Yes, you can visit!

[YamenWaad 45]

you guys can go to the states so easily .. but for the Syrians it will be something impossible

[wbeem 567]

you guys can go to the states so easily .. but for the Syrians it will be something impossible

I hope your petition is processed quickly for you. It really is so hard to be apart.

[L&Z 0]

Hello all!

I would like to share our story. My fiance first visited in March to June of this year. We had originally planned to wait until the visa process was over to schedule another visit because tickets from New Zealand to Philadelphia are not cheap, however we really wanted to spend the holidays together. We found a way to make it work and booked a ticket from NZ to PHL October-January.

The morning of his arrival, I received a phone call from customs and border patrol and was asked if I was expecting anyone. I replied, "yes, my fiance - is everything okay?" At this point my heart dropped into my stomach. They asked about 20 questions ranging from my job, to what activities we had planned, and wanted him to verify the information. I received another phone call an hour later and was told, "things are not looking good." At this point I was convinced that he was on a flight home. I had no way of speaking to him, or knew if he was okay. Long story short - I asked if there was anything I could do to help and once I faxed over proof that I was steadily employed and could support my fiance on his trip they let him into the country.

I work full time, so it's nearly impossible for me to travel there. My fiance is in a band and has way more flexibility with travel. We were prepared for him to potentially get asked more questions at POE (San Francisco) but we did NOT expect for him to get detained in customs for 3 hours, miss his connecting flight, get re-booked on the next flight with a layover in Denver, only for the flight in Denver to be canceled! Luckily he was able to re-book for the same day, but his total travel time was 40 hours door to door.

I was told by the customs officer that he would not be allowed back into the country until the visa is approved.

[Pheebs1201 269]

Hello all!

I would like to share our story. My fiance first visited in March to June of this year. We had originally planned to wait until the visa process was over to schedule another visit because tickets from New Zealand to Philadelphia are not cheap, however we really wanted to spend the holidays together. We found a way to make it work and booked a ticket from NZ to PHL October-January.

The morning of his arrival, I received a phone call from customs and border patrol and was asked if I was expecting anyone. I replied, "yes, my fiance - is everything okay?" At this point my heart dropped into my stomach. They asked about 20 questions ranging from my job, to what activities we had planned, and wanted him to verify the information. I received another phone call an hour later and was told, "things are not looking good." At this point I was convinced that he was on a flight home. I had no way of speaking to him, or knew if he was okay. Long story short - I asked if there was anything I could do to help and once I faxed over proof that I was steadily employed and could support my fiance on his trip they let him into the country.

I work full time, so it's nearly impossible for me to travel there. My fiance is in a band and has way more flexibility with travel. We were prepared for him to potentially get asked more questions at POE (San Francisco) but we did NOT expect for him to get detained in customs for 3 hours, miss his connecting flight, get re-booked on the next flight with a layover in Denver, only for the flight in Denver to be canceled! Luckily he was able to re-book for the same day, but his total travel time was 40 hours door to door.

I was told by the customs officer that he would not be allowed back into the country until the visa is approved.

How stressful!!! Perhaps it was because he was due to stay for such a long period of time? Glad it all got sorted in the end!

[wbeem 567]

yoursinhorror, that must have been the longest few hours of your lives!

I think it often comes down to who you get at immigration. Did they ask him for any proof of ties to New Zealand?

It's probably a good idea for those of us visiting to make sure our fiance(e) has his or her phone accessible to take calls for the few hours after ETA at the POE.

[JamesRenee 47]

I just wanted to share my fiancés experience coming into the States to visit me because if youre like me, youre

looking for stories of successful entries to calm your nerves. First let me start by saying that my fiancé is from

England, so he is able to use the VWP. However, there were people who told me that he would be given a very hard

time and probably turned away. To say that I have been a nervous wreck for the past month would be an

understatement. I want to be as thorough as possible for those of you who are thinking about having your fiancés

visit so that perhaps it can alleviate some of your stress. First, these are the documents he had with himthis is

the actual list I sent with him & had him put everything in order in a folder so if he needed to pull paperwork he

knew where to find it exactly:

Things to bring with you:

1. I-129F application

2. NOA1 email receipt from USCIS

3. Change of alien registration number email from USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)

4. Complete Travel Insurance document

5. Complete Flight Itinerary (showing proof of return ticket purchase)

6. Employment letter signed (work verification)

7. Letter from me (stating that I would be responsible for any emergency financial issues & also explaining that we have 100% intentions of going about the process legally)

8. Bank statement showing proof of funds/ make sure they know how much you have in American Dollars

9. Paystub from work to show you work there and get paid

I was told that even with all of this paper work, there was still a good chance that he would be turned away.

