Basically correct - it is certainly not illegal to enter the US while a CR1/K3 is pending. Whether you are allowed entry by the CBP officer is another question, and that's where the evidence of ties to your homeland comes in. If you do attempt this, make sure you have a strong package of proof.

OK. It was just you were citing other cases where people were going through the visa application.

Your case is very simple, I think you're "trying to understand" is you being in denial over what the facts of the case are:

1. You are in the USA. If you get married here and stay, you can file AOS. You cannot leave the country until you have AP or GC.

2. You get married and then leave the country. You cannot return unless you file for a K-3 visa.

3. You leave the country now, and return to get married. You cannot legally do this unless you apply for a K-1 visa.

You may be able to visit the country while your "K" visa is pending, if you can prove that you have no intention of staying as you need to be in Canada to get your "K". Personally I'm a little suspicious of this, but if others have done it fair enough.

What is it you don't understand?

This is precisely what I've been trying to determine. Throughout this thread I've been told that since your overall intent is to immigrate to the US, you will not be allowed to enter on a B2. All my replies have asked whether the intent that is at issue is the "overall" intent or the intent that you have during the trip in question.

While your K1 or K3 application is pending, you certainly have the "overall" intent to immigrate to the US, which did not prevent all the posters in the links above from entering the country. According to those links, since the posters had the intent to return to their home countries after the specific trips in question, they were granted the B2 status for the trips. Assuming that I fully disclose all the facts and circumstances to border patrol, as I fully intend to do, it sounds like I should be also qualify for the B2 status after I return from the Caribbean -- this assumes, of course, that I would be able to conclusively demonstrate my ties to Canada, my intent to return there and my willingness and ability to go through the establishes immigration procedures to eventually obtain my LPR. What's wrong with this analysis?

Thank you very much. This is what I was trying to confirm. I certainly understand that border patrol officers have the discretion to admit or deny entry and that some people in my situation have been turned away in the past. What I was and still am trying to confirm is that my basic approach is sound. As long as that's the case, since I cannot do anything about the particular border patrol people I may run into, I just have to trust them and hope that they are knowledgeable and understand the situation. I am comfortable with doing that as long as my general approach makes sense.

Laurel Scott, an immigration attorney, has free chats on Wednesdays at 11am CST for "quick questions." So if you're not satisfied with the responses you're getting here and you can boil your confusion down to a few questions, maybe try that.

With all due respect, the fact that a K visa application is pending does NOT appear to be an entry requirement. What appears to be the crucial question is the person's intent during the specific trip in question. If the person intends to come back to the home country, a B2 visa will be granted.

The pendency of the K visa simply affirms the fact that the person is already going through the proper immigration channels to obtain his/her LPR, so that he/she would have no reason to jeopardize the process by remaining in the country while on the B2 visa. I believe that I would be able to demonstrate the same intent after the Caribbean trip, so it appears that being granted a B2 visa, while certainly not a foregone conclusion, would be possible and even probable.


Thank you VERY MUCH! Although it may not sound like it, I actually am quite happy with the replies here (even the cautionary ones) but chatting with her certainly won't hurt.

Anyone can have an overall intent to immigrate. Do you realize as you're discussing this that there are actually 2 government entities you're dealing with? USCIS (immigration) and CBP (customs and border). Each have different mandates and different end goals. You file with USCIS on your overall intent (via whichever means that matches your situation) and with CBP you are required to justify each and every time you attempt to enter a foreign country your intent. (That is normal, BTW, that's why they ask everyone questions through the POE.)

What USCIS cares about is filing the correct visa for your purpose. If you are a spouse trying to immigrate, you use a K3 or CR1/IR1. If you are fiance trying to immigrate you use a K1. If you entered the US on another valid visa and without having intent to marry when entering on that visa, they make provision for the fancy of love and allow a person to adjust status while within the US (apply for AOS). Each of these types of visas have specific stipulations on what freedoms and abilities you have and don't have. I'm more familiar with K1 because that's what I used but the Guides tab above breaks them down fairly well.

