US Citizen married to foreigner living abroad, applying for GC, want to be together

[symbiotic744]

Hello,

I'm a US citizen, living and working in the US, married to a South American woman who is living abroad. We got married a year ago, but I have not filed an I-130 yet. My wife has a valid B2 visa. I've been told average processing time for an I-130 now is around 7 months, followed by 3-6 months for a green card, so about a year. My wife and I want to be together during this time and we were thinking of having her try to come in on a B2 visa, without intent to adjust status, which would be visa fraud. Our intent is for her to stay in the US with me on the B2 while the I-130 is pending. We can either file the I-130 before or after she enters the US.

I have a lot of uncertainty about this path and I'm looking for some opinions and wisdom. I've talked with one person in US customs and border patrol who said that this kind of situation is common and there wouldn't be a problem at the border. I've talked to another one who said she'd probably get denied at the border, so I can't seem to get a handle on how much risk this entails. My biggest fear is that a border agent marks her as an intended immigrant and revokes her B2 visa, meaning she'd have a 10-year ban on re-entry, and I'd be looking for the nearest cliff to jump off of. But even if she only gets sent back with a warning, I don't know if that would affect a GC application.

Our backup plan is for her to get a Canadian visa and for us to visit each other during the year of processing while she volunteers and takes courses, but obviously this is not ideal. I'm even considering quitting my job and consulting in South America, but this would derail our future plans in the US. This is such a bummer :-(

What's the best way for us to be together while the I-130 is processing? Are there any avenues we could take that I'm not considering?

Your advice and understanding is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[newacct]

My biggest fear is that a border agent marks her as an intended immigrant and revokes her B2 visa, meaning she'd have a 10-year ban on re-entry, and I'd be looking for the nearest cliff to jump off of. But even if she only gets sent back with a warning, I don't know if that would affect a GC application.

Getting denied entry or getting one's visa revoked doesn't trigger a ban. If they "remove" her that would trigger a 5-year ban. But they usually let people voluntarily depart instead of removing them. If she flies from Canada and goes through pre-clearance in Canada, there's no chance of removal, but I am not sure if the hassle of that is worth it for the very unlikely chance of removal.

[symbiotic744]

But how would getting denied entry affect a green card application, if at all? This is what we're worried about.

[newacct]

But how would getting denied entry affect a green card application, if at all? This is what we're worried about.

There is no direct effect.

[symbiotic744]

Thanks for your answers newacct. I appreciate it. Last followup to your answers just to be thorough. You said there's no direct effect on a GC app for being denied entry, which begs the question, is there an indirect effect? And more broadly, do you see any risk with a GC in attempting entry assuming she is not "removed"?

That's what we really want to know. In the worst case, she would be denied entry and have to disclose this on a GC app. If this doesn't matter, we'd attempt it. We want to make sure the worst case doesn't mean she'd get her GC rejected. Thanks again newacct. Your knowledge is a huge help to us.

[newacct]

Thanks for your answers newacct. I appreciate it. Last followup to your answers just to be thorough. You said there's no direct effect on a GC app for being denied entry, which begs the question, is there an indirect effect? And more broadly, do you see any risk with a GC in attempting entry assuming she is not "removed"?

That's what we really want to know. In the worst case, she would be denied entry and have to disclose this on a GC app. If this doesn't matter, we'd attempt it. We want to make sure the worst case doesn't mean she'd get her GC rejected. Thanks again newacct. Your knowledge is a huge help to us.

There should be no effects unless there is a ban. Removal can cause a ban. Fraud or misrepresentation could also cause a ban. Other than that, I can't imagine what else can happen on entry that would cause a ban.