Lucas03

Anyone had experience re-entering the US with a K3 visa, which is to say that you had already been in the US with it and it's "activated" (while waiting out the AOS process).
Wondering if the process of entering the US again on it will be hassle-free (relatively speaking of course) and that the imm. inspectors will know that my wife (the K3'er) isn't required to have an advance parole document.
thanks

nat

I'll tell you when I attempt to return on 12th to US on K3 (though have not yet done AOS). Give me a shout if I don't remember.

Nat

Maggs

Hello

I entered the USA, Chicago POE on 10th July 2003 on a K3 visa. I had to return to UK earlier than planned 6 weeks later, on 31st August 2003. I returned to USA on 27th September 2003 and had no problems whatsoever, I have not adjusted status yet and so do not have advanced parole.

The only thing the immigration officers (three of them!) were a bit confused about was what date to stamp in my passport.

Hope this helps.

Maggie

cindyabs

My husband "activated" his K3 through Newark to come for our anniversary in June for a week. He went back to the UK, and reentered through Newark 26 August. Only problem was that they had stamped the K3 visa valid through June 6, 2003!!! He had to get it changed (manually with initials of officer) to June 6, 2005.
So far the only problem we encountered was with US Customs clearing his shipment of goods and personal effects last week. The Customs Officer had never seen a K3 before.

Maryanne Kehoe

    >The Customs Officer had never seen a K 3 >before.

Maryanne Kehoe

    >The Customs Officer had never seen a K3 >before.


Doesn't BCIS and Customs communicate with each other? Ken's household
effects were shipped ahead, arrived in Baltimore and the company in the
US cleared the shipment thru Customs. Turns out ALL ships (at least ones
arriving into Port of Baltimore) are being assessed a Customs fee
(depends on how many containers on the ship, with this particular
company, they spread out the fee among all clients that had stuff on a
container vessel, our charge was around $70.)

I have never heard of being charged for a Customs inspection
before----anyone else being told this? (thought this was paid thru our
taxes!)

cindyabs

We only had 5 cardboard boxes, paid 90 bucks to the company in Charleston that received them and then 87 bucks to the company in Savannah that received them from Charleston.

Squire

In article <[email protected]>,
maryanne kehoe <[email protected]> writes
    > Ken's household
    >effects were shipped ahead, arrived in Baltimore and the company in the
    >US cleared the shipment thru Customs.

    >I have never heard of being charged for a Customs inspection
    >before----anyone else being told this? (thought this was paid thru our
    >taxes!)

Lets think this through - the goods were your husbands household effects
and you thought Customs inspection fees were paid thru taxes. So, how
long has your UK husband been paying US taxes?


--
squire
Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others. (Groucho)

nat

Well, I re-entered via Detroit on my K3 visa (and my son on his K4) and was not asked one single question (first time ever). I got "hello" and he simply went and stamped my passport and put the correct expiry date of the visa on the I94 and that was it Clearly he was familiar with what a K3 visa was. For anyone's interest, I wondered whether I was to line up in "visitors" or "resident aliens" for future reference and was advised that until I have my green card I must line up in visitors.

Andy Platt

"nat" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Well, I re-entered via Detroit on my K3 visa (and my son on his K4) and
    > was not asked one single question (first time ever). I got "hello" and
    > he simply went and stamped my passport and put the correct expiry date
    > of the visa on the I94 and that was it Clearly he was familiar with
    > what a K3 visa was. For anyone's interest, I wondered whether I was to
    > line up in "visitors" or "resident aliens" for future reference and was
    > advised that until I have my green card I must line up in visitors.

FYI if you are travelling with your spouse, all US airports I've been to
will let you go through the USC line with your spouse. Since you only need
one customs form per family that almost forces this.

Andy.

--
I'm not really here - it's just your warped imagination.

jeffreyhy

Or the USC can go through the visitors line. Pick whichever lines are shortest. When things are really busy there will often be BCBP officials out 'directing traffic' in this fashion anyway.

I've been through Detroit as my POE only once (and I will never do it again - what a zoo) and many of us were re-directed from the USC lines to the Visitor lines to balance the load.

jeffreyhy

Lucas,

Be careful with this. True, your K3 wife does not need Advance Parole to re-enter the USA, because her K3 visa will let her back in.

But, once she's filed an I-485 to Adjust Status, she will need Advance Parole to leave the the USA without abandoning her application to adjust.

Andy Platt

"jeffreyhy" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Lucas,
    > Be careful with this. True, your K3 wife does not need Advance Parole
    > to re-enter the USA, because her K3 visa will let her back in.
    > But, once she's filed an I-485 to Adjust Status, she will need
    > Advance Parole to leave the the USA without abandoning her
    > application to adjust.

Not correct. K-3ers can continue to use their visa while pending AOS. This
was written into the LIFE act (for V visas too) and is briefly mentioned
here:

http://www.bcis.gov/graphics/service...ency/index.htm

You have to be a little careful with the above link. It also states this is
true for H-1B / L-1 (and their dependent visas) but they are subject to
additional requirements not mentioned on the webpage.

Andy.

--
I'm not really here - it's just your warped imagination.

jeffreyhy

Andy,

I know at least one very competent immigration attorney who disagrees, and believes that AP is necessary to preserve an applicaiton for AOS.

Given that the different BCIS offices cannot agree on whether a K3 can apply for AOS before or until the original I-130 petition is approved, I would not trust them to be in agreement on the abandonment of an application for adjustment of status.

Andy Platt

"jeffreyhy" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Andy,
    > I know at least one very competent immigration attorney who disagrees,
    > and believes that AP is necessary to preserve an applicaiton for AOS.
    > Given that the different BCIS offices cannot agree on whether a K3 can
    > apply for AOS before or until the original I-130 petition is approved, I
    > would not trust them to be in agreement on the abandonment of an
    > application for adjustment of status.

While local offices can (and do) screw up, they are not entitled to make up
or ignore law that they don't like. It's quite explicit and straightforward.
Section 245.2.a.4.2.C says:

"The travel outside of the United States by an applicant for adjustment of
status, who is not under exclusion, deportation, or removal proceeding and
who is in lawful K-3 or K-4 status shall not be deemed an abandonment of the
application if, upon returning to this country, the alien is in possession
of a valid K-3 or K-4 visa and remains eligible for K-3 or K-4 status."

(http://www.bcis.gov/lpBin/lpext.dll/...2/slb-22753/sl
b-22948?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm#slb-8cfrsec2452)

This same section details the requirements for H-1, etc. applicants which
*are* more onerous.

Andy.

--
I'm not really here - it's just your warped imagination.