First US entry without USC spouse

[travelereaux 2]

My foreign spouse was recently approved for permanent residence and has a visa in her passport from the Embassy. They told her she has approx 6 months to enter the United States. Will she be denied entry if she flies to the US without me?

 

I am stationed in Europe for work (contractor, not military employee) and we have a 3 month old baby , with no one we trust the baby with for 36 hours for us to fly to the US and back. And my job does not end for 8 months so we can't immediately move back to the US together. The goal is just to activate her visa and get the PR card. Can we accomplish that by simply having her fly to the US alone, the turn around and fly back here the next day?

 

The only addresses I listed with USCIS, NVC, and the Embassy are my permanent address in the US and my parents address there (for receiving mail). Legally, I believe I am domiciled and resident In the US and not "living overseas" in the sense of having changed my domicile because this is a temporary overseas assignment.

[Crazy Cat 39,597]

4 minutes ago, travelereaux said:

Can we accomplish that by simply having her fly to the US alone, the turn around and fly back here the next day?

Only if you accompany her.  

[OldUser 5,065]

I think you're asking for trouble. Either you have to be in the US or travel with her and enter first.

[SalishSea 16,862]

7 minutes ago, travelereaux said:

My foreign spouse was recently approved for permanent residence and has a visa in her passport from the Embassy. They told her she has approx 6 months to enter the United States. Will she be denied entry if she flies to the US without me?

 

I am stationed in Europe for work (contractor, not military employee) and we have a 3 month old baby , with no one we trust the baby with for 36 hours for us to fly to the US and back. And my job does not end for 8 months so we can't immediately move back to the US together. The goal is just to activate her visa and get the PR card. Can we accomplish that by simply having her fly to the US alone, the turn around and fly back here the next day?

 

The only addresses I listed with USCIS, NVC, and the Embassy are my permanent address in the US and my parents address there (for receiving mail). Legally, I believe I am domiciled and resident In the US and not "living overseas" in the sense of having changed my domicile because this is a temporary overseas assignment.

Nope.   She can only enter the U.S. on her immigrant visa if you are already in the U.S., or are accompanying her.

[pushbrk 12,230]

2 hours ago, SalishSea said:

Nope.   She can only enter the U.S. on her immigrant visa if you are already in the U.S., or are accompanying her.

Correct answer.  The solution may be to bring the baby instead of leaving it behind in somebody's care.

 

The best solution that is NO LONGER AVAILABLE was to prepare for this issue, by delaying the interview and visa.

 

Edited January 21 by pushbrk

[Rocio0010 5,572]

3 hours ago, travelereaux said:

Will she be denied entry if she flies to the US without me?

Yep

 

3 hours ago, travelereaux said:

Can we accomplish that by simply having her fly to the US alone, the turn around and fly back here the next day?

Nope

 

I have the feeling that this should have been planned better... But that's water under the bridge.

Fly together as a family, then go back to Europe.

[Pleasework89 46]

Sadly your options seem limited. If possible I would suggest you fly with them just to activate it and then return to finish packing and getting everything ready for the move together. I have heard of couples doing it. The immigrant visa is meant for a foreign spouse to join their US citizen spouse. Also, check with the US consulate or embassy about the steps for reissuance. I looked it up a little and it is almost like starting from scratch. Your spouse would have to redo the physical and if the ds-260 is over a year old you have to pay it again. The Civil documents might also not be valid so you might need to get a new police certificate, set up an appointment again etc. Just email the consulate/embassy and check flights to see what options you have. Your spouse going to the US without you could be risky if you are not there with her because of the purpose of the visa. Sorry! Good luck!

[Timona 3,969]

Babies under 2 fly free, if IIRC..So, problem solved. 

[mam521 1,780]

How'd you guys establish domicile if you're not living in the US?  

 

Take the baby and fly to the US.  Take a couple of days off and spend some time here.  Then go back to Europe.  As pushbrk said, you missed the boat for where you could have delayed your case.  

