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Does processing of an I-130 immigrant visa application interfere with visa waiver travel to the US ?

I am a US citizen and my wife lives in Venezuela and is in the process of obtaining her Portuguese (European union) citizenship. Once she has this and an EU passport she will be able to travel to the US on a visa waiver program. If I file an I 130 for her and her son for an immigrant visa, will that interfere with visa waiver travel on an EU passport ? Also, she has twice been denied for a visitor’s visa, will that interfere with visa waiver travel ? Thanks

There is no rule or law that says you can’t travel to the U.S. on a tourist visa or visa waiver program while you have an I-130 pending.

However, the consulate will assume she does not intend to return and she will likely be denied. It doesn’t hurt to try, but just know that the immigration inspector can deny entry even if she has a valid tourist visa if he suspects she does not intend to leave.

You can read more about this in the blog post below.

Privacy Matters – Fingerprints, the new passport for the European Union