Entering With a K1

[JaEnglishGirl 34]

Does anyone have any experience of entering with a K1, but asking the immigration officer not to 'start' it?

I know I have 4 months to use the visa once it's been issued, but what if I needed to visit before getting married?

[ready4ONE 5,400]

An expert here may have a better answer but your clock starts ticking towards 90 days to marry your fiance when you enter the USA on a K-1 visa.

Are you saying you want to visit or conduct work once in the USA, then return home? Later coming back on the K-1 visa to marry?

Not totally sure I understand your question but it sounds like you plan a trip to the USA before you want to enter on your K-1. Not sure how well that will go over with immigration as they will probably guess you are coming to marry your fiance once the visa is issued. Before the visa is issued, many have no trouble coming for visits assuming they come from the right country such as Canada or the UK for example.

[vanee 13]

I don't have experience doing this, but couldn't you simply enter the US without bringing your K-1 visa, and bring it later, when you're entering the US to become a permanent resident?

[featherB 1]

I don't have experience doing this, but couldn't you simply enter the US without bringing your K-1 visa, and bring it later, when you're entering the US to become a permanent resident?

No, she can't... the visa will be stuck into her passport, so she can't just leave it at home.

AlienUKGirl - I really don't think it's possible to do that (someone might know otherwise, though...) - but I just wanted to point out that you have 6 months, not 4, from when the visa is issued, to enter the US with it. And then 90 days after that to marry.

[Catica 0]

Does anyone have any experience of entering with a K1, but asking the immigration officer not to 'start' it?

I know I have 4 months to use the visa once it's been issued, but what if I needed to visit before getting married?

If you enter with a K1 visa there is no asking immigration not to start it. The whole point of the k1 visa is to come and get married, and when you filed for your K-1 petition you submitted 2 different letters of intent stating you would get married. You have up until 6 months once your visa is issued to leave your home country and come to the USA, once here in USA you have 90 days in which you must get married. To my knowledge they dont offer any extensions on the 90 day time frame either.

If you need to come to the USA before getting married, its probably better you do it before you send off your k1 petition on a vistors visa or VWP or if your petition is already sent off then come before you have your interview ( just make sure you under stand there could be a delay in getting your visa if you are denied entry).

[JaEnglishGirl 34]

Does anyone have any experience of entering with a K1, but asking the immigration officer not to 'start' it?

I know I have 4 months to use the visa once it's been issued, but what if I needed to visit before getting married?

If you enter with a K1 visa there is no asking immigration not to start it. The whole point of the k1 visa is to come and get married, and when you filed for your K-1 petition you submitted 2 different letters of intent stating you would get married. You have up until 6 months once your visa is issued to leave your home country and come to the USA, once here in USA you have 90 days in which you must get married. To my knowledge they dont offer any extensions on the 90 day time frame either.

If you need to come to the USA before getting married, its probably better you do it before you send off your k1 petition on a vistors visa or VWP or if your petition is already sent off then come before you have your interview ( just make sure you under stand there could be a delay in getting your visa if you are denied entry).

Yes, totally understand that...Problem is that I have 10 weeks leave, my fiance has 2....I'm pregnant so want to work right up until about 4 weeks before the baby's due and then come over and marry him and remain in the US.

We are filing through Vermont, form's going to be sent of tomorrow. So the timeline sees a May approval of the K1.

I am kind of scared about coming to see him before, due to the fact people have been turned away, even though I'd have a job letter and my son would still be here.

So what I'd have liked to do is come over and visit him, that way he could save all his leave for after the baby's born.

While we have submitted letters of intent, that doesn't obviously mean the NEXT 90 days, but 90 days after entering USING the visa.

Edited January 30, 2007 by AlienUKGirl

[vanee 13]

Yes, totally understand that...Problem is that I have 10 weeks leave, my fiance has 2....I'm pregnant so want to work right up until about 4 weeks before the baby's due and then come over and marry him and remain in the US.

We are filing through Vermont, form's going to be sent of tomorrow. So the timeline sees a May approval of the K1.

Once the I-129 is approved, can you choose an interview date a few months down the road to fit into your timing?

