Yes, you can visit!

[pooj97 89]

Hi everyone, my fiancé is coming from Toronto tomorrow to visit me for a week for my birthday. We’ve applied for the K1 and got the NOA1 on January 23rd. I’m really nervous about entry and him getting in. I know he’ll go through immigration at YYZ since they do that there. But the issue is he’s currently studying for his pharmacy license full time and doing Uber on the side while living with his parents to save money. Therefore he doesn’t have a job letter to say he’s coming back nor does he have a lease agreement. What he’s bringing (and we’re hoping will be okay) is the following:

 

-return ticket

-NOA1

-car loan forms

-car insurance forms

-bank statement showing he still has accounts in Canada

-phone bill

 

can someone please console me to tell me if this is okay to bring and if he’ll be okay with just this? I’m really nervous. Also on a side note - does anyone know if CBP can see that we have a visa petitioned for him? We’re just Curious. 

[pooj97 89]

12 hours ago, pooj97 said:

Hi everyone, my fiancé is coming from Toronto tomorrow to visit me for a week for my birthday. We’ve applied for the K1 and got the NOA1 on January 23rd. I’m really nervous about entry and him getting in. I know he’ll go through immigration at YYZ since they do that there. But the issue is he’s currently studying for his pharmacy license full time and doing Uber on the side while living with his parents to save money. Therefore he doesn’t have a job letter to say he’s coming back nor does he have a lease agreement. What he’s bringing (and we’re hoping will be okay) is the following:

 

-return ticket

-NOA1

-car loan forms

-car insurance forms

-bank statement showing he still has accounts in Canada

-phone bill

 

can someone please console me to tell me if this is okay to bring and if he’ll be okay with just this? I’m really nervous. Also on a side note - does anyone know if CBP can see that we have a visa petitioned for him? We’re just Curious. 

My fiancé just went through immigration and has boarded his plane! Yay so excited!! Since this thread helped me A LOT while I was stressing about him being let through, I thought I’d share his experience at Toronto Pearson Airport in Canada (YYZ). Note that his proof was everything I stated in the above post and he does not have a job and is living with his parents. The conversation with CBP went a little like this in the POV of my fiancé:

 

What is the purpose of your visit? 
-I’m visiting my fiancée 

Okay, and how long are you staying for?

-one week

Do you currently have a job? (Something along those lines)

-no, I resigned

Why?

-I had To study for my licensing exams (pharmacy)

How do you support yourself?

-I live with my parents

Do you plan to return to Canada?

-yes

I see you had a J1 visa, why isn’t it active? (He was previously studying abroad for one semester in the states)

-I studied in Pittsburgh in 2018 for one semester until December

Have a good day! (Stamps passport)

 

According to my fiancé, the officer was really nice and didn’t ask to see any of the evidence he brought along with him. Frankly, I thought my fiancé got asked more questions than I had assumed. They even asked about his previous inactive J1 visa so it confirms that they can probably see everything on their monitors. Hope this helps others!

Edited February 29, 2020 by pooj97

[Hannah12 3]

My fiancé and I are just at the NOA1 stage of our application (I am the beneficiary). We both live together in the UK, and yesterday we travelled from there to New York. I prepared as much evidence as I could to show the customs officer.

 

Can you believe it, last night was probably my fastest experience through customs! I was asked who I was visiting and how long I was staying. No evidence required.
 

I hope the experience is as easy as that for all other applicants! Good luck, and if you are genuine with nothing to hide, there really is nothing to worry about.

[Newhawaiki 20]

If my partner already has an ESTA and I file the I-129f does that change and/or invalidate her ESTA? 

[Boiler 43,459]

No

[KurtDarryl23 14]

8 hours ago, Newhawaiki said:

If my partner already has an ESTA and I file the I-129f does that change and/or invalidate her ESTA? 

No it doesn’t. I have a pending K1 petition currently active and I used my ESTA to enter the states last week :)

[baze92 33]

Has anyone had their beneficiary visit for 3 or 4 months? I see most people on here talk about visiting for a few weeks but have not found an example of someone staying several months. 

 

Thanks!

[KurtDarryl23 14]

1 minute ago, baze92 said:

Has anyone had their beneficiary visit for 3 or 4 months? I see most people on here talk about visiting for a few weeks but have not found an example of someone staying several months. 

 

Thanks!