What you seem to be missing is that when your status changes, and while you might not think that is a big deal in your coming and going, those changes make a big difference to the person assessing you at the POE. A married person by the nature of marriage will automatically be deemed to be trying to live with their spouse and so every visit you make across that border will have that connotation tied to it. Yes, Virginia, it's possible for a spouse to visit while they're in process of a visa (K3 or CR1/IR1) but you can bet dollars to doughnuts that a spouse trying to visit without having a visa in process will be viewed as a high risk to immigrate without proper documentation.

So say you marry your sweetie and leave for the Caribbean. At the POE coming back you inform them you're married and that you're just going back to the US for a bit. Then you're going to Canada. They're going to wonder if you truly intend that. The burden of proof is then on you to prove. From the 'strong ties' you've described here you've been told by a former CBP officer that they wouldn't let you into the US. It's been suggested that if you have other strong ties you haven't mentioned you *might* be okay. That's a gamble and risk you take. Heck, you may get away with it, if you have a sympathetic CBP officer and what you say/do convinces them. But if you don't convince them, the repurcussions can be a lot more difficult to get around, including bans and filing waivers. There is a person on this site who had an overstay from Canada to the US and is now several YEARS trying to file the appropriate waivers and such to get back to live with her husband.

I'm not saying these things can't be done, but read around the board at some of the various situations...even what might be reasonable to you and I becomes a huge mess. Just be aware of what *might* happen and weigh that against how you proceed. (Which it sounds like you're doing anyway...)

You're welcome! We here on VJ try to help as much as we can - but in the end, we're only non-lawyer humans so there's only so much that we can do. 99.9999999% of my questions have been answered here wonderfully, but there was just one thing left that I got varying responses to and it wasn't a question that I could toy with - I needed a solid answer. But yet I couldn't afford to (and wouldn't want to if I could) pay $75 - $100 for a "30 minute consultation" with an immigration attorney - I only had 2 questions that would take a matter of minutes to answer! I found a link to Laurel in the forums here, and she was a huge help.

This whole visa process can make your head spin. Good luck with trying to get all of this straightened out.

I saw someone mention Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as suggestions of places to go - how about Hawaii? That's totally American so even if you're not legally able to leave and re-enter the US you'd be fine, and that's just as beautiful as the Carribean. I think Guam is a US territory also... oh, and American Samoa. And some others that I've never heard of before.

This makes TOTAL sense. Thank you very much for your perspective. It is entirely too easy to convince yourself that your approach is sound (especially when it makes logical sense, at least to me), which is the reason that the replies on this board have been absolutely invaluable. Hearing the potential counterarguments and in the process discovering various weaknesses in them is the best way I know of to decide on a particular course of action, so I very much appreciate all the posts (and especially your post above, which makes PERFECT sense to me).


Would you mind sending me a link to that thread? I searched and couldn't find it. I'm sure it'd be quite educational as well.

Yep, exactly. Thanks again!

You're welcome. The poster I referred to is 'charmac7'. Do an advanced search for her name and you'll find her posts. It's very frustrating for her and her hubby and there's no relief in sight yet. It's stories like that one hears that makes many of us ultra-conservative about our approach to immigration and crossing borders.

American Samoa doesn't count as that is not part of the "United States" as defined in the INA...

As others have said on here... leaving the US in your situation for the Carribean is a high-risk gamble. If you fail, the consequences will be pretty severe. A stay in a detention center and removal that comes with a 5-year ban on entering the US. Overcoming that removal to get a visa to immigrate to the US will require the approval of two waivers (I-601 and I-212). Getting those waivers will require the USC to prove some extreme hardship on their part that would not allow them to join you in Canada. Being the Canada is a 1st World country next to the US, that is relatively difficult to prove.

From what you have told us.. if you leave the US and try to reenter these are the facts that will come out (and if they don't come out by your witholding information, you're in big trouble)

1) you've been in the US under a B2 status for about 6 months. No matter which way you cut it, if you're married to a USC, it looks like you're shacking up with him and will continue to do so, no matter what protestations you have to the contrary...

2) you are a student with no current stable employment in Canada that would require to go back

3) you have no home that you owe money on that would require you to go back to

The three things together is a recipe for denial, especially the first one. To a CBP officer, actions speak louder than words. You may say that you intend to go back to Canada to wiat out a K3, your actions show otherwise as they are indicative of one who wishes to live in the US to be with their spouse. Without the proper visa, CBP cannot allow you to enter the US under those circumstances...

