B2 Visa Questions for my Costa Rican Husband

[khans1025 6]

I have a few questions about obtaining a B2 visa for my spouse, I was told by the US embassy in costa rica that since we will already be married when he applies, the officers might give him some extra scrutiny. I then called USCIS and could not reach a real human being...

We plan on doing the following: 
We are getting married here in Costa Rica tomorrow, and in one week I will have to leave to the states for a job offer. I'd like that my husband can come to the US later this year to visit my family, and maybe spend the holidays in the US with me. We want to start the spousal visa process, but we both think it's better to come first on a tourist visa and after he has left the US, start the spousal visa process (I have heard you can do an AOS once you are here on your B2 visa but I feel like that might cause problems later)

My husband is a self-employed taxi driver in Costa Rica... what types of documents would be good to show his employment status? He has a bank account, rental payment receipts in his name, and we plan on making a joint bank account as well as create joint ownership of our car, which he uses for work. This year he started his taxi company and for hte past 5 years he was doing other odd jobs... selling coconuts etc. He also has conversations with clients, not sure if that would help establish his self employment. 

Would it also help to already make travel plans before he applies for the visa? So for instance, getting round trip tickets?

[Liam2021 551]

It really hard to apply for B1 since your husband already married to US citizen( you) because the CO will assume he will do AOS after he arrived to USA. Unless he got a strong evidence that he will come back to Costa Rice after visit you. You can try because it will not hurt anything, just a few $$$.

Good luck.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Based on what you have posted about your husband's employment, he is unlikely to get a visitor visa to the US.  For the last 5 years, he has held odd jobs including selling coconuts.  Selling coconuts is not a strong tie to Costa Rica that he is likely to return to rather than adjust status to live with his US spouse.  He just started self-employment as a taxi driver; a business he will abandoned to immigrate to the US.  Being a self-employed taxi driver is not a strong tie to Costa Rica that he is likely to return to rather than adjust status to live with his US spouse.

Having travel plans and round trip tickets does not help in getting a visitor visa.  The US Embassy explicitly warn about this.

Accept that the only way for your husband to come to the US is on a CR-1 spousal visa.  Spend your time and money working on that rather than apply for a visitor visa that will certainly be denied.  

 

Hope is a wonderful thing.  Hope that he can get a visitor visa is going to butt head with the CO who's job is to prevent people from using visitor visas to come to the US to adjust status because they can not deal with being separated and would like a short cut to be together.  Be realistic.  No CO is going to believe that your husband will return home rather than file to adjust.  This has nothing to do with your intent, it has to do with the way the CO has to look at people like you and your husband.  

Edited August 9, 2018 by Jojo92122

[Crazy Cat 39,213]

19 minutes ago, khans1025 said:

We want to start the spousal visa process, but we both think it's better to come first on a tourist visa and after he has left the US, start the spousal visa process (I have heard you can do an AOS once you are here on your B2 visa but I feel like that might cause problems later)

Why wait to start the CR-1 visa?......

1.  The odds of his getting a B2 are pretty low imo.  He has immigrant intent and possibly weak ties to his country.

2.  Even if he had a B2, he can't enter the US via a non-immigrant route with the intent to stay and adjust.  That would be visa fraud.

 

There is no benefit to waiting to file the CR-1 spousal visa, imo......this is a long process (12-14 months)......start it sooner, and it ends sooner.

 

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

4 minutes ago, missileman said:

Why wait to start the CR-1 visa?......

1.  The odds of his getting a B2 are pretty low imo.  He has immigrant intent and possibly weak ties to his country.

2.  Even if he had a B2, he can't enter the US via a non-immigrant route with the intent to stay and adjust.  That would be visa fraud.

 

There is no benefit to waiting to file the CR-1 spousal visa, imo......this is a long process (12-14 months)......start it sooner, and it ends sooner.

 

This just about sums it up!. 

@khans1025 start with the CR1 spouse visa.  B2 would be a waste of money, and more importantly, waste of time. 

[Unlockable 7,306]

Agree with the others here. Based on weak ties to his country, it will be tough for him to get a tourist visa. But he is free to apply. Always have back up plans. Best to start the spousal visa process now just so you will be that much closer for him to immigrate.

 

37 minutes ago, khans1025 said:

(I have heard you can do an AOS once you are here on your B2 visa but I feel like that might cause problems later)

This is considered fraud. And it is one of the main reasons why it is tough for people in certain countries to get tourist visas. Because previous visa holders they ended up abusing it.

 

38 minutes ago, khans1025 said:

Would it also help to already make travel plans before he applies for the visa? So for instance, getting round trip tickets?

Do NOT do this. The golden rule of immigration is to NEVER make plans like that that until a visa is physically in your hands. Having preplanned travel arrangements will not sway a CO to approve a visa. We have seen too many people lose money and miss planned events because of this.