Entry on a tourist visa with an approved I-140?

Key answer

You may be admitted, and such cases exist (a friendly chat at the border, someone living in the US for a year now), but it is a game of intent: on a tourist visa there must be none at entry, while an approved I-140 is formal immigrant intent the officer can see in the system. On suspicion the visa is cancelled on the spot. So most advise either filing the petition from inside the US after the unwritten 90 days, or going to the consulate for an immigrant visa. If an I-485 is already filed, leaving abandons it.

Community answers

The answers below are translated from the original Russian - the language of the community chats.

At the time of crossing the U.S. border, you should have no immigration intentions. If the officer suspects them, they will cancel your visa and send you home. Right now, a tourist visa is as valuable as gold - it would be unfortunate if a border officer sees your approval and turns you around. I think it's safer to apply for the petition while in the U.S. so the officer has no suspicions.
An acquaintance went through without problems - they have lived in the U.S. for over a year. It was almost a friendly conversation; they even offered tea. But you need to take their country of birth into account - Kazakhstan.
Ideally, when entering the U.S., you should have only tourist intentions, and plans may change after 90 days - that's okay. But with an approved I-140, you have a conflict of intentions at the time of entry, especially if you were thoroughly questioned before. It is more reliable to file the I-140 from within the U.S., no sooner than 90 days after entry - this raises much fewer suspicions.
Lawyers recommend applying for a status change 90 days after entering on a tourist visa; otherwise, it looks like deception to the officers about the trip's purpose. I think border officers may see the approved petition, and it raises the question of why you didn't apply for a visa and are entering as a tourist. Lying at this moment can harm obtaining documents later.
In theory, a person with a valid visa should be let in. However, officers in the system will see that an I-485 has been filed - they may conduct an interrogation and find out that the person did not follow their initial intentions, originally entering as a tourist. I think this is unlikely, but possible. And most importantly, leaving will ultimately invalidate their I-485.

The answers are anonymized community experience from the public chats, not legal advice. Officers may decide similar cases differently.

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Entry on a tourist visa with an approved I-140?

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