If you want to risk years of your life to straighten things out for a 2-week vacation to the Bahamas... you go right ahead...

Sorry, I just saw it was on a list of US territories.


Does the INA define Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as part of the "United States"? Those were suggestions that someone mentioned earlier, and I've seen mentioned in the past.

Maybe Hawaii would be the safest since it's one of the 50 US States - shouldn't be any doubts about it being okay to go there, right? Hawaii's beautiful anyway, it would still make for an incredible honeymoon, just without the risk of a dentention center/ban from the US on the way back.

the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam are defined as part of the "United States" in the INA.

Thank you all once again for all the incredibly helpful posts. My fiance (who is a corporate attorney but knows very little about immigration law) and I discussed all the responses in this thread last night and he reviewed a number of applicable statutes to put it all in the proper context. We still believe that our approach (which involves truthfully and honestly responding to all the questions asked by border patrol and, if necessary, providing case and statutory citations for our position) is sound and legal but the posts in this thread have raised a number of practical realities/possibilities that, while remote, are still quite unnerving.

We have therefore scheduled a consulation with one of the top immigration lawyers in the city (we are not happy about his hourly rate but my fiance says that it's better to pay it than to try to save money by going to an inexperienced lawyer) whom we've used in the past to see what he thinks about our approach. We'll make the final decision after the consultation.

That's all fine and good... but be aware of this...

When one is applying entrance to the USA, you leave your legal rights at the door. The IIRIRA allws the CBP officer to be judge, jury and executioner when determining who is permitted in the US and who is not. All the case citations and legalese that you apply at the border is not going to amount to a hill of beans. (In fact if you try that, you'll make them more mad and more likely to deny you) If the CBP doesn't want you in, they're not going to let you in and there is no one to get or force them to change their decision.


You are making the assumption that they have to listen to reason and accept your evidence and hear what you have to say. The INA does not force them to do that. THis is not a jury trial, or even a trial at all. You are guilty until you prove yourself innocent to a CBP officer. And a CBP officer has to right to consider your evidence or not to consider it, because the decision is totally in their hands. The legal system people are accumstomed to in the US does not work at the border.. in fact.. it does not exist..
If you want the law that allows them to deny you .. here it is.. INA 214 B

B) Every alien 10/ (other than a nonimmigrant described in subparagraph (L) or (V) of section 101(a)(15), and other than a nonimmigrant described in any provision of section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) except subclause (b1) of such section) shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for a visa, and the immigration officers, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15). An alien who is an officer or employee of any foreign government or of any international organization entitled to enjoy privileges, exemptions, and immunities under the International Organizations Immunities Act [22 U.S.C. 288, note], or an alien who is the attendant, servant, employee, or member of the immediate family of any such alien shall not be entitled to apply for or receive an immigrant visa, or to enter the United States as an immigrant unless he executes a written waiver in the same form and substance as is prescribed by section 247(B).


The L and V refers to individulas with L or V visas... The H refers to an H1B or H visa for agricultural workers...

And for good measure

INA 212(a)(7)(A)

(7) Documentation requirements.-
(A) Immigrants.-
(i) In general.-Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, any immigrant at the time of application for admission-
(I) who is not in possession of a valid unexpired immigrant visa, reentry permit, border crossing identification card, or other valid entry document required by this Act, and a valid unexpired passport, or other suitable travel document, or document of identity and nationality if such document is required under the regulations issued by the Attorney General under section 211(a), or
(II) whose visa has been issued without compliance with the provisions of section 203, is inadmissible.

and last but not least

INA 235 (B)(1)(A)(i)

(B) 2/ Inspection of Applicants for Admission.-
(1) Inspection of aliens arriving in the United States and certain other aliens who have not been admitted or paroled.-
(A) Screening.-
(i) In general.-If an immigration officer determines that an alien (other than an alien described in subparagraph (F)) who is arriving in the United States or is described in clause (iii) is inadmissible under section 212(a)(6)© or 212(a)(7), the officer shall order the alien removed from the United States without further hearing or review unless the alien indicates either an intention to apply for asylum under section 208 or a fear of persecution.