 

Also keep in mind that the clock starts ticking when that PR is activated, so the expectation is that your wife will reside in the US.  You don't want to be outside of the US for too long or it will raise flags with CBP and USCIS.  Check her visa in her passport.  The 6 months is typically from the date of her medical.  Push out her entry until closer to the visa's expiration (not too close - that has bit people in the past), enter the US together and then head back to Europe.  Delaying even 2 months, if you have 8 months left on your contract, keeps her out of the US only 6mo and that looks less sketchy.  

[appleblossom 1,437]

19 hours ago, travelereaux said:

They told her she has approx 6 months to enter the United States.

 

Just to be clear, she doesn't have 'approx 6 months', she will have a very specific date that she has to enter by, and that will be on her visa. Make sure she enters at least a few days before that deadline. 

 

Good luck. 

[travelereaux 2]

23 minutes ago, mam521 said:

How'd you guys establish domicile if you're not living in the US?  

 

Take the baby and fly to the US.  Take a couple of days off and spend some time here.  Then go back to Europe.  As pushbrk said, you missed the boat for where you could have delayed your case.  

 

Also keep in mind that the clock starts ticking when that PR is activated, so the expectation is that your wife will reside in the US.  You don't want to be outside of the US for too long or it will raise flags with CBP and USCIS.  Check her visa in her passport.  The 6 months is typically from the date of her medical.  Push out her entry until closer to the visa's expiration (not too close - that has bit people in the past), enter the US together and then head back to Europe.  Delaying even 2 months, if you have 8 months left on your contract, keeps her out of the US only 6mo and that looks less sketchy.  

 

Domicile is a complex determination that probably requires at least some formal legal education to understand. But there are a few overriding principles including that a person can only have one domicile at any given time. And where you are currently physically located or living has little to no bearing on where your domicile is.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/domicile

 

 

Great point about the 8 months remaining on my contract (which brought me temporarily overseas). I read up on the 6 months rule and it sounds like a lot of suspicion and hassle is reduced if she avoids being outside the US beyond that length of time.

 

 

[mam521 1,780]

5 minutes ago, travelereaux said:

 

Domicile is a complex determination that probably requires at least some formal legal education to understand. But there are a few overriding principles including that a person can only have one domicile at any given time. And where you are currently physically located or living has little to no bearing on where your domicile is.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/domicile

 

 

Great point about the 8 months remaining on my contract (which brought me temporarily overseas). I read up on the 6 months rule and it sounds like a lot of suspicion and hassle is reduced if she avoids being outside the US beyond that length of time.

 

 

I'm well aware that domicile is a complicated situation, but it's still a valid question to ask.  I come from a country where the consulate is EXTREMELY strict about proof of domicile, hence my asking. 

 

If you can squeak it in that she meets substantial presence for this year, it will look even cleaner.  She can also begin accruing her time towards petitioning for citizenship, should that be in the future cards.  

[Crazy Cat 39,597]

1 hour ago, travelereaux said:

And where you are currently physically located or living has little to no bearing on where your domicile is.

That is a broad statement. It can be pretty important for US immigration. 

Edited January 22 by Crazy Cat

[pushbrk 12,230]

7 hours ago, travelereaux said:

 

Domicile is a complex determination that probably requires at least some formal legal education to understand. But there are a few overriding principles including that a person can only have one domicile at any given time. And where you are currently physically located or living has little to no bearing on where your domicile is.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/domicile

 

 

Great point about the 8 months remaining on my contract (which brought me temporarily overseas). I read up on the 6 months rule and it sounds like a lot of suspicion and hassle is reduced if she avoids being outside the US beyond that length of time.

 

 

Also, she has the visa, so domicile, at this point, is a moot point.

[travelereaux 2]

So to update on what happened, both the Embassy and USCIS said her entering alone would not be a problem. And when she entered that turned out to be true-- it was not a problem.

 

She even discussed the fact that I was staying behind with the officer who processed her because he asked where I was and where our baby was. She answered honestly that we were staying in Europe.

 

I suppose there will be responses claiming this is some massively unlikely exception.... however exactly two weeks later my friend's wife did the exact same thing. Again no issues or problems. 

 

Both did quick turnaround flights where the return flight was ~24 hours after arrival in the US.