Travelling on tourist visa whilst waiting for I-130

[Miller Family 331]

My wife lives in Colombia and we filed the I-130 in December 2024.  While returning from one of my monthly trips to Colombia, one of the CBP agents asked me why didn't I apply for a visitor visa for her for a few months instead of traveling so much.  I took that into consideration and we applied for her visitor visa.

 

She has a lot of strong ties to Colombia:  Family, our apartment, her leadership role in the church, a few businesses, contracts that are pending/in progress, and other property.

 

She had her interview in Bogota on Friday June 13th, and was denied the visitor visa.  They weren't interested in much of the documentation that she had with her, other than our marriage license and the I-130 receipt notice.  The main focus was the fact that she had an I-130 in progress and that was the reason for the denial. 
 

They essentially told her to wait for her marriage visa. 

[Boiler 47,459]

That is what we would wxpect

[RDX 4]

In the event this alleviates any concerns for those in mid-2025: I have a pending I130 and have visited the US twice so far this year (April and June) on an ESTA without any issues. Both of my trips were for around 2 weeks and the CBP officer was comfortable with my explanation and intentions.

Edited June 23 by RDX

[frange24 3]

On 6/23/2025 at 10:28 AM, RDX said:

In the event this alleviates any concerns for those in mid-2025: I have a pending I130 and have visited the US twice so far this year (April and June) on an ESTA without any issues. Both of my trips were for around 2 weeks and the CBP officer was comfortable with my explanation and intentions.

Did they question you regarding your pending I-130 and your spouse?

Did you volunteer any information regarding the above questions Q1)?

 

Thank you,

[S2N 313]

15 minutes ago, frange24 said:

Did they question you regarding your pending I-130 and your spouse?

Did you volunteer any information regarding the above questions Q1)?

 

Thank you,

Not who you asked, but my husband wasn’t asked anything about the pending I-130 when he entered at the end of April. They asked why he was here (“vacation”) and if he was staying with family (“yes”) and nothing else in the MPC line. Highly recommend it if they’re returning MPC nationals.
 

In his case it also probably helps that it’s very obvious he doesn’t speak English so they tend to give him the answers he just has to agree with them if they’re true.

[S2N 313]

Husband just entered the US via Miami. Tried to use MPC, but it was down at MIA this AM apparently.

 

Asked him reason for the trip (“to go to a wedding”, we’re going to one this weekend) and how long he was staying and sent him on his merry way with no fuss. No questions at all about the pending I-130.

 

 

Edited June 27 by S2N

[RDX 4]

On 6/24/2025 at 9:36 PM, frange24 said:

Did they question you regarding your pending I-130 and your spouse?

Did you volunteer any information regarding the above questions Q1)?

 

Thank you,

They asked:

• What is the purpose of your trip?
• How long are you staying for?
   

I answered truthfully to both and they didn't prod any further or bring up anything regarding I130.

Edited June 30 by RDX

[frange24 3]

8 minutes ago, RDX said:

They asked:

• What is the purpose of your trip?
• How long are you staying for?
   

I answered truthfully to both and they didn't prod any further or bring up anything regarding I130.

Thank you,

[Rhema1 378]

On 7/30/2020 at 10:40 PM, Jens79 said:

I, like so many others, did that when I was in the CR1-process. In total I travelled to the US to visit my girlfriend / wife 8 times during 2 years, and at least 3 of those times were during the I-130 process. No issues at all. Used the passport kiosks at JFK during most of these visits (I think I travelled through Newark which still had manual processing at the time and via pre-clearance at Toronto Pearson too). At JFK they never asked anything more than how long I was staying (about 8-9 days) and at Newark and Toronto they asked a few questions about who my wife was. Very standard questions and really nothing to worry about. 

 

Keep your visits relatively short and make sure that there are significant time between the visits and you will be fine. And even if it will suck like crazy if you would end up getting denied entry (very unlikely), it will NOT affect your visa process. 

That's it 👍

[Rhema1 378]

On 6/24/2025 at 3:55 PM, S2N said:

Not who you asked, but my husband wasn’t asked anything about the pending I-130 when he entered at the end of April. They asked why he was here (“vacation”) and if he was staying with family (“yes”) and nothing else in the MPC line. Highly recommend it if they’re returning MPC nationals.
 

In his case it also probably helps that it’s very obvious he doesn’t speak English so they tend to give him the answers he just has to agree with them if they’re true.

Great advice 💯 💯 

[Rhema1 378]

On 5/30/2024 at 10:21 AM, Cookie88 said:

For those that may benefit from this, I visited on an ESTA and there was no issue at all. I kept proof of residency/ties to home docs with me just in case. I did not need to show them. I used the MPC app which took me to a very small line with just a handful of people in front of me. All I was asked by the immigration officer was 'are you here on vacation?', and I said 'yes'. He was super nice and cheerful. He then took my fingerprints and stamped my passport, said 'have a nice trip!' and that was that. I was out super quick of the airport. Hopefully this can help anyone reading up on this! 

Thanks for this info 🙏 

[Rhema1 378]

On 3/19/2024 at 12:31 PM, Sleepy1234 said:

Yes I was  Immigration officer asked me usual questions- how long I was staying, why etc. Just be completely and truly honest.

Those are random questions they always asked.

[Rhema1 378]

On 6/23/2025 at 9:28 AM, RDX said:

In the event this alleviates any concerns for those in mid-2025: I have a pending I130 and have visited the US twice so far this year (April and June) on an ESTA without any issues. Both of my trips were for around 2 weeks and the CBP officer was comfortable with my explanation and intentions.

Thanks for your response 

[Rhema1 378]

Just to wish everyone following this thread a great Sunday and a speedy process 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