I also gave my fiancé a list of possible questions that he would be asked, along with answers to the questions. I

compiled this list from other VJ posts about questions at the POE as well as some that I thought might be asked. I

gave this to him about a week prior to his departure so that he could study it & it did make him feel more at ease. Here is the list of questions I gave him and I left our answers to questions when applicable:

Possible Questions & Responses:

Q. Why are you visiting the United States?

A. To visit my fiancé and her family for the holidays

Q. How long are you staying?

A. Until January 27th, 85 days

Q. When are you two planning on being married?

A. At this time we cannot make any plans until weve received our approved fiancé visa

Q. When were you two engaged?

Q. How long have you and your fiancé known each other?

Q. Where does your fiancé work/ what does she do?

Q. Her address and phone number/ date of birth

Q. Why are you staying in the U.S. so long?

A. We would like to spend as much time together on this visit as it will be the last time we see each other before the fiancé visa is issued. (** If they keep pressing why you are staying so long: According to the USICS timelines, our petition will take between 6-7 months to be processed and since we are able to use the VWP to visit, we would like to spend some time together during that process as weve already been apart for 3 months.)

Q. You were just here for 3 months over the summer- why are you coming back for so long again?

A. I came to visit friends on my last trip; I met my fiancé while I was here. This trip is to be with her and her family over the holidays as well as to meet her extended family. This is only my second time visiting the United States.

Q. Are you going to get married while youre here?

A. No.

Q. What do you do for a living?

Q. What job do you have that allows you to take 3 months off from work?

A. I work for an establishment that allows me to take extended holiday leave, which I am very fortunate to have. My employer knows my reason for my visit and was kind enough to give me this time off from work with the

understanding that I will be returning to work on Friday, January 30, 2015.

Q. So are you moving here?

A. Yes, if our fiancé visa is approved

And here is how his experience went. We had chosen for him to fly into Detroit as his POE. I had read both good andbad reviews of Detroit, so I was nervous. I also knew that a lot of it depended on the officers working that day.

The one POE we stayed away from was Philadelphia, only because on his first trip here he had been grilled for over 2 hours and had a bad experience- but again, that was his experience in Philly and I know its different for everyone. When he approached the first officer in Detroit, he had a feeling it was going to be tough because the officer did

not seem to be in a good mood & had given the person in front of him a hard time as well. Here is how the exchange

went:

Officer: Why are you here?

Fiancé: To spend the holidays with my fiancé and her family

Officer: How long are you here for?

Fiancé: Until January 27th, 85 days

Officer: Oh you think so do you? Well see about that

Officer: Are you a homeowner then? (he asked him this 5 different times, and each time my fiancé responded the same)

Fiancé: No, I live with my parents in England

Officer: Well this isnt looking good for you is it?

At this point the officer told him to go stand over there and kept his passport. Right then another officer came

up to my fiancé and said, Ill take it from here, follow me- hes just having a bad day. So my fiancé was brought back to secondary for more questioning, which we were expecting so it was ok. This officer was 100% different from

the first officer. He was kind, and very knowledgeable about the fiancé visa. He asked most of the questions that Ihave written above- so it was good that we had written those out. My fiancé said that he could tell the officer was asking him questions to see if he really knew the process of the fiancé visa, and the officer seemed pleased that my fiancé was able to answer those questions. He asked him about our relationship, about filing for the fiancé visaat one point my fiancé said that our petition had unfortunately been sent to Texas and the officer seemed sympathetic

and said that he understands what a long wait that is. The only other thing the officer made a point to discuss was the state of my fiancés passport. It is a little worn, so the officer very kindly said to him that he should get a

new passport before going for his interview in London, which we had already planned on. Basically, as most people onVJ have said, my fiancé was honest and up front about all questions askedthe officer did ask a few questions more

than once but I think he wanted to make sure my fiancé was being completely honest. The officer then stamped his

passport for February 1st (5 days after his return date) and said he wanted to make sure in case there was a weather related delay, that my fiancé was able to return in the 90 days so that our visa wouldnt be jeopardized. So all in all, although it began rough, my fiancé said that the other officers were very nice and respectful and he was so

relieved that they obviously knew about the fiancé visa process. Also, even though the first officer was outwardly

rude, my fiancé did not react. He remained calm and did not give any attitude back.

In conclusion, I have to say that I am 100% happy that we decided to risk this visit. Seeing my fiancé after

almost 3 months and getting to hold him in my arms again was worth the stress leading up to that point- at least for me personally. I wanted to give people an accurate and detailed account of our experience, because I can absolutely relate to the stress involved in planning a visit during the visa process. Did we encounter a minor bump? Yes. ButI now am able to spend the next 85 days with the love of my life and I would go through it again in a heartbeat.

