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I am currently a US citizen working and living abroad in another country. Later this year I will be traveling to the US to attend an academic conference. Tied into the end of the conference I will be taking a vacation in the US. My fiance, who is from the country I currently live and work in, will be arriving roughly 5 days after I already arrived.

We are staying in an AirBNB for the first 2 days, which I have reserved for the conference, going to Vegas to get married (planned not confirmed), and then travelling around the US by car as a sort of road trip, so I don't really have plans to book hotels for the whole entire trip. As whether we stop and find a hotel will often be reliant on whether or not I feel safe to continue driving for that day. We are returning to her country after about a week (following the conference).

I am a little bit worried when she gets to immigration and they ask for hotel proof this may cause problems since I will not be with her to help corroborate the story.

As a note she does have a valid a travel visa for the US and a return ticket booked.

Is it likely she will have any trouble getting through immigration in this scenario?

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    With this plan, you run the risk of running afoul of US immigration rules regarding foreign fiancees of US citizens. Worst case, she will get asked "what will you be doing in the US?" and she will answer "Get married to a US citizen" at which point the immigration officer will immediately jump to uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/visas-fiancees-us-citizens and require a K-1. It might be simpler for you to get married in the country where you live now (unless, for some reason, you can't do that due to different marriage rules or something). – Greg Hewgill Feb 4 '19 at 3:06
  • @GregHewgill assuming the plan doesn't involve getting married at this point then. – user91671 Feb 4 '19 at 3:39
  • @GregHewgill a K-1 is only for a fiancee who intends to remain indefinitely in the US as a permanent resident after marrying a US citizen. As the couple are not planning to remain in the US, the fiancee should not apply for a K-1 visa. Instead, she should enter with the visa waiver program, if she is eligible, or with a B-2 visa. – phoog Feb 4 '19 at 3:56
  • You haven't actually asked a question. Are you interested in knowing the chance that she'll be denied entry because she doesn't have booked accommodation? – phoog Feb 4 '19 at 3:59
  • The APC kiosks are now open to B visa holders in most (maybe all?) airports, so it's possible her conversation with CBP will be very short. – Michael Hampton Feb 4 '19 at 3:59
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I think it unlikely, but it is certainly possible. The best thing she could do is to be able to prove that you do not intend to stay in the US. She shouldn't bring this out, however, unless things start looking bad.

As with any visitor, she should be prepared to show her own ties to her home country. She should also answer truthfully if asked about her plans for accommodation, by saying that she's planning a road trip with you and that you'll be deciding where to sleep as you drive around. There is no strict requirement to have every night planned at the time of arrival.

I think there's a good chance that she'll be admitted without going to secondary inspection, but mentioning getting married could cause her to be sent there. If that happens, you may want to be available to receive phone calls if CBP decides to see whether you can corroborate her story.

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  • +1 However the ambiguous accommodation plans can be fatal when questioned. – Augustine of Hippo Feb 4 '19 at 4:56

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