Spouse of US Citizen Residing Abroad Visiting on B1/B2

[tjgl1010 0]

Hello all,

I'm a US citizen currently living abroad and in a week am going with my wife to spend a month over Christmas with my family in the States. She already has a B1/B2 that was granted 2 years ago and traveled to the US for a month on her current visa but before we were married (and with no mention of our relationship). Since she has been to the US twice now (once was about a decade ago) we've been hoping it wouldn't be much of an issue but I just wanted to make sure we have everything set as best as we can to make sure the whole POE dance goes off without an issue.

Potentially relevant details:

- Her last visit in the US was to visit me was prior to when we were engaged, and at no point during that process did she state anything about our relationship (without lying - she just responded "tourism" when asked about her purpose to visit), so our marriage is likely off CBP's radar

- Her B1/B2 was issued almost without an interview and without any hesitation on behalf of the consular officers

- Annoyingly, we will be arriving on separate flights going through customs in separate cities - she arrives before I do but goes through immigration in our final destination where I'll have some relative waiting and will show up 4 hours later

- She's a currently enrolled college student and also works, but doesn't own any property however her name is on the lease of our apartment - ties to home country mixed

- I'm a graduate student currently enrolled in a US university but carrying out research abroad and already have permanent residency abroad however without a job and name not on the apartment lease

- Her ticket was booked on my credit card tied to a US address

- Foreign country in reference here is in South America

- We really do have every intent on returning 4 weeks later but fully intend on applying for an immigrant visa for her a few years down the line, thus not wanting to poison the well with any half-truths

I know that nothing is certain when dealing with US immigration but is there anything we could do in the next week in terms of rounding up documentation that would make her entry smoother? Also, are there any major points that should be avoided or could be brought up when speaking to the immigrations agent to drive home the point that she has intent to return home? Should she start right off the bat that she's visiting her husband's family or let the questions take her there if necessary? She had planned on bringing her most recent pay stubs, proof of enrollment next semester at university, and the original of our marriage certificate - how to balance ties to home country and ties to US citizen who is the motive behind the visit?

Thank you for any suggestions/advice.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

Question - her passport, is it in her married name or maiden name? Assuming her visa is in her maiden name, so is her passport, traveling with a USC obviously a husband. One may ask to show strong ties that one will not 'forget' to return home.

Be prepared to show those ties

good luck

[az2014 381]

Out of curiosity, when she went last time and stated tourism as purpose of visit, what did she answer to the question, assuming it was asked, where (with whom?) is she staying? Again assuming she stayed with you. Reason I ask is I will be in her situation the first time she went so trying to get an idea of questions/answers. Thanks!

[tjgl1010 0]

She never changed her name - here you have the possibility to do so but these days it is fairly uncommon for the woman to change her name after marriage. You can only add names, not subtract, so she would be at a total of 5 names.

She gave a hotel address as where she would be staying in case they were to ask but they never did specifically ask anything about that, but she was asked "why Nashville?" and she responded "country music!" They asked her if she would be going to any other cities, perhaps a bit curious as to why she would be spending 3 weeks there, and then she listed off the other cities we planned to visit and this was fine with them. My family is in a different city, which could potentially help (I guess, in not making it obvious at first glance that she was visiting me) but as far as she told me they never asked any "who" questions, although her English is pretty rough and she knows I'm a bit more paranoid than her about immigration issues so I wouldn't rule out the possibility that she said she was "visiting friends". We weren't even engaged at the time though.

As a side note - she gets in at 5A on the first flight of the day at an airport whose next international flight isn't for a few more hours, not sure if this is to her benefit or not, but I've arrived 3 times on this specific flight and the CBP agents are always groggy and keen on moving people through without hassle. I won't be there with her either since for $$$ purposes I had to use miles for my own ticket and have a much more torturous itinerary.

Should she even bring evidence along the lines of what one needs to prove a "bonefied" marriage for immigration purposes to validate the reason for her visit, or should the focus be on ties to home country?

[canadian_wife 1,791]

They aren't focused on why she is going to the US, they'll be focused on why she must return. Bring THOSE ties, not evidence of a bonafide marriage.

Will you be traveling with her? Then the 'who' question is obvious.

good luck