Traveling to and from the U.S. while awaiting the K3 Visa

[cmlind]

Hello,

My fiancé is Chilean and we are planning to marry in the U.S. next month. He will come on a tourist visa. We will then apply for the K-3 visa. The plan is for him to stay in the U.S. until November (we are expecting a baby in October). At the beginning of November, he must travel to Brazil for his studies, and plans to return in January for 6 months.

My question is, once we get married in the U.S. next month and apply for the K-3 visa, will he be able to travel between the U.S. and Latin America until he actually receives the K-3 Visa in Chile? Or will they take his tourist visa away and prevent him from visiting again until he comes back with the K-3?

Thanks so much for your help,
Katie

[wavedom]

There is no simple answer to that question. It’s always up to the officer at the border if someone is let in or not. As far as I know, CBP does not have direct access to the applications that are being processed by the USCIS, so the application should not show up in their system. People have at least been in the US on the VWP while they have an application pending. I don’t know if the situation would be the same if he uses a B1/B2.

Some links with a similar issue:

http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showthread.php/42576-Travelling-to-the-US-on-B2-whilst-K1-is-pending

Since the processing times have changed over the past years, most people choose to go with the IR1/CR1 option instead of the K3. If you do that he won’t have to change status once he arrives in the US.

[cmlind]

Thanks for your help! I'll definitely have a look at these resources.
Katie