Good afternoon!!!
My situation is quite complicatedI arrived in the United States on January, 10th 2011 with a J-1 visa. My visa expires on February, 9th 2012. I live with my boyfriend for about 6 months now. He is Cuban-American. We would like to get married after I return to France on February, and live together in the USA.
We are thinking of getting engaged on February, while having a trip to Europe together. And then we would start the K-1 process in order for me to be able to come back to the USA. However this process is apparently very long (5 to 7 months). I was hence thinking of getting a tourist visa to be able to come back for 3 months in the United States while waiting to get the K-1.
I have a few questions about this option.
1- How long should I wait between the expiration of my J-1 visa and the tourist visa?
2- With a tourist visa, I think I can stay in the USA for a maximum of 3 months a year.
2.a- Is that correct?
2.b- If so, can I for example use it to spend 2 months in the US, go back to France, and come back to spend another month in the USA?
3- Apparently, the issue might be the US custom agent at the airport. What can I do so he/she doesn't "bother me" too much? What kind of proof that I am not willing to overstay my tourist visa, or to work illegally can I show him/her so I can enter the US territory without troubles?
4- I am actually afraid that coming back to the US as a tourist, right after a J-1 visa, could compromise my K-1 request. What do you think of that?
Waiting 5 to 7 months without seeing each other would be very difficult. Plus, he cannot come to France with me since he is still a student and has a job here. We would like to find the best solution so we can see each other as much as possible, and at the same time get a K-1 visa without troubles.
Thank you very much for your help. Please only answer if you are certain of your response.

