And 12 visits gives us definite hope that he'd be okay! And that's funny that you say that about UK immigration- I noticed on another thread that people say they think the UK's immigration is harder than the US', like you mentioned! A few people in one of the threads - can't remember which- said they had a harder time with the UK's immigration than their significant other did with the US!)

But I think we may do that. It's worth the risk for my sister's wedding! Besides, plane tickets to the US from Ecuador actually aren't all that expensive considering some of Europe's prices, so we're lucky we wouldn't risk TOO much. I guess my lawyers were telling me not to do it because it's their job to look out for us legally, and I know they wouldn't want to see anything happen (they're actually friends of ours; one is my neighbor!) and they know the risks of it. My lawyer told us he's had a few people do it, and they were fine, but he still told us he didn't recommend it to be safe. And as for Border Control, I realize that what they were probably saying is what would happen ANY time my fiance comes on the VWP. We never had to show ties before, and any time you come on the VWP they could give you problems about overstaying. We were just more worried now about it. Our Ecuadorian consulate in Newark (literally called everyone, hahaha) actually told us they didn't really think he'd have a problem with it. And I did only see a handful of people on here that got sent back, but that handful was enough to scare us.

And now that we talk about his first experience coming in at JFK, he really had NO hassle at all. It's not super convenient to go all the way to NY (a good 2 hours or so), but man, it's worth it when it comes to immigration. They were so nice and literally asked maybe two questions. Didn't even ask to see the letter my family & I had prepared about his visit. I really do think it depends on the airport (which is why I asked which one he was at).

It was the stunt that Newark pulled last year that freaked us out. I've read some other terrible experiences, too, plus just in general a lot of people there are rude! I just hate that airport in general, but they have a pretty bad rep with immigration, for sure. JFK it is!

Anyway, I digress.....

I'm assuming we'll get the NOA2 by beginning of April (we're early Oct filers!), or at best the beginning of March, but that's still too close of a call, as we wanted to plan for bachelor parties and things like that. Not to mention we'd also love to get our engagement pictures finally! I wanted him to be able to come at the beginning of March maybe and stay until my sister's wedding in April, like the 21st, which would probably be like a month and a half (like 50 days or something?). What do you think of that time? I would love for him to be able to come for Valentine's Day, but you think maybe that's pushing it (that's like 71 days)? I'd honestly take anything at this point.

When was the longest Daniel's ever stayed? Did they give him more problems for staying longer? Also, when they ask about our intentions, does he just say a friend's wedding, or like visiting fiance & her family? Obviously we want to be honest, but he'd be there for both, hahah. I'm assuming the fact that I'm his fiance will be brought up, so if they ask about the visa, do you think they'd give him a problem? (Oh, I also brought my sister's wedding invitation with me to Ecuador in case he needs to show it to them!)

Also, yes, he does still work for his uncle's business. His uncle is self-employed but does pay taxes, but most of his employees (ie: my fiance) get paid just in cash. It's harder for local Ecuadorian businesses to do the whole tax thing and everything with every employee, and it's so minimal considering the little amount of wages. So a lot of people just avoid it. But we probably will have his uncle write some kind of letter just in case!

Random sidenote, but I feel like I should like change my username on here to like "Allie and Santy" like you have for you & Daniel. I feel like I'm back on AIM days with people knowing me by a screenname (lovecometruex was my AIM screenname when I was 10 years old, LOL!)

Oh also- anyone have any idea why all of a sudden VJ is giving us SUPER earlier estimation dates? Obviously they're skewed in general, but I'm really curious as to what data on here caused the date to change all the way from April to January, especially seeing as June isn't even done yet?! Just a glitch? Where do they even get that data from? It seemed somewhat accurate when they had listed the 5-6 month mark, and now it seems all out of whack.

Sorry, guys.. I'm talking way too much. hahaha I just like being able to get a second opinion on this and from people with the same experiences. It just makes me feel better being able to talk through it all. You guys are all great! Thanks for your help!!

Without a doubt, and from experience UK immigration can be tough in certain circumstances. My first experience was a nightmare (at first I thought it was because I was a single female at the time but it also happened to a male friend of mine too and was told rather abhorrently that it was a ####### for tat type thing), and I did not go back for many years because of the impression it left on me. Subsequent visits though have gone just fine, but with grilling, provided he is right there with me, and I have a great deal of evidence. I am not employed so I cannot provide them with anything like that, but I described how I cared for my mom at home. Never go anywhere without a return ticket or insurance and a good explanation of where you are going and staying. Still believe the fact he was standing there with me is the main reason they allow me passage each time. But I will never travel to the UK without him again. It's nice if you get a friendly IO, but hideous when it's someone ready to make your life hell. Totally understand the fear. With the way things are in the UK now I absolutely wouldn't be going anywhere without him and am not willing to take the risk.