The above is all you need to know... Save your money... the powers the INA gives the CBP is all in black and white right there... No matter what your attorney is going to tell you, you don't know what's going to happen until you get in front of that officer.. and no attorney is going to be able to tell you what he or she is going to do..

With all due respect, this is incorrect. You certainly have a number of legal rights that are clearly defined in the statutes as well as in case law. If you specific situation is governed by one of these, the border patrol officers are given no discretion in the matter and the officers' desire to take law into their own hands can have rather severe consequences for them.

It is certainly true, however, that many situations fall in the gray area and, consequently, border patrol officers are given REASONABLE discretion under the law to make a number of important decisions. Once again, the discretion than they have under the law that we are aware of is "reasonable" rather than "sole and absolute," which has a number of important legal implications for them as well as for us. In the event that they are deemed to have abused their discretion, the consequences for them can be quite severe.

Yes, it is certainly always possible to run across a border patrol officer who thinks that all the case citations and statutory authority are a "hill of beans" or less. It is just as possible to be pulled over by a police officer who thinks that all your consitutional rights don't amount to much more than that. In either case, you will be in a boatload of trouble and all the subsequent disciplinary actions levied against the officers and/or potential civil rights lawsuits against them won't reverse the grief that they'll end up giving you. I happen to believe, however, and my experience tells me that the vast majority of the people out there, including border patrol and police officers, are decent people who really want to do the right thing. So, all I can do is make sure that my approach is fundamentally legal and sound (which is the reason that I posted here in the first place and will also double check with a lawyer on this). If that's the case, all I can do is hope that I don't happen to run into a rogue border patrol or a police officer or, for that matter, any other law enforcement officer who doesn't care about the law.

am1996,

I have read through this thread and caution you on the road which I think you are planning to take. Regardless of what the law says, perception is often more important and if you are PERCEIVED to be acting in a certain way, then CBPs are well within their rights to pull you aside and yes, even deny entry. I came in for a visit last week and was "this close" to being denied. I think think someone must have been on my side at the very last second. My own scenario - no mortgage, no children, no business to call my own - business cards, pay stubs, loan documents, driver's license just did not cut it - hell not even my charm and wit got me by the first CBP!

I'm not sure how often you have crossed recently, but bear in mind that every little news happening can affect life on the border.

Like in every walk of life, if you start telling someone how to do their job, whether that someone be a baker, banker, customer service rep, doctor, lawyer OR CBP you will be met with resistance. Do not think that these people do not have the power to send you home to Canada or worse - put a big fat ban on you which could complicate things even more.

The fact is - you have a realitively simple case - you are already in the US legally - don't have to worry about being separated like most of us do, and yet are still (to my understanding) trying to jeopardize this - for what - a wedding on a beach? Postpone the beach!!! Trust me, it will be there in 6 months! If you file now, you may even be able to be there by March Break! You will also be jeopardizing your internship.

Also, (and here is where I take out my own soapbox) the people on this site (not including myself yet) are VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE. As you probably have realized, amongst them you have CBP officers, lawyers and people who have gone through the process and yet still stay to give advice. If seeking an expensive laywer makes you feel comfortable then that is exactly the route to take, but I'll bet you dollars to donuts that you learn nothing that you would not already have learned here.

I do wish you all the best - as a fellow Canadian, I too thought that this process would be easier for us and definately looked for the quickest route - but learned that the honest, safest route was also the one where you filled out all the paperwork, dotted all the i's crossed all the t's, waited, waited and waited some more and yes .... will probably cut the number of ulcers that I will suffer as a result of this at least in half!

Mo

I couldn't agree with you more.

In order for us to make an educated risk vs. reward decision, we have to know and understand the amount risk that we are taking on. There is a certain amount of risk associated with everything you do in life and especially when you deal with border crossings. The mere existence of such risk is not and should not be enough to deter people from abandoning their daily routines and living in a shell for the rest of their lives.