I'm interested in this topic because I might be in a similar situation. (No, I'm not pregnant. ) We'll be able to mail our I-129F within a few days (filing through Nebraska), and that means the interview might be in July or thereabouts. But I have to go to the US in July to attend a conference, and I'll need a month or so after the interview to get packed and ready to leave here. Based on what's in this thread, I'm thinking that if my interview isn't in June or earlier, I should postpone it to August.

This would be a good time to find out how long we have after approval of the I-129F to have that interview.

[JaEnglishGirl 34]

Yes, totally understand that...Problem is that I have 10 weeks leave, my fiance has 2....I'm pregnant so want to work right up until about 4 weeks before the baby's due and then come over and marry him and remain in the US.

We are filing through Vermont, form's going to be sent of tomorrow. So the timeline sees a May approval of the K1.

Once the I-129 is approved, can you choose an interview date a few months down the road to fit into your timing?

I'm interested in this topic because I might be in a similar situation. (No, I'm not pregnant. ) We'll be able to mail our I-129F within a few days (filing through Nebraska), and that means the interview might be in July or thereabouts. But I have to go to the US in July to attend a conference, and I'll need a month or so after the interview to get packed and ready to leave here. Based on what's in this thread, I'm thinking that if my interview isn't in June or earlier, I should postpone it to August.

This would be a good time to find out how long we have after approval of the I-129F to have that interview.

I think in your case it would be easier, you can just delay sending the documents back to the embassy

The reason why I wanted to actually have the visa itself BEFORE going is that it might be harder to convince them that I'm going back after waddling up to them 5-6 months pregnant lol...

[vanee 13]

I think in your case it would be easier, you can just delay sending the documents back to the embassy

The reason why I wanted to actually have the visa itself BEFORE going is that it might be harder to convince them that I'm going back after waddling up to them 5-6 months pregnant lol...

Yeah, I see that your problem is...bigger.

Maybe you should ask your local consulate if they'd (hypothetically at this point) be able to issue you a visa and a letter of delay or something like that. And try to get the answer in writing now to help you plan your next steps. Dunno if it can be done, but you can always ask.

Good luck!

Edited January 30, 2007 by vanee

[Yodrak 7]

AlienUKGirl,

Better to send in the application documents to get the application active and then talk with the consulate about delay in scheduling interview than to not send initial documents leaving the consulate in the dark about whether or not one intends to apply for the visa.

If the petition approval expires without the consulate having heard anything from the beneficiary they are supposed to contact the beneficiary one more time before returning the petition to the USCIS, but it would be prudent to not count on this.

Yodrak

I think in your case it would be easier, you can just delay sending the documents back to the embassy

.....

[zyggy 9]

To answer one question, once you have the visa, you must use it on your next visit... There is no can't I enter as a visitor this time and use it later... The K visa trumps VWP... In non VWP countires, a B visa would be cancelled for the K visa to be issued. You can't have two active US visas at any one time...

If you do not wish to have the visa issued until after the baby is born, you can ask the consulate to delay issuance of the visa until you wish it to be issued. It has to be issued within a certain time period of the petition approval...

Edited January 30, 2007 by zyggy

[ariana623 0]

Good luck on figuring it out and congrats on the baby!!! Your son still being in the UK should also help if you choose to visit during the visa process (before its issued) as evidence you plan on returning.

[JaEnglishGirl 34]

To answer one question, once you have the visa, you must use it on your next visit... There is no can't I enter as a visitor this time and use it later... The K visa trumps VWP... In non VWP countires, a B visa would be cancelled for the K visa to be issued. You can't have two active US visas at any one time...

If you do not wish to have the visa issued until after the baby is born, you can ask the consulate to delay issuance of the visa until you wish it to be issued. It has to be issued within a certain time period of the petition approval...

Thanks for that info.

I most definitely want the visa issued BEFORE the baby is born lol!!

Arianna, I was hoping that, but playing Devil's advocate, they might say 'well you could always have someone else bring him over' or 'maybe you're planning to leave him there'......I think probably my strongest piece of evidence is my 12 months paid maternity leave I'd forfeit by not returning to work....

[Milka 0]

If you enter with your passport and the K1 Visa is in there, they will stamp and it the time counts. So you better stay here and don't leave again, otherwise it is invalid.

Good luck.