ScarlettHill

Can anyone help alleviate my panic? I thought this was worth a new thread...

Mrs Blackross wrote in an earlier thread: "There has been a report that the POE at Detroit insists the petition has not expired at the time of entry regardless of the visa's validity."

I just checked my copy of my fiancé's approved petition. It expires in 16 days - exactly four days before I fly. Can I have a show of hands? Who thinks this is likely to be a problem? I'm landing at Newark, not Detroit, but even so...

This seems mad to me. What is the use of a visa being valid for 6 months if the approved petition - which is only good for 4 months - needs to be valid too to gain entry. Mad or not, if I need to deal with this I need to know. The cost of a trip all the way to London is all I need right now - bang go the Christmas presents if it's necessary. Is there a law I can quote if this comes up? Something that states the visa should be enough?

Thanks for reading.

Regards
-=-
Scarlett

groovy

Dear Scarlett,

I can only share with you my experience from about 2 weeks ago. I have never heard of what you say about the expired petition but I came into Newark with my K 1 and basically this is wat happened:

I lined up on the immigration line. When it was my turn, a woman asked me to give her my passport. Opened it up on the visa page. Asked me for the brown envelope. Looked at both things and grabbed an ugly plastic folder to put the passport and brown envelope inside. I asked her what to put on "country of residency" on the white form I had been filling on the plane. She said: "Write your own country because you still don´t live in the US, do you ?". I didn´t answer.
She handed the folder to me and said: "go ahead and look for an immigration official on the hall". I thanked her.
The immigration official took me to a room where other people was waiting. I sat down. At some point someone called my name. The guy looked at me, stamped my passport, stapled the I-94 and asked me: "so when are you getting married?". I told him and he said: "By the way, get this form to ask for an EAD". I took the form (annoyed) and left.

This is more or less, without much detail, what happened to me and more likely what will happen to you at Newark as far as I know.

best,
groovy

SecretGarden

Scarlett,
I replied to the other thread too---I think we have an issue of semantics here.......

You have X amount of time after the petition is APPROVED, not FILED, to get the visa in hand (four months), and then X amount of time after the visa is issued to actually GET here (six months), and then X amount of time after you get here to get married (90 days). Those dates don't run concurrently with one another, but in sequence.

What I'm saying (in a very unclear manner, btw!) is that it must be the date the petition was APPROVED, not FILED that they are looking at. If it was the filing date, no one going through Nebraska would ever have a successful outcome. I'd say that since you're going to make that cut off either way, you won't have an issue at all. ***BREATHE!***

~SecretGarden

Rete

1. You are flying into Newark, not Detroit. So that worry is nil.

2. Your I-797 is still valid. So that worry is nil.

3. This was only an issue with Detroit and not reported at any other POE and not reported as an issue within recent months.

Rete

PS Don't you have enough to worry about without finding other things? :-0 Heck packing up your household and your children would keep me so busy I doubt I would even turn on the computer. Now stop obessing Scarlett and enough the last days you have with your Mum and your family and friends.

Caro

I used to have to use Detroit as a POE, and it is notorious for being a "tough" POE. I never had any problems though and most of the times the officers were actually nice.

Caroline

katnap8

Why are you using Newark? Aren't you moving to Dallas, TX or do I have you confused with someone else.?

I'm sure you'll be ok. GOOD LUCK !!!

Scarlett

thanks groovy

Scarlett

    >2. Your I-797 is still valid. So that worry is nil.

it won't be valid when i fly. it expires on the 6th - i fly on the 11th.

but yes, ok guys, i prolly am being paranoid. thanks for all your input. i'll
try not to panic!

    )

-=-
scarlett

Scarlett

thanks secret!

Rete

And that has been the reaction of everyone except for two or so posters whose fiancees were using Detroit. They were coming in from places like the Philipphines and their I-797 had expired not the K-1 visa. Apparently someone in authority at the Detroit airport decided that the I-797 NOA still had to be valid otherwise they turned the fiancee around and sent them home. So many fiancees had to be sure that the US Consulate in that country extended the I-797 in writing so they would not have a problem since no one knew if this was going to start occurring in other airports.

R

Dennis & Bonnie French

Scarlett
I too was in a panic over expiry dates, and emailed the Montreal Consulate
about it. They answered that it was the date on the visa that mattered. I
then printed off their answer to have at hand when I crossed in Detroit in
July....but no one said a word about anything being expired.. I asked for a
temp EAD and was given the stamp on my I94.
Bonnie
"Scarlett" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > >2. Your I-797 is still valid. So that worry is nil.
    > it won't be valid when i fly. it expires on the 6th - i fly on the 11th.
    > but yes, ok guys, i prolly am being paranoid. thanks for all your input.
i'll
    > try not to panic!
    > )
    > -=-
    > scarlett

Scarlett

    >Scarlett
    >I too was in a panic over expiry dates, and emailed the Montreal Consulate
    >about it. They answered that it was the date on the visa that mattered. I
    >then printed off their answer to have at hand when I crossed in Detroit in
    >July....but no one said a word about anything being expired.. I asked for a
    >temp EAD and was given the stamp on my I94.
    >Bonnie
brilliant! thanks, bonnie. hoping for a temp ead myself - through newark. i had
submitted an offer of employment with my K1 papers so that must be in my
mysterious brown envelope but don't know whether it will help. not holding out
too much hope but a girl can try.

regards
-=-
scarlett

Rete

Rete hands wet noddle to Scarlett and bends over ;-)

Here you go girl. I read one thing and understood another.

Rete

lil_tone76

That's exactly what I am stressing over myself. I will most likely be going for my interview in Dec so assuming that is true, my visa will be valid until June. My I-797 approval notice expires in Feb which I wasn't concerned about until I read what is happening at POE in Detriot since I am not planning on moving down to the States until May.
I will be using Toronto Pearson Airport POE so I am starting to wonder if entry will pose as a problem.

Mrs_blackross

sorry scarlett! didn't mean to put you in a panic!!!!
as long as you are not going through the Detroit POE don't sweat it. the
person I posted that to didn't say (or I don't recall them saying) where
they were entering at and I was being extra careful
and I did clarify I meant the approved petition, not just filed.

if you go and read the original thread in the google archive,( search for:
Fiancee got deported at
POE due to expired petition!) it looks like an isolated incident in any
case. (possibly a POE officer with a chip on his shoulder?)


"ScarlettGarrett" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Can anyone help alleviate my panic? I thought this was worth a
    > new thread...
    > Mrs Blackross wrote in an earlier thread: "There has been a report that
    > the POE at Detroit insists the petition has not expired at the time of
    > entry regardless of the visa's validity."
    > I just checked my copy of my fiancé's approved petition. It expires in
    > 16 days - exactly four days before I fly. Can I have a show of hands?
    > Who thinks this is likely to be a problem? I'm landing at Newark, not
    > Detroit, but even so...
    > This seems mad to me. What is the use of a visa being valid for 6
    > months if the approved petition - which is only good for 4 months -
    > needs to be valid too to gain entry. Mad or not, if I need to deal with
    > this I need to know. The cost of a trip all the way to London is all I
    > need right now - bang go the Christmas presents if it's necessary. Is
    > there a law I can quote if this comes up? Something that states the
    > visa should be enough?
    > Thanks for reading.
    > Regards
    > -=-
    > Scarlett
    > --
    > ScarlettGarrett
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com