Shamandvel

Hi my fiance and I are just starting the K1 visa process.

Now here's the thing.. what we would like to do is for me to go over to Pittsburgh to be with her and hopefully begin the process of finding a home etc whilst applying for the visa application. I would then fly back to blitey for the medical and interview.

What I'm wondering is if I travel on the visa waiver system stay 89 days then come back to London is there any restriction on when i could travel back to USA again?

I cant seem to find any info on how often the visa waiver can be used. Can anybody help?

doctor scrumpy

Be warned, they can be funny with you once you have the K1 filed & then seek a visa to travel to the USA. They assume because you are bothering to do it all legally, that you might decide to abscond on a VWP & get wed at some Las Vegas Church of Elvis .

Pulaski

There is none, in theory you can enter the US four times a year, so long as you leave continental North America between each visit you are eligible to visit the US for a further 90 days. And before anyone argues, I know someone who did that for two straight years, eight consecutive visits. However times have changed, post 9/11 and all that, and immigration is getting much more particular, so you have to be able to prove that you have permanent ties to your home country, which is a mite tricky if you are applying for a fiancé visa.

Shamandvel

Hmmm.....well what we were hoping was that I could travel to stay with her family and then begin the K1 process whilst I was there so as yet no application has been filed. Maybe I'm being over-optimistic but thought I could simply fly back to London for my end of the visa application (medical/interview) and that it would happen within the 3 month visa waiver period.

Has anyone done this?

I'm frantactically trying to remember how many times I've been to visit her in the last year lol ! Aint love a wonderful thing my brains gone all mushy!

I realise that I may get um.. stuck?...in London for a while if the application process takes longer than 3 months but hey hopefully it wouldnt be for too long and then live could start for real!

Anyone know how long the period between visa application and interview is for a londoner is at the moment?

Thanks for all your help guys I've learnt so much from this forum and believe me some of it just sooo entertaining. Keep up the great work.

Any ex-pats in the Pittsburgh area who'd like a chat I'll eb there soon...I hope!

g1ant

Absolutely NOT true.
I travelled to the US three times on the VWP while my visa application was being processed. No problems at all.

doctor scrumpy

As I said, yes you can travel, but you will find you get a lot of hassles trying to get in. They could in theory kick you out, and then you are faced with a 10 year ban. Unlikely, but it COULD happen.

ironporer

Like usual you are full of shit.

One can enter the US while visa applications are pending. Take plenty of proof of intent to return- letter from employer, copies of deed to home/apartment lease, car title, anything showing firm ties to your home country. Dont buy a ticket with an 89 day stay- buy it for a two week stay (looks less suspicious at entry I'm told) and then extend it to as required. It is hit and miss- you could be denied entry for any or no reason at all. If you are denied entry, you DO NOT face a 10 year ban. You can not however use the visa waiver program again if denied once. For more info on this, do a search in the US Marriage Based Visa section. Many many people have entered under the exact same circumstances.

g1ant

Total bollocks.

meauxna

In case they change their minds... http://www.viamagazine.com/weekenders/elvis01.asp

Of course by now we all know you were pig-piled for the "funny" comment above. In your defence, there is little problem attempting entry in the early days of the petition, but entering *after* IBIS and other security checks are run can delay visa issuance. Checks may need to be re-run if there has been travel post-check/pre-visa.

But to the OP: shouldn't really plan on residing in the US while you wait for the visa. (see London Consular website for details). Work your butt off and save money for your assured multiple months of unemployment when you do get here legally. You'll be glad of the cushion.

doctor scrumpy

You really are a tedious prick. That is what people working in the INS have told someone I know who wanted to travel to San Diego with that pening.

Lord above I thought they had enough wankers here already, but they made room for you porer.

Ooops slight error, I doubt you would be capable of doing that even.

scrubbedexpat099

I travelled on a K1.

Like has been said above the issue is that you show your intent to leave, which usually involves a job/property/education etc to go back to.

Your likely problem if you are contemplating a 89 dayer is that you may not have these ties to show.

Now you may walk in without hardly a query, many have but others have been put through the ringer.

As I understand it, the worst that will happen is that you will be given the option to withdraw your entry and be put on the next plane back which does not screw your K1 but does make it very unlikely you will be let in again without the K1 in your passport.

I know it seems odd that as you are going through the proper process they look on your more suspicously, but that's the way it is.

If you look on Visajourney.com you will see that this comes up about once a week in its various formats.

g1ant

All the above is true, regardless of whether or not you have applied for a fincee or spouse visa. One sniff of immigrant intent ON THAT TRIP and they will fire you back home.

But the fact is that there is nothing to stop anyone travelling to the US on the VWP if they have a visa application pending. As I said earlier, I did it three times with no probelm. The last time, I had a house in the US, a US bank account and a Texas ID card. No one batted an eyelid. But I also had a two week return ticket, a house and job in the UK, and was not travelling with my 10 year old daughter, who was still in the UK. Good enough proof of intent to return to the UK, had I been asked.

Let's not confuse the issue.
Travelling on VWP with pending visa application = no problem
Travelling on VWP with insufficient proof of intent to return home = big problem.

Having said that, the OP's plan to stay 89 days then return to the UK and come back quickly for another 89 days is dodgy to say the least and he stands a chance of being sent back to the UK. That would be a possiblity regardless of his K1 application. Multiple WVP trips ring alarms bells for immigration agents.

Rete

Anyone who believes what an employee of the USCIS (there is no INS) tells them also believes in the tooth fairy, santa claus and jumping cows.

GJB

I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS...

...but I came in the VWP and stayed... and got married... and applied for residency... and got into a lot of trouble with the Immigration Services people for doing it... and had to pay a large fine to avoid a conviction and jail time...

The bad thing is that I already knew I was going to get married when I entered, had the date booked, invites out, everything...