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International travel after submitting DS-230 to KCC

C

Concerned_

Registered Users (C)
Somebody has brought to my attention that it is not advisable to travel out of US after sending all paperwork to KCC. I have a valid F1 visa and I need to attend different seminars related to my PhD research in Europe, Canada, and other places. Is it really truth? Has anyone been in the same situation or heard of anyone having problems upon return to the US? I can't afford being stuck here until my consular interview which most likely will be at the beginning of summer. I have a tough schedule and deadlines to meet.
 
Hi, you should put your case number and timeline in your signature so it would be easier to help you. As far as i know, i don't think this is any kind of a rule. if you read this somewhere it is probably because all the travel you're planning to do will cause the CO extra work in determining the purpose of your travel. however, i don't see travel to Canada and Europe being a big deal. just to be on the safe side make sure you save all documentation i.e. plane tickets, anything related to the seminars that shows CO what you were traveling for etc.. it probably won't come up but at least you'll have proof...

Concerned_ said:
Somebody has brought to my attention that it is not advisable to travel out of US after sending all paperwork to KCC. I have a valid F1 visa and I need to attend different seminars related to my PhD research in Europe, Canada, and other places. Is it really truth? Has anyone been in the same situation or heard of anyone having problems upon return to the US? I can't afford being stuck here until my consular interview which most likely will be at the beginning of summer. I have a tough schedule and deadlines to meet.
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japaneschinlove said:
how come you aren't doing AOS?
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Thanks for your input. I decided to go for CP because my wife and kids are not leaving with me in US. They would have to apply for visa in consulate after my AOS approval. I was not sure if there will be enough time since my number is on the high side (EU26***), therefore I decided go for CP to apply all together.
 
I think technically speaking, submitting form DS-230 can be interpreted as you showing immigrant intent which goes against what you claimed in order to receive your nonimmigrant f-1 visa. it is possible that attempting to re-enter with the f-1 after submitting this form could be problematic. the reason i asked about AOS is because you could have more safely traveled up until the day you submit i-485. if i were you i would seek highly qualified advice as this is a known gray area with DV lottery..
 
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My understanding is that as long as you don't sign your DS-230 (Part II) in front of the CO you are fine. Sending the forms back to KCC do not mean anything yet...You will show immigration intent when you appear in your official immigration-visa appointment at the consulate/ embassy. BUT, this is my guess. Any other opinions or experiences with this issue?
 
Interesting point. The question is if immigration intent matters if you already have a visa. I have a perception that border control does not check if one has immigration intent or not, merely the purpose of your visit to US.
 
Concerned_ said:
Interesting point. The question is if immigration intent matters if you already have a visa. I have a perception that border control does not check if one has immigration intent or not, merely the purpose of your visit to US.
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i think you are right in that it would be more of a problem if you were trying to apply for a new non-immigrant visa than just using your existing one, i doubt that there would be a problem when traveling but if for any reason you get put on review upon entry they could perhaps discover your immigrant intent. i don't remember if anyone on this forum has been in your situation..
 
dis66 said:
My understanding is that as long as you don't sign your DS-230 (Part II) in front of the CO you are fine. Sending the forms back to KCC do not mean anything yet...You will show immigration intent when you appear in your official immigration-visa appointment at the consulate/ embassy. BUT, this is my guess. Any other opinions or experiences with this issue?
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I think what you wrote makes sense.
 
kunato said:
I have been in this situation before. You won't have issues when applying for new visa or using existing one, unless there are other factors about you that may disqualify you...e.g. criminal record, little or no residential ties to your country of permanent residence, no job, lack of funds...etc
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as with everything immigration related it's not that black and white.. technically speaking if you were to apply for a new visa you would have to say yes to the question whether an immigrant visa has ever been petitioned on your behalf...and if this was discovered later when applying for citizenship, for example, acquiring a visa fraudulently would be a big deal ... but we are getting off topic here....

bottom line is: i wouldn't worry about the travel
 
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kunato said:
I'm not sure how "petitioning a visa in your behalf" has to do with applying for citizenship. Can you bring a specific example? (any maybe more details). Thanks.
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I'm saying that after having submitted form DS-230 to DOS, you would have to say "yes" where a non-immigrant visa application asks whether an immigrant visa has ever been petitioned on your behalf. this shows the consular officer that you have immigrant intent and visa will be denied most likely. if you say no and later it's discovered that you acquired a visa fraudulently it could have serious consequences..this could happen at any point but for example when you apply for citizenship...or they could never discover it... just the point is that submitting DS-230 is an expression of immigrant intent... or could be interpreted that way, it gets very muddy here with DV lottery and i'm not sure if there is a precedent where we know how law has been applied
 
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kunato said:
Here is the answer to your assumption:

http://www.visalaw.com/greencard.html

"Will applying for the lottery affect one's ability to receive a nonimmigrant visa?

Probably not. Technically, filing a visa lottery application is equivalent to filing
an immigrant petition. According to a source at the Department of State, a
consulate will only be notified IF the person is selected in the lottery. An
individual who is not chosen is on his honor to state that he/she applied for the lottery. Theoretically, if your name is selected in the lottery, you may have trouble renewing nonimmigrant status while waiting for your name to be cleared for processing (see discussion on the post-selection process for securing a green card). This should only be a temporary problem since permanent residency should eventually be awarded. There is still a risk that you will fail to be deemed eligible for the DV-2013 visa or the Department of State will have overestimated the number of individuals to select in the lottery (see discussion on how the selection process works). However, of all the lawyers with whom I have spoken, none have ever reported a problem with a client having entered the lottery. We have instructed our clients to answer the question on the DS-156 concerning previous immigrant visa applications as follows: "My lawyer entered me in the DV-2013 ottery." We have never had a problem reported and I have yet to hear of anyone denied a visa because of a previous lottery application. But caution is definitely warranted.:
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...so no one has ever had a problem because they played the lottery....it doesn't answer anything as to whether people have had problems after been selected and having submitted form ds-230...
AND it says filing just the lottery application is equivalent to filing an immigrant petition...surely then form ds-230 is a step above and shows immigrant intent
 
kunato said:
I asked my lawyer; your assumptions are misleading and based on lack of knowledge and fear rather than on objective facts....sorry to be so blunt.
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how are they based on lack of knowledge when i can point to which laws they are based on, while whatever you're trying to argue is based on excerpts from questionable online articles and something "your lawyer" told you..? i already answered the original question of the poster which is NO, most likely there will not be a problem with the travel. that is not to say that benefiting from a non-immigrant visa and applying for one is not advisable when you have shown that you have immigrant intent. you can ask a 100 immigration attorneys this question and they will tell you the same.
 
INA 212 a 6:

(i) In general.-Any alien who, by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seeks to procure (or has sought to procure or has procured) a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other benefit provided under this Act is inadmissible.

(G) Student visa abusers.-An alien who obtains the status of a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) and who violates a term or condition of such status under section 214(l) is excludable until the alien has been outside the United States for a continuous period of 5 years after the date of the violation.


I wonder if your "lawyer" has heard of these statutes...
 
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