Is it okay to apply for a tourist visa before I file or while my spouse and fiancé visa is pending?

With immigration, there are so many complexities and aspects, so it depends. What it depends upon is your prior immigration history. Have you ever applied for a visa previously? Have you ever violated the terms or conditions of a visa previously?

The other thing that it depends upon is your intention in applying for this tourist visa.
The tourist visa is a non-immigrant visa which means that you cannot have immigrant intent. You have to be applying for the tourist visa for the sole purpose of coming for a short time visiting and with the intention that you will be leaving the United States.

If the answer is yes, it is possible to apply for a tourist visa before you file for a spouse or fiancé visa and even while the application is pending. It can be risky though.

The other thing I want to make sure all of you understand is that tourist visas are difficult to obtain.

The way that it can be risky is if you have applied for a tourist visa in the past or if you have prior immigration violations such as if you have overstayed, or if your intention is to apply for the tourist visa to come and live in the United States.

All of those can actually have serious consequences on your spouse or fiancé visa application because immigration could see that as fraud or misrepresentation. There are a lot of risks involved and so, it’s very important that you receive legal advice before you start filing for a tourist visa application and also to understand if it’s better to get your spouse or fiancé visa application filed.

It’s understandable that you want to obtain a tourist visa to visit and bridge that gap of time because the immigration process is long, but it is important to take into consideration those risks and be aware of the reality that tourist visas are hard to obtain because they are a discretionary benefit which means the immigration officer has the ability to decide what is your intention in applying for this tourist visa.

If they believe that your intention is to apply for a tourist visa to remain in the United States, they would deny your tourist visa. That’s why they are very difficult to obtain.