Visiting US while waiting for I-130?

[welkin 16]

I'm US citizen and my husband is South Korean, we've filed I-130 in February and still waiting on approval. He plans to visit me this holiday season on ESTA, but we have a couple questions:

- is it risky if he wants to stay here for over two months? He has a teaching job so he gets a long vacation, but we're afraid a longer stay would arouse more suspicion that he wants to stay here illegally.

- would he be denied entry if he says he's visiting his wife (as opposed to a generic answer like "traveling / visiting family and friends")? Or will they see his I-130 application anyway so he should just be honest and say he's visiting me?

 

Thanks in advance!

[SteveInBostonI130 3,319]

1 hour ago, welkin25 said:

 

- would he be denied entry if he says he's visiting his wife (as opposed to a generic answer like "traveling / visiting family and friends")? Or will they see his I-130 application anyway so he should just be honest and say he's visiting me?

 

Are you asking if it is ok to be dishonest to CBP?  No. 

 

There is always a chance for denied entry.  But contemplating lying should not even be considered.  Just be honest:  He is visiting his wife for the holidays.  

 

He should have a return ticket and explain his job if asked.

[welkin 16]

1 hour ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

 

Are you asking if it is ok to be dishonest to CBP?  No. 

 

There is always a chance for denied entry.  But contemplating lying should not even be considered.  Just be honest:  He is visiting his wife for the holidays.  

 

He should have a return ticket and explain his job if asked.

thanks, what about duration? Is a 3 month stay (max allowed by esta) more likely to be denied than 1 month stay?

[millefleur 5,035]

1 hour ago, welkin25 said:

- would he be denied entry if he says he's visiting his wife (as opposed to a generic answer like "traveling / visiting family and friends")? Or will they see his I-130 application anyway so he should just be honest and say he's visiting me?

No, just saying you're visiting a spouse in the US is not going to result in automatic denial, not even if there's a pending I-130. However, if he wants to stay 2 months and is bringing a ton of luggage with him, they might assume he is moving and get suspicious. There's always a risk that he could be turned away as only US citizens are guaranteed entry. That said, plenty of people have visited their spouse with a pending I-130, such as in this pinned thread:

 

He just needs to tell the 100% truth, have a return ticket as mentioned above and don't overpack. Bringing proof of his employment back home and plans to return might also be a good idea. It never hurts to be over-prepared.

 

Lying to CBP and USCIS is a misrepresentation which can result in a permanent ban from the US. Don't ever lie during this process.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

1 hour ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

He should have a return ticket 

He must have a return ticket - it is a requirement of using esta 

 

He doesn’t need to volunteer information but he must answer questions truthfully if asked. 

[welkin 16]

Thank you all who have answered!! Sounds like him visiting will be fine but we will have to settle for a shorter visit 😭

[pushbrk 12,105]

5 hours ago, millefleur said:

. However, if he wants to stay 2 months and is bringing a ton of luggage with him, they might assume he is moving and get suspicious. 

 

Good advice but in reality, entry is granted BEFORE luggage is claimed.  Driving across a border with household goods would definitely be a problem.

Edited October 22, 2021 by pushbrk

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

52 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

 

Good advice but in reality, entry is granted BEFORE luggage is claimed.  Driving across a border with household goods would definitely be a problem.

If you watch Border Security, they are definitely aware of people flying in with a lot of luggage. I’ve seen an episode where someone was questioned because of it, and then questioned further because during the subsequent luggage search they found clothing that appeared packed for seasons beyond which the person would supposedly be staying in the US for.

[millefleur 5,035]

18 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

If you watch Border Security, they are definitely aware of people flying in with a lot of luggage. I’ve seen an episode where someone was questioned because of it, and then questioned further because during the subsequent luggage search they found clothing that appeared packed for seasons beyond which the person would supposedly be staying in the US for.

