DV2 & B1/B2

[heavymen]

hello ,

I applied for and got a US tourist (B1/B2 ) visa in September 05 , valid for 2years . In October of 05 i also got an immigrant DV2 visa valid until April 06 . My DV2 has an annotation that it is only valid if i am accompanied or FTJ ( following to join ) my spouse .

Due to work constraints , my spouse will not be available to travel to the US until sometime in late December , however , i have to visit the US in a couple of weeks . My question is , can i use the B1/B2 visa to travel to the US ? Will the IO allow me entry based on the B/B2 , or can he insist i use the DV2 and thus deny me entry since my spouse is not with me ?

Thanks

[Kayalami]

IMHO the DV immigrant visa supercedes the B1/B2 combo and makes it difficult to meet the non immigrant intent of B1/B2 entry. How will you over come the presumption that you are not intending to immigrate? Or satsify the Inspector that your relationship with the principal DV applicant still subsists?

I would postpone the trip until everyone can proceed to the US to activate the DV visas. After this you apply for a 2 year re-entry permit to cushion a stay outside the US.

[heavymen]

Thanks Kayalami . We travelled together earlier this month and activated the DVs .

Regards

[Kayalami]

Congratulations on finalising your LPR process. What was your Port of Entry? Perhaps you could describe your experience for the benefit of our members - they too may get the luck of the draw (latest immigration bill before congress considers scrapping DV).

[heavymen]

Thank you Kayalami .

Well , i submitted an entry for DV2006 in January of 2005 - two days before the entry closed . I submitted 2 entries - one for me with my wife as my spouse , and another for her with me as the spouse . On March 25 2005 , we got a letter from Kentucky notifying her of her success . Along with her letter were the necessary forms to be filled . We had just relocated out of the US then , therefore we informed Kentucky where we would like the interview - the US embassy in our new country of residence . On May 14th we sent the forms off to Kentucky .

In June , we contacted Kentucky to inquire if they received the forms . They acknowleged receipt and asked us to call back in August . We called back in August and they informed us that our interview had been scheduled for Oct 3rd , that we would be getting a package in the mail which included the medical papers . 10 days to the interview we still had not received the documents in the mail . We contacted Kentucky again and they asked us to visit it US embassy if we still have not receieved the package . The US embassy had a record of our interview date and was able to give us copies of the medical forms . We did the medicals and went for our intervew on the appointed date .

The interview was very smooth . They just checked the various documents we presented . They however asked us to present an Affidavit of support or a job offer in the US , so that we would not be a burden on the system . I indicated that neither of us had a job offer in the US . They then asked us to show proof of funds to the tune of $83,000 for the both of us . We presented funds in excess of $63,000 , but they insisted on an affidavit of support . They asked us to come back anytime we had it . I presented the affidavit of support a week later , and the Immigrant Visas were issued on Oct 16th 2005 .

We presented the visas to the immigration officer at Houston on December 5th 2005 . We were taken into an interview room where we signed some documents , were fingerprinted , and "welcomed to the United States " . We were told we would recieve our Green Cards "within 6 months" . The Green cards arrived 22 days later .