Also, if anyone would like a sample of the letter I wrote for my fiancé to take with him, message me and I would be

happy to send it. Thank you to all of you who wrote about your previous experiences because it allowed us to be as

prepared as we could be. That along with a lot of prayer allowed for my fiancé and I to be reunited and for that I

am so truly grateful.

[Pheebs1201 269]

I just wanted to share my fiancés experience coming into the States to visit me because if youre like me, youre

looking for stories of successful entries to calm your nerves. First let me start by saying that my fiancé is from

England, so he is able to use the VWP. However, there were people who told me that he would be given a very hard

time and probably turned away. To say that I have been a nervous wreck for the past month would be an

understatement. I want to be as thorough as possible for those of you who are thinking about having your fiancés

visit so that perhaps it can alleviate some of your stress. First, these are the documents he had with himthis is

the actual list I sent with him & had him put everything in order in a folder so if he needed to pull paperwork he

knew where to find it exactly:

Things to bring with you:

1. I-129F application

2. NOA1 email receipt from USCIS

3. Change of alien registration number email from USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)

4. Complete Travel Insurance document

5. Complete Flight Itinerary (showing proof of return ticket purchase)

6. Employment letter signed (work verification)

7. Letter from me (stating that I would be responsible for any emergency financial issues & also explaining that we have 100% intentions of going about the process legally)

8. Bank statement showing proof of funds/ make sure they know how much you have in American Dollars

9. Paystub from work to show you work there and get paid

I was told that even with all of this paper work, there was still a good chance that he would be turned away.

I also gave my fiancé a list of possible questions that he would be asked, along with answers to the questions. I

compiled this list from other VJ posts about questions at the POE as well as some that I thought might be asked. I

gave this to him about a week prior to his departure so that he could study it & it did make him feel more at ease. Here is the list of questions I gave him and I left our answers to questions when applicable:

Possible Questions & Responses:

Q. Why are you visiting the United States?

A. To visit my fiancé and her family for the holidays

Q. How long are you staying?

A. Until January 27th, 85 days

Q. When are you two planning on being married?

A. At this time we cannot make any plans until weve received our approved fiancé visa

Q. When were you two engaged?

Q. How long have you and your fiancé known each other?

Q. Where does your fiancé work/ what does she do?

Q. Her address and phone number/ date of birth

Q. Why are you staying in the U.S. so long?

A. We would like to spend as much time together on this visit as it will be the last time we see each other before the fiancé visa is issued. (** If they keep pressing why you are staying so long: According to the USICS timelines, our petition will take between 6-7 months to be processed and since we are able to use the VWP to visit, we would like to spend some time together during that process as weve already been apart for 3 months.)

Q. You were just here for 3 months over the summer- why are you coming back for so long again?

A. I came to visit friends on my last trip; I met my fiancé while I was here. This trip is to be with her and her family over the holidays as well as to meet her extended family. This is only my second time visiting the United States.

Q. Are you going to get married while youre here?

A. No.

Q. What do you do for a living?

Q. What job do you have that allows you to take 3 months off from work?

A. I work for an establishment that allows me to take extended holiday leave, which I am very fortunate to have. My employer knows my reason for my visit and was kind enough to give me this time off from work with the

understanding that I will be returning to work on Friday, January 30, 2015.

Q. So are you moving here?

A. Yes, if our fiancé visa is approved

And here is how his experience went. We had chosen for him to fly into Detroit as his POE. I had read both good andbad reviews of Detroit, so I was nervous. I also knew that a lot of it depended on the officers working that day.

The one POE we stayed away from was Philadelphia, only because on his first trip here he had been grilled for over 2 hours and had a bad experience- but again, that was his experience in Philly and I know its different for everyone. When he approached the first officer in Detroit, he had a feeling it was going to be tough because the officer did

not seem to be in a good mood & had given the person in front of him a hard time as well. Here is how the exchange

went:

Officer: Why are you here?

Fiancé: To spend the holidays with my fiancé and her family

Officer: How long are you here for?

Fiancé: Until January 27th, 85 days

Officer: Oh you think so do you? Well see about that

Officer: Are you a homeowner then? (he asked him this 5 different times, and each time my fiancé responded the same)

Fiancé: No, I live with my parents in England

Officer: Well this isnt looking good for you is it?

