Visiting Visa While IR1-CR1 Is Pending

[Ryan H 3,797]

2 minutes ago, Andy S said:

Is there anything I can do? I mean the stuff won't be mine, it will be mostly baby things and my wife's clothes, and with a return ticket? I don't know how else to prove that I'm not staying. 

Go separately; however, doing that won't guarantee your admission either.  The important thing you need to remember is having a US Citzen spouse AND child are more ties to the US than your home country and will essentially supersede any ties to your own country that you may have.

[Gretch 11]

People are being turned away for much less than that. Honestly I think it's crazy to try. You could find yourself banned from the US until your green card comes through. Best suggestion I can offer is to take a separate car or fly, but if your wife is giving birth to your baby, I imagine she's not up for driving the road trip... frankly I can't imagine moving with a true newborn! And even coming separately is definitely no guarantee you'll be allowed in. They don't really care about the return ticket. Anyone can buy one. You have a lot more reason to be in the US with your wife and newborn than to be in Canada.

[Koalaem 1]

9 minutes ago, Gretch said:

You could find yourself banned from the US until your green card comes through. 

I'm fairly certain that if you get a 5 year entry ban it doesn't matter that you get your green card, you're still banned. You can appeal, but it's a lengthy and expensive process.

 

If you've EVER had trouble entering the US before it's not worth the risk.

 

Best suggestion would be to let your wife go down, you get a job in Canada, then go down and visit her with a letter from your employer saying when you're required to return for work and a few pay stubs showing you're dependent on that income. 

 

Some medical appointments you can't miss, contracts for your cable, power, water, etc, could also help.

 

Again, there's definitely no guarantee and your interaction with your CBP officer will be completely arbitrary.

[Andy S 0]

2 minutes ago, Koalaem said:

I'm fairly certain that if you get a 5 year entry ban it doesn't matter that you get your green card, you're still banned. You can appeal, but it's a lengthy and expensive process.

 

If you've EVER had trouble entering the US before it's not worth the risk.

 

Best suggestion would be to let your wife go down, you get a job in Canada, then go down and visit her with a letter from your employer saying when you're required to return for work and a few pay stubs showing you're dependent on that income. 

 

Some medical appointments you can't miss, contracts for your cable, power, water, etc, could also help.

 

Again, there's definitely no guarantee and your interaction with your CBP officer will be completely arbitrary.

Why would I get a five year entry ban..? Would I be breaking a law? This thread is littered with examples of people visiting US citizen spouses. Why would I have had trouble entering the United States..? I'm a law abiding Canadian citizen professional. I get what you're saying but how could they justify banning me for 5 years?

[Ryan H 3,797]

2 minutes ago, Andy S said:

Why would I get a five year entry ban..? Would I be breaking a law? This thread is littered with examples of people visiting US citizen spouses. Why would I have had trouble entering the United States..? I'm a law abiding Canadian citizen professional. I get what you're saying but how could they justify banning me for 5 years?

 

If you were turned away, you would probably be flagged in the system and not allowed to enter until you had the appropriate visa.  You would not receive a 5 year entry ban.

[Gretch 11]

They can do anything they want. You don't have to be breaking a law, they just have to decide you're trying to illegally immigrate, which is also a thing people do. Yes, many people visit no problem, but others are turned away, and your scenario with a newborn, a uhaul, and no job is pretty extreme. For the majority of us visiting wasn't even an option, so if you feel like you're not getting much sympathy... it's because we've been through it.

[Jens79 64]

Hi there!

I thought I should share my experience from Newark airport yesterday. This was my first visit to the US as married where I've gone trough manual processing. I've visited two times after our wedding last summer, but that was using the kiosks at JFK (I love those kiosks!), and then they've just asked for how many days I was visiting for. And since all my visits have been short, like 8-10 days, I haven't got any further questions. 

Anyway, yesterday I flew into Newark and at terminal B they only have manual processing (come on, when are those kiosks coming?) so the wait was long but I finally ended up in line for a very friendly looking officer who seemed to have a great time at work, but I was eventually moved over to a different line. This officer seemed more reserved, and you could describe him as correct and polite, maybe. 

 

This is how the conversation went:
- Hi, where are you coming from today?

- Sweden

- How long are you staying?

- 11 days
- What's the reason for your travel to the US?
- I'm visiting my wife.

- Ok, is she a Swedish citizen too?

- No, she's American.

- Oh, Ok. How long have you been married?

- We married last summer, July 22nd. (I think I mentioned that we're about halfways through the visa process.) 

- Oh, and how is that working out for you?

- We go back and forth, we visit each other ever 6-8 weeks.

(Here he seemed happy with the answers and started writing notes on the customs declaration form.)

- What do work with? 

- I'm a political adviser at the Mayor's office.

- Ok, and how long are you staying?

- 11 days

- OK. Ehhmm... did you bring anything for your wife?

- No.

- OK! Place your fingers and so on, have a good day, sir.

 

This was very much like I expected. A few more questions than when I entered through Newark last summer when we were getting married, but nothing complicated. He was polite and clearly didn't want to mess with me or anything. Asking about how long I was staying twice was of course intentional, but just count the number of days and know how long you're staying and it shouldn't be too hard to answer it twice.

 

We're at the NVC phase right now. We've got the welcome letter and have paid the fees but nothing indicated that he knew anything about it. Maybe because he hardly looked at his screen, and he started with the questions before getting to the actual passport processing. 