There was a denied entry thread some years ago where they looked through the luggage, phone, etc...so in some cases, it's definitely a factor:

 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

9 minutes ago, millefleur said:

There was a denied entry thread some years ago where they looked through the luggage, phone, etc...so in some cases, it's definitely a factor:

 

They definitely match luggage with entrants before you get to the actual “customs” part of CBP. I have also seen episodes where  - more for drug suspects but it proves the principle - that they have identified suspicious incoming luggage and are watching the person associated it with all the way right from debarking  the plane through to when they get to an officer. 

[pushbrk 12,105]

34 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

They definitely match luggage with entrants before you get to the actual “customs” part of CBP. I have also seen episodes where  - more for drug suspects but it proves the principle - that they have identified suspicious incoming luggage and are watching the person associated it with all the way right from debarking  the plane through to when they get to an officer. 

Entry stamps are given before luggage is matched.  Yes, the Customs area CAN deny entry even after the stamp, but it is seldom simply because of excess luggage.  People coming for 3 or 6 months visits commonly bring maximum luggage allowance of the airline and sometimes more.

[TenderHearted 39]

My wife (a Spanish national) has visited 2 times, one of those times since we started the CR-1 petition. She was pulled into secondary processing on the second visit. It wasn't a bad thing really, as they simply wanted to verify information. All of these agents were really nice to her. But one of the border agents, a woman (speaking in Spanish to my wife), told her that she must absolutely NOT overstay by one minute, so there would be no problems with this CR-1 petition. This was no problem for us, as my wife and I agreed to limit the visit to 11 weeks (entry on ETSA grants you 90 days, strictly, and not a minute more), to allow for cancelled flights and whatever else might delay her trip back to Spain. Make sure your husband DOES NOT OVERSTAY.

 

Also, have your husband bring a copy of at least your passport, your drivers license, and your marriage certificate (get this translated if it's in Korean or any other language than English, and getting it apostillized if it's not an American document is probably a good idea as well). I also have a sheet with my address clearly written on it as well as my phone number that she carries with those other documents. The more transparent he is, the more that will put the border agents at ease. They have a hard job, so do what you can to make it easy.

Edited October 23, 2021 by TenderHearted

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

Entry stamps are given before luggage is matched.  Yes, the Customs area CAN deny entry even after the stamp, but it is seldom simply because of excess luggage.  People coming for 3 or 6 months visits commonly bring maximum luggage allowance of the airline and sometimes more.

I think you misunderstood my point. They - immigration, before she reached customs - picked up that the woman coming in was planning to overstay by the amount of luggage she brought in, and what was in it. There may or may not have been other reasons for suspicion, I don’t recall, but that was one at least, and they retrieved and searched the luggage before she cleared immigration. 

 

What you are saying - that they only match luggage later and have not connected it with the person applying for entry  - contradicts what the filming of actual operations indicates. 

Edited October 23, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[millefleur 5,035]

The thing is, if you get pulled into secondary they could very well ask to go through your luggage and scrutinize that. My advice was just don't overpack because there's always a risk of being pulled into secondary and having a pending IV visa petition just ups the ante on what your intentions are. Obviously the odds of it happening are low, but I assume if you're taken to secondary they will then ask you to pick out your bags or pre-collect your bags and then go through them.

 

Found an old post from one of our mods, which seems to confirm:

Again, odds of it happening are super low, but some people tend to overpack and bring everything but the kitchen sink with them when traveling, just out of habit. For tourists with no relatives in the US and clear sightseeing plans, sure, not suspicious. For a visitor who has a pending immigration case, overly packed bags could raise an eyebrow, like in the case @SusieQQQ mentioned of someone bringing in clothing for another season. Just some food for thought. I do think the odds of actually getting pulled into secondary are low, but there's always the risk.

[SalishSea 16,770]

My husband brought over a full-sized suitcase filled with Calvin & Hobbes books during one of his pre-immigration trips on his B visa.  😅