In our case, with all due respect to the posters who I know are just trying to help, I've received a number of unquestionably incorrect responses that indicated (i) that your "overall" immigration intent is what's evaluated at the border (that's wrong; it's your specific intent during the stay in question that's tested), (ii) that I am already in violation of immigration laws because I have not been contributing to my fiance's mortgage and utilities (no only is there no law that requires me to do that but by that standard all visitors would be presumed to have immigration intent unless they intended to pay their share of such charges to their relatives), (iii) that I am required to obtain a K visa to legally proceed with my permanent residency petition (since I am on a valid B2 status here, I am not required to leave the country or to obtain any other visas/waivers to obtain an EAD and conditional permanent residency), etc... The reason I say all this is not to offend any of the posters (to the contrary, I VERY MUCH appreciate their input) but to explain the reason that I have been and will continue to drill down into the specifics, so that I can be assured that I am aware of all my options and that the information that I have is solid.

Further, as a Canadian, while I am still generally subject to the same laws as all other foreign nationals (with the notable exceptions of a number of treaties that greatly expand some of the rights afforded to us), when it comes to a number of situations, my ACTUAL burden of proof is quite a bit lower than it is with other foreign nationals. As with everything else, there are quite a few exceptions to the rule but, from what I know right now, the odds are that my approach should work.

The reason that we want to consult with a immigration lawyer is to get him, in light of his 30 year immigration law experience, to quantify the risk to us and to possibly come up with an alternative strategy that would reduce the risk. For instance, we'd like to know whether there is any way to expedite our AOS or AP petition (for instance, for I believe $1000, it is possible to expedite H1B petitions), obtain a special permission to leave and come back into the country (not necessarily for the wedding but for other reasons) or just go about the process in a whole different way that we just haven't considered. If he of course tells that that there are no viable alternatives and that our intended course of action would subject us to an unreasonably and unacceptably high probability of being denied entry into the US after the Carribean trip, then that'll be our answer. I very much doubt that it'll be quite so unequivocal, however.

If any of the readers of this thread have any such thoughts about alternative strategies that may allow us to reduce/minimize/eliminate the risk associated with our current strategy, please let us know.

Am1996,

You would do well to take what Zyggy says extremely seriously rather than dismiss it. You have told him twice that he is wrong - in effect, you are telling the border guards that they are wrong and let me assure you - on the border, they are never wrong. They are GOD. Their word is absolute. You can try to play word games all you wish but while you are busy denying the experience and knowledge of everyone here, you may wish to spend some time researching Canadian immigration laws. That may well be your only recourse if you continue to pursue your planned course of action of getting married in the US, having your Carribean holiday, then trying to return to the US as the spouse of an American citizen lacking any type of visa. If you are lucky, all you will have to deal with is the embarassment and expense of trying to return to Canada from the Carribean. If you are unlucky you may face some unsavoury days or weeks in a detention center. If you are barred from re-entering the US there is no appeal. You cannot cite case law and statutes to change the reality. That is when you knowledge of Canadian immigration laws will help - so that your husband can move to Canada so you can live as a married couple since you will not be allowed to be in the US. Why so resistant? Why not just follow the law? Take your Carribean cruise after you have received your Advance Parole - you are only postponing the honeymoon about 3 months. What is 3 months compared to a lifetime together as husband and wife?

I don't see what the big to-do is! Am1996, if I am not mistaken, these are the facts you've shared, as concisely as I can put them.

You are already here for 2 months on a B2, and the term of your stay is 6 months, therefore the expiry date of your current legal stay on the visa is in 4 months hence, i.e. sometime in November-December 2006.
You wish to marry in the Caribbean at the end of the year for 'tax purposes'
You are taking a year off, and will resume medical studies sometime early in 2007 here in the USA.
You have a need to return to Canada for a couple of months after the Caribbean trip.

OK, my suggestion, rather than to try to test the legal system and interpret the regulations to suit your needs would be to:
1. Remain in the USA, in status, until near the expiry date of your B2 (November, December, whichever)
2. Prior to the expiry date of your visit, travel to the Caribbean and marry, as you have intended.
3. Compile your taxes as joint prior to the end of the year
4. Leave the Caribbean. You return to Canada, your husband returns to the USA
5. Your husband files the K-3 and the joint tax return, upon arrival in the USA,
6. While the K-3 is in process and you are in Canada for the purpose of tending to the matters that you declared would require you to return to Canada
6. When the K-3 is approved, return to the USA, legally and without having to convince the CBP to accept your 'version' of the regulations.

