they don’t take your tourist visa away, but your entrance to the country will be at the discretion of CBP officer (they can see that you have a pending immigration petition)

they do not take away your tourist visa. As stated by Ana B they can then see that you have applied for a residency visa so entry is as the discretion of the officer. if you really have to enter whilst waiting for the interview etc then take plenty of proof that you will be leaving again like the return plane ticket.

@Ana do they know which specific immigration petition you have pending? Or what if you have multiple pending applications?

thank you all. so in theory, if my husband comes to the US, he could stay while he waits for the interview in his country? as long as he doesn’t extend his visa of course

@Marco I’m not exactly sure, but I would guess that they can

@Galia in theory yes, he can stay for a period of time that CBP officer permits

@Galia L in theory yes your husband could wait out his interview time in the US. I would be very careful about the amount of time spent and have plenty of documents to hand to for the CBP officer to show that it’s only a short stay and that he is going to return. I have a B2 tourist visa and visit my husband who is a US citizen regularly (3 times a year). I stay a couple of months and then leave for 3 months. I have a pattern of going in and then leaving and I always take proof of commitment to my country like rent book, household bills, car ownership paperwork etc. However, I am still waiting for my I130 to be approved so I’m not sure if my application is really even in the system yet. once I get an approval then I will be much more careful about entering the US. Good luck