I've lost count of the times he's come to the US at the Baltimore POE. He's been grilled a few times (and a few times he's been patted down for reasons I have no clue), and now it's just like old hat. They know who he is. They always warn him about getting married on the VWP and fret over if he has any food on him, sometimes they joke around. This last time he let them know he would be immigrating next year with K1. They didn't even care. They have never asked him for any ties or employer letters or student evidence. Just ask where he's going, how long for, who I am, and where he's staying. This last time they did ask him where he worked, which got an odd response when he said. The company he works for is well-known but in this state it usually is involved in government contracts -- so I think perhaps the IO thought he was a contractor lol.. It's the going back home, where I'm sure the TSA absolutely loathe him. He refuses to get in the bodyscanner and requests a patdown. They get so angry and practically beg him to not make them do it.

We have a few friends that travel from London to JFK and then Miami at least twice a year. They have also never had any issues at JFK that I am aware of, and she has more than one stamp of visiting middle eastern countries as she owns an expanding consulting business, so you'd think she might of had some questions, but all seems fine.

Edited December 29, 2014 by yuna628

[SantyAndAllie 155]

Thank you everyone for all the kind words. I'm holding firm with our decision, and will not let them bully us.

Without a doubt, and from experience UK immigration can be tough in certain circumstances. My first experience was a nightmare (at first I thought it was because I was a single female at the time but it also happened to a male friend of mine too and was told rather abhorrently that it was a ####### for tat type thing), and I did not go back for many years because of the impression it left on me. Subsequent visits though have gone just fine, but with grilling, provided he is right there with me, and I have a great deal of evidence. I am not employed so I cannot provide them with anything like that, but I described how I cared for my mom at home. Never go anywhere without a return ticket or insurance and a good explanation of where you are going and staying. Still believe the fact he was standing there with me is the main reason they allow me passage each time. But I will never travel to the UK without him again. It's nice if you get a friendly IO, but hideous when it's someone ready to make your life hell. Totally understand the fear. With the way things are in the UK now I absolutely wouldn't be going anywhere without him and am not willing to take the risk.

I've lost count of the times he's come to the US at the Baltimore POE. He's been grilled a few times (and a few times he's been patted down for reasons I have no clue), and now it's just like old hat. They know who he is. They always warn him about getting married on the VWP and fret over if he has any food on him, sometimes they joke around. This last time he let them know he would be immigrating next year with K1. They didn't even care. They have never asked him for any ties or employer letters or student evidence. Just ask where he's going, how long for, who I am, and where he's staying. This last time they did ask him where he worked, which got an odd response when he said. The company he works for is well-known but in this state it usually is involved in government contracts -- so I think perhaps the IO thought he was a contractor lol.. It's the going back home, where I'm sure the TSA absolutely loathe him. He refuses to get in the bodyscanner and requests a patdown. They get so angry and practically beg him to not make them do it.

We have a few friends that travel from London to JFK and then Miami at least twice a year. They have also never had any issues at JFK that I am aware of, and she has more than one stamp of visiting middle eastern countries as she owns an expanding consulting business, so you'd think she might of had some questions, but all seems fine.

LOL!!! I love that he refuses the bodyscanner! He sounds like a BA! lol!!!

Thanks for the encouragement, yuna!! I definitely think the airport has so much to do with how the IO's treat immigrants. Some seem worse than others, but JFK seems like a decent one, so I think we'll be good! Well, depending on the IO, of course, hahah.

Looks like we'll probably be trying it! You guys have any suggestions on amount of time to come?

[JDWright 30]

JDWright- no questions asked ? I read your post, but it didn't look like you said they brought up the visa? Can you give like a brief overview of what it was like?

I'm just worried about our airport, too. Not many people have mentioned JFK experiences.. at least not last time I checked. Also, I want to know how many of these people had to show 'proof of ties' to their country (the pay stubs and stuff!). april & JDwright, did you have to do that? Or they just asked for the round trip ticket?

I was ready to be grilled, but as I mentioned the immigration bit was by far the easiest, dealing with AA was the worse.

I went up to the counter and he asked for my particulars, asked reason for travel, who I'll be staying with and when I'm going back. Asked what I do back home in Barbados; I answered honestly to all questions, staying in Fl. with my fiance and I'm visiting to spend the holidays. He gave me a finger wag about not work and getting married, stamped me and sent me off on my way.

[av8or1 246]

Ah, the VWP (Visa Waiver Program), ok now it makes more sense. No, that program doesn't apply to our situation. She very much needs a tourist visa to travel to the USA. It helps that Russia and America have a reciprocal agreement, which makes getting the visa easier (well somewhat easier) but she still needs the visa nonetheless. And of course I need a visa too when I travel to Russia (like now for example). The longest Elena has stayed is one month and a couple of days. However all three times she was cleared to stay up to 6 months. I filed the I-129F just as soon as the first sonogram showed that we were expecting.

I still don't know what she was asked at the POE on any of the 3 times she came to tour TEXAS. I did ask how her trip went in general and each time her reply was "beez problema" (which means without problem) so I didn't go beyond that. It was simply great to see her in TEXAS!

I would think that your fiance wouldn't have a problem visiting for your sister's wedding really, at least based on my experiences, which are only similar, admittedly.