Alex1248

My partner and I have been dating since the beginning of last year. I am a US citizen and she is a British citizen. Our plan is for her to visit on and ESTA visa and we will get married during the 3 months it allows. Then we will apply for a CR1 visa during the 3 months as well. She then will return to the UK and attend an appointment for a B2 visa to allow her to wait out part of the CR1 processing time in the US. We just want to be sure there is no problem with getting a B2 visa while waiting for the CR1 to process

Nutmegger

Sounds great right up to the B2 part. Sorry, she isn't going to be given a B2 to basically live with you while her spouse visa processes. However, she can still visit on the VWP during that time, being sure to carry proof that she will return to the UK after her trip.

Alex1248

Why wont she be given one? I wondered if it was ify but there are alot of places that say she can visit on a B2 visa as long as she isn't planning to stay. Which she wouldn't be

Noorah101

It's VERY difficult to get a B2 visa if one is eligible for VWP. The reason of "I just want to spend more time with my husband" is not good enough.

And if she does apply for B2 and it gets denied, that will affect VWP approval for a year or more.

Best advice is don't do it.

Rene

Pulaski

You've been given good advice already, and generally speaking the only citizens of visa waiver countries that can get a B-2 fairly easily are people who are retired. Beyond that it is, as advised above, very difficult to get a B-2 visa if you are eligible for the VWP (ESTA), and the only exceptions I have heard from time to time are when someone presents a very specific plan for an objective that can both legally be performed during a VWP visit to the US, and will take longer than 90 days to complete .... so "hiking the Appalachian Trail" would be an example.

Alex1248

okay. Thank you very much for that information. Seems impossible to find that answer by Googleing

tht

Note 1, visa waiver is up to 90 days… not 3 months, 1 day over can be an issue.

Now you have posted your intention to marry on this planned trip in advance make sure she leaves and does not file for adjustment of status because that would/could be seen as visa fraud and lead to issues down the line.

The fact she is coming to marry may also cause issues when she enters if they ask about her reason for travel.

Rete

Unfortunately, you can google from here until next Wednesday and still not find this information on an official USCIS or US Consulate website. It is a matter of experience of members here now, in the past and for some, in the future.

Rete

PS as for the advise that she might encounter problems if she tells them at the port of entry that she is planning on marrying while here, as tht noted he used the word "MAY". The same issue could be had when she says she is visiting her fiancée or boyfriend. The way around this is to bring documentation that she is going to be returning home. Apparently, she does not work as she is coming for 90 days. Does she still live at home with Mom and Dad? Is she a student? What does she have to show that she is going to leave the US and return to the UK? It might not be asked for, but better safe than sorry.

Pulaski

Some mitigation to that risk may be achieved by choosing a "good" airport to enter the US, when coming to get married.

I had previously been grilled at Podunk International when visiting, but when I arrived to get married (and then leave again to apply for a visa!) I chose a flight into a New York area airport, actually Newark, but JFK would have served as well, or IAD, or LAX, where they see thousands of people from around the world and IME don't spend too much time interrogating people at the immigration desk.

And yes, when I arrived at Newark to catch an onward flight, a week ahead of getting married, I sailed through immigration with minimal fuss or questions.

S Folinsky

I just Googled “INA 101(a)(15)(B)” and “INA 214(b)” and the answers are there.

That said, in Google and law, the trick is knowing how to frame the inquiry. And the trick is often a difficult one to truly master. I know that I’m still learning.

Take care friend.

Rete

So very true.

S Folinsky

LOL. Of course, finding the “good” airport ain’t always that easy. Also, one might hit window “A” where the inspector from Hell just had a domestic argument that morning.

Back in the 90’s Delta acquired the old PanAm Trans-Pacific routes and established a entry hub at PDX. However, PDX earned the name “De-Portland.” Former INS single-handedly destroyed Delta’s Trans-Pacific business. For several years, PDX had no international flights whatsoever (not counting Canada which had pre-flight inspection).

tht

I would probably call that avoidance not mitigation… but that’s semantics… I think I have only been sent to secondary once, it was at EWR and that was for “being in a rush” aka interrupting 2 officers conversation outside their booths over a Dunkin’ doughnuts ice coffee….

civilservant

I never had any major issues, nor any secondary visits, while coming through Atlanta.