Originally Posted by Katdog

Hi, all!

I'm happy to report that my application for an IR-1 visa has been approved and is expected for delivery tomorrow. We have booked flights to Houston (IAH) for the 2nd of November.

It appears another spanner has been thrown into the mix for me and my application:

I work as a software consultant for a business here in the UK, and one of the contracts we are currently bidding for looks like it may require me to travel to the client's Chicago office for a short period (1 week) to conduct some meetings.

Now... I've done a little bit of research and found a couple of threads that somewhat describe my situation.

• [1] Time limit taking up activating green card
• [2] Activating green card and returning to UK

From these 2 threads, I've learned that if my wife had already entered the US or was travelling with me to Chicago, I would be permitted to travel on my IR-1 visa and my LPR status would be "activated", as the time between the Chicago trip and my re-entry on the 2nd of November will be <6 months.

( @ian-mstm; and @Noorah101; )




Sadly, as it's a business trip, my wife won't be travelling with me and she won't have re-entered the US by that point.

So, unlike the second link listed above (where the issuant ignored this rule and travelled earlier than his/her spouse), I'd like to understand how I can travel to Chicago on the VWP for the business trip, and later activate permanent resident status with my wife when we travel to Houston in November.

• How should I explain this situation to CBP, as presumably, they will be able to see that I have an outstanding "unused" IR-1?
• Is there anyone/any agency I should notify prior to travelling?
• Should I leave the brown envelope at home? (assuming yes, but may be helpful if questioned re: IR-1)

Apologies if the answer to this question is "just enter as normal, no big deal"... I just really don't want to be in a situation where I'm thought to be entering on IR-1 before USC sponsor arrives (from the above links, it appears this could jeopardise a future naturalisation application).

Thank-you all again for the wealth of knowledge, very much appreciated.

Originally Posted by SteveSweet

Did this work out ok in the end?
I.e. no problem travelling on a VWP, with an unactivated IR-1 in your passport?

I hope and assume so, just curious to know.