It all depends on the type of visa you hold as to how long you can legally stay in the states. If you enter the US on an ESTA (Visa Waiver Program) you can only stay in the states for periods of up to 90 days (3 months) per trip. On the ESTA you can still only stay up to 180 days (6 months) in total over multiple trips in a year.

 

If you hold a B tourist visa you can stay in the states for up to 6 months per trip.

 

Again this all depends on if the officer stamps your passport for this amount of time, however, if they are going to let you in then they generally stick with the time allocation the visa type typically allows. I.e 3 months on ESTA and 6 months on B visa.

 

Its not so much the time your allowed to stay that concerns most people following the K1 process it’s the ability to even enter the states at all whilst this process is undergoing that I guess is the main worry. If they let you in you can typically stay up to the limit of the visa you enter with.

 

If your saying your staying for 3/4 months they may question as to how you can support yourself or ask for more justification as to why you want to visit for that long but if your truthful and your reasons and legally valid there shouldn’t be too much of an issue. I guess it all comes down to being able to prove strong ties to your home country if asked. I wasn’t asked on my last trip here to visit my fiancé but it doesn’t mean I won’t be asked next time.

 

I told the officer I was staying for a week but that I may extend my trip to 4 weeks if could get some more time off approved and he was fine with that. He just said don’t stay past the 90 days as I entered on an ESTA. Hope this helps somewhat

[Boiler 43,459]

VWP is 90 days or nothing.

[Jsmith2019 3]

My fiancé had his 10 year USA visa before we filed for the K1 visa so he was able to travel. He stayed with me 4-6 months at a time before his stamp ran out and then went back to his country for a month and then came back for 4-6 months over the span of a year and a half while waiting for the application to go through. Not once has he had an issue with CBP or was even asked about a pending application. he has always answered truthfully saying he was visiting me. we even went to Mexico and came back into the states. So I would say yes if your fiancé has a 10 year visa go ahead and have them stay with you as a tourist but they are not allowed to work. My fiancé green card was approved this year. 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Jsmith2019

[Crazy Cat 39,284]

5 minutes ago, Jsmith2019 said:

My fiancé had his 10 year USA visa before we filed for the K1 visa so he was able to travel. He stayed with me 6 months at a time went back to his country for two weeks and came back for 6 months over the span of a year and a half while waiting for the application to go through. Not once has he had an issue with CBP he always answered truthfully saying he was visiting me. we even went to Mexico and came back into the states. So I would say yes if your fiancé has a 10 year visa go ahead and have them stay with you as a tourist but they are not allowed to work. My fiancé green card was approved this year. 

I wouldn't guarantee that the same will happen with the OP.  A visitor visa is meant for visiting...not living in the US for 50 weeks out of a year.......

[Jsmith2019 3]

2 minutes ago, missileman said:

I wouldn't guarantee that the same will happen with the OP.  A visitor visa is meant for visiting...not living in the US for 50 weeks out of a year.......

he did visit with no issues. I’m not giving legal advice just my story. I would say just always he honest 

[Crazy Cat 39,284]

1 minute ago, Jsmith2019 said:

he did visit with no issues. I’m not giving legal advice just my story. I would say just always he honest 

I'm just saying that there have multiple cases of people being denied entry and sent home when visiting too often.....Having few or no strong ties to home country certainly enhances the chance of being denied.

[Sinead91 242]

Time to share my experience! 

 

Flying from Dublin (my port of entry is Dublin). The airline also randomly selected me for extra security checks so I was anxious enough already 😂 went through everything no problem and arrived to US Pre Clearance (no one in the queue) 

 

I honestly got asked more questions than I expected (I haven't been to the US since 2017 on a family holiday) 

 

Where are you headed? Seattle

What's the purpose of your visit? Visiting my fiance. 

How long are you staying? I told him the date I fly out, 2 weeks away. 

That's three weeks, he said. And then I went eeeeehhhhhhb it's 13 days and he apologized. 

What do you do in Ireland? I'm a Centre manager for a language school. 

What does that entail exactly? I told him the specifics. 

What does your fiance do? He's in the military 

How long has he been in the US? Since August. We met in Italy. 

Oh ok that's where you guys met. Have a safe flight. 

 

But nervewrecking but honesty is the best policy!!

[Newhawaiki 20]

Anyone not a U.S. citizen come in to the U.S. with the virus travel tensions?