 

I did however get a few questions from a grumpy security guard when I transferred through Brussels. You had to exchange your boarding pass at the transfer desk and got asked a few general questions. I told her the same, and she was starting to mumble about not being able to use ESTA for visits like this. But at that I time was so late to my flight, which was already boarding, that I didn't have time to argue a lot with her. I showed her the papers from USCIS and NVC and told her that it's alright to visit and basically showed her that I knew what I was talking about. That made her satisfied. 

I always have all necessary documentation with me, including a statement from my employer, but I've only shown it to anyone once, yesterday in Brussels. But being well prepared helps a lot. It makes those questions far more easy to answer and the whole situation less stressful. So prepare well, know what you're talking about and you shouldn't have too much to worry about, is my conclusion after visiting my, then girlfriend and now wife, seven times. 

Good luck with your visits everyone!

Edited March 17, 2017 by Jens79

[MDS 0]

Hi there. I just started the immigration process a month ago. I am planing to visit the US with my 4 year old boy on my ESTA.  My boy has a US passport. We live in Spain. My husband is a US citizen that works and lives in the USA. We are going to spend Eastern holidays in the US to visit my mother in law that has been a little sick lately. What should I tell the officers if I am asked? Should I bring any extra documentation?. Little worried after reading some posts in this forum. Any tips?

[KierenHby 897]

5 hours ago, Mayte said:

Hi there. I just started the immigration process a month ago. I am planing to visit the US with my 4 year old boy on my ESTA.  My boy has a US passport. We live in Spain. My husband is a US citizen that works and lives in the USA. We are going to spend Eastern holidays in the US to visit my mother in law that has been a little sick lately. What should I tell the officers if I am asked? Should I bring any extra documentation?. Little worried after reading some posts in this forum. Any tips?

What should I tell the officers if I am asked?

That you are going to spend Easter holidays in the US to visit your mother in law that has been a little sick lately.

[MDS 0]

Just a question. If the USC lives overseas with the non USC spouse and the USC filed the petition for the spouse because they are planning to move back to the US in the future, will they question the non USC spouse if she travel to the US on a VWP. Doesn't make any sense whatsoever

[KierenHby 897]

CBP routinely asks for purpose of that particular visit. Nothing unusual about an ESTA visitor with plans to return home while i130 pending. 

[Daneandkathy 53]

Hey all

I am so happy i found this thread as it was the exact question I wanted ask. I will try give the rundown

 

I am the USC 

Husband is Macedonian (Not a VW country and apparently known for people who overstay regularly)

We were married here Nov 10 '16

I-130 was accepted on Dec 16th.

We live together in Macedonia

He has been to the US before on work visas working for cruise ships (his last visa ran out last august)

He is a chef and I teach ESL online

 

We are hoping to make a trip back to Oregon in September so he can meet my parents, possibly have a small garden wedding (as we have not had one yet), and since my dad needs to make a trip we can stay with my mom (she has MS). We are thinking about 1 month. 

 

Ties to Maceodnia: We just bought health insurance here for a year, he is the main chef at a restaurant, we have a house we are in the process of building, we own a car, we live in his Mom's house and she can vouch for that (she had to do that for me to get a resident card), I have a resident card allowing me to live here for 1yr., we will have return tickets. 

 

What do you think our chances will be, any suggestions, extra information we need etc....

 

Thanks so much 

Dane and Kathy

 

 

[MDS 0]

Just got to the US and everything was great, CBO was a lovely man and no problem at all. I arrived at JFK and everything went just perfect. Coming back to my country in a week. Just be honest, answer every question truly and you will be just fine. We are not doing anything illegal so be true to yourself and you got it!. 

Good luck to you all!

 

[Gretch 11]

2 hours ago, MDS said:

Just got to the US and everything was great, CBO was a lovely man and no problem at all. I arrived at JFK and everything went just perfect. Coming back to my country in a week. Just be honest, answer every question truly and you will be just fine. We are not doing anything illegal so be true to yourself and you got it!. 

Good luck to you all!

 

Nope. I'm happy that you got in but that's incredibly naive and privileged. Many honest people who are doing everything legally have been turned away or detained for lengthy questioning. You're from Europe and just by statistics I'm guessing you're white--but even those aren't guarantees. 

 

Enjoy your visit.

 

[KierenHby 897]

22 hours ago, Daneandkathy said:

Hey all

I am so happy i found this thread as it was the exact question I wanted ask. I will try give the rundown

 

I am the USC 

Husband is Macedonian (Not a VW country and apparently known for people who overstay regularly)

We were married here Nov 10 '16

I-130 was accepted on Dec 16th.

We live together in Macedonia

He has been to the US before on work visas working for cruise ships (his last visa ran out last august)

He is a chef and I teach ESL online

 

We are hoping to make a trip back to Oregon in September so he can meet my parents, possibly have a small garden wedding (as we have not had one yet), and since my dad needs to make a trip we can stay with my mom (she has MS). We are thinking about 1 month. 

 

Ties to Maceodnia: We just bought health insurance here for a year, he is the main chef at a restaurant, we have a house we are in the process of building, we own a car, we live in his Mom's house and she can vouch for that (she had to do that for me to get a resident card), I have a resident card allowing me to live here for 1yr., we will have return tickets. 

 

What do you think our chances will be, any suggestions, extra information we need etc....

 

Thanks so much 

Dane and Kathy

Slim odds as you noted for a country with higher than average overstays. Ties aren't particularly strong, but previous visas could be helpful. Pending i130 could be a hurdle as it shows immigrant intent, a no-no for a B2. Only way to know is to apply and find out. 

I'd be careful phrasing the above as a garden\celebratory event rather than a second wedding.