At this point the officer told him to go stand over there and kept his passport. Right then another officer came

up to my fiancé and said, Ill take it from here, follow me- hes just having a bad day. So my fiancé was brought back to secondary for more questioning, which we were expecting so it was ok. This officer was 100% different from

the first officer. He was kind, and very knowledgeable about the fiancé visa. He asked most of the questions that Ihave written above- so it was good that we had written those out. My fiancé said that he could tell the officer was asking him questions to see if he really knew the process of the fiancé visa, and the officer seemed pleased that my fiancé was able to answer those questions. He asked him about our relationship, about filing for the fiancé visaat one point my fiancé said that our petition had unfortunately been sent to Texas and the officer seemed sympathetic

and said that he understands what a long wait that is. The only other thing the officer made a point to discuss was the state of my fiancés passport. It is a little worn, so the officer very kindly said to him that he should get a

new passport before going for his interview in London, which we had already planned on. Basically, as most people onVJ have said, my fiancé was honest and up front about all questions askedthe officer did ask a few questions more

than once but I think he wanted to make sure my fiancé was being completely honest. The officer then stamped his

passport for February 1st (5 days after his return date) and said he wanted to make sure in case there was a weather related delay, that my fiancé was able to return in the 90 days so that our visa wouldnt be jeopardized. So all in all, although it began rough, my fiancé said that the other officers were very nice and respectful and he was so

relieved that they obviously knew about the fiancé visa process. Also, even though the first officer was outwardly

rude, my fiancé did not react. He remained calm and did not give any attitude back.

In conclusion, I have to say that I am 100% happy that we decided to risk this visit. Seeing my fiancé after

almost 3 months and getting to hold him in my arms again was worth the stress leading up to that point- at least for me personally. I wanted to give people an accurate and detailed account of our experience, because I can absolutely relate to the stress involved in planning a visit during the visa process. Did we encounter a minor bump? Yes. ButI now am able to spend the next 85 days with the love of my life and I would go through it again in a heartbeat.

Also, if anyone would like a sample of the letter I wrote for my fiancé to take with him, message me and I would be

happy to send it. Thank you to all of you who wrote about your previous experiences because it allowed us to be as

prepared as we could be. That along with a lot of prayer allowed for my fiancé and I to be reunited and for that I

am so truly grateful.

Thank you for this! I will be visiting twice in the next few months (from England) so this was very helpful.

[YamenWaad 45]

imagine this scenario guys

I'm a Syrian refugee in Turkey

I have nothing here, no bank account, no house, no Job

all I have is to get the approval

so do you think they will give me a tourist visa to visit my fiancee in the states

[Operator 1,925]

imagine this scenario guys

I'm a Syrian refugee in Turkey

I have nothing here, no bank account, no house, no Job

all I have is to get the approval

so do you think they will give me a tourist visa to visit my fiancee in the states

It's a difficult situation for sure. There is only one way to find the answer to your question; apply. What people here think the outcome will be is not important.

Wish you the best of luck.

[LM&DLA 0]

JamesRenee, that was so helpful! Thanks so much!

Anyone tried to enter in Portland Oregon??? My love comes in 18 days!!!

[Pheebs1201 269]

JamesRenee, that was so helpful! Thanks so much!

Anyone tried to enter in Portland Oregon??? My love comes in 18 days!!!

I visited my boyfriend last March with POE being Portland, OR (however this was prior to our K1 application). It was just a few simple questions, how did you meet, how long are you staying for and then I was sent on my way. Fingers crossed it will be fine

[SanMar 0]

Hello Everyone,

Here's our experience on visiting. We filed our initial petition on July 3rd, received our NOA1 on July 7th, and got our NOA2 on November 7th.

We made travel arrangements for my fiancee to travel to the U.S. from November 15th to November 28th.

Her POE was Miami and it took her at most 30 seconds to clear immigration after waiting about an hour to see an agent, which is normal.

She got asked the following questions:

-Where are you from?

-How long are you planning on staying?

-What is the reason of your visit?

-Does your fiance live here (Miami)?

-How did you meet him?

When answering, all you have to do is to be clear and honest.

Also, she carried with her, just in case, the following:

-Letter from her employer validating her employment and stating the dates she was taking for her vacation

-Bank account statements (showing her current residence's address)

-Return ticket (full itinerary)

-Last salary payment check

-Copy of the full K-1 file

So there you go, she was able to visit me in the U.S. even after receiving our NOA2.

Best of luck to all of you who wish to visit their loved one during the process!

[wbeem 567]

Thank you for your review, SanMar.

Heading out to spend Christmas with my fiance next month. My POE was originally Houston, but we've been re-routed via EWR so that will be our POE. I will post a review once I've been through. These personal accounts are very helpful to get an overview of experiences from others in similar situations.

[sandra3711 52]

A little worried over my arrival in the states on tuesday.. I was just there over halloween for 9 days, and will only be staying for 5 days over thanksgiving. Anyone have any experience from POE at Detroit? I made sure I picked a 4hr layover just in case I run into problems.

[Pheebs1201 269]

A little worried over my arrival in the states on tuesday.. I was just there over halloween for 9 days, and will only be staying for 5 days over thanksgiving. Anyone have any experience from POE at Detroit? I made sure I picked a 4hr layover just in case I run into problems.

I think as it's such a short visit you should be fine, much longer frequent visits would be more likely to raise questions. Try not to worry and good luck!