What is the difficulty in this? Why the mountain out of a molehill?

Zyggy brought up a great number of fantastic points and a wealth of his own experience as a former border patrol officer and for that, I am extremely grateful to him. I mentioned some of the issues that I saw in his posts not to offend him but to rather highlight the fact that the law is different, so that I'd have to be VERY VERY unlucky to have to deal with those issues.

Once again, we have not decided on any particular course of action and are still gathering information. We are not now, do not intend to and will NOT in fact be violating any immigration laws, so even in the worst case scenario there will NOT be any detention centers in our future (my fiance has already checked into all that).

Immigrating to Canada over something like this is just not an option. First, my fiance is a corporate lawyer with one of the largest law firms in the country and he can't nor does he have any desire to practice law in Canada (I wouldn't actually mind moving to Canada with him, but it's not an option for him). Second, if we do come to a conclusion that our strategy is unreasonably and unacceptably risky, we will just go with one of the alternative options that we don't like but that presents absolutely no risk to us.

As an aside, I completely understand that to many readers of this thread it sounds like I am being stubborn and reckless when I say that I reluctant to postpone/change our current plans. Once again, we will change if but only if the facts cause us to think that any other choice is unreasonably risky and we simply don't have sufficient information to determine that at this point. One of the reasons that our plans right now are more or less set is because (i) if we get legally married in the US before the end of the year, for tax law purposes we will be deemed to have been married for the entire year, which will save us thousands of dollars in income taxes, (ii) the Caribbean location is anything but random, so we can't just move it to a US territory and (iii) the timing, while a bit more flexible than (i) and (ii), is still fairly rigid, so it'd be very difficult to postpone it by several months.

By the way, even if we were to find a way to somehow to postpone the trip, I have been told that an AP/LPR petition can take up to a year to get approved (and in some cases it can even take longer) so we essentially would have no way of knowing when it would be safe to schedule the wedding, unless we wanted to do it in 2 years or something similarly insane. Is this correct?

Where was it suggested that you immigrate to Canada?

You can't get AP/LPR if you are not already married! Please read carefully.
P.S. A corporate lawyer should know better than to try to become an expert in another field. Are you suggesting that he has read the entire INA?

It takes about 90 days to get AP from the date you file..... at the moment most but not all AOS are completed within 10 months....

Kezzie

Please see Kathryn's post above.

I realize that. We can get legally married in the US tomorrow, if it would help us get the AP/LPR before the end of the year (the wedding is scheduled for the second week of January). My undderstanding is that it would be possible for us to get AP before the end of the year but that it was also extremely possible that it wouldn't happen by then. We can't proceed under such uncertain terms

if you were filing for AOS now you would have your AP by the end of the year.... check the timeline data most people receive it with 60 -90 days..... you still have 4 months until the end of the year...

Think I would take that risk before I would risk what you are hoping to do...

Kezzie

Ok, that sounds like a great solution! I thought that in order for me to file an AOS and an AP application I had to prove that I entered the country legally, which requires an I-94. Canadians do not receive I-94's, however. If I request it now, it'll take 2 months for it to arrive, which, of course would be a problem. Is it possible for us to somehow do it without I-94?

There are many Canadians who file for AOS without I-94.... you have a B2 visa that is your evidence that you entered the country legally.... go get married and file ASAP and get your AP and then you are all set for your plans...

Good Luck

Kezzie

You seem really fixated on this Carribean thing... why is it so important to you to be married THERE? There are beaches and resorts aplenty in the US - you could be married in Florida or Hawaii... it just seems to me that since you are already legally present in the United States with your fiance, you have something that most of the people on this board have fought hard for, so why jeopardise it? It's August - if you married him in front of a JP next week and applied for AOS/AP right away, you should have the permission you need to leave the country safely by January. Then you could have your big 'destination' wedding and all the hoopla you wanted without risking a ban or eviction from the US.

GOOD POINT

I just checked my passport and the last stamp there is from January (my previous trip). I last entered the country in April, so they didn't even stamp my passport then. I am sure that it is all in their system, but am I allowed to file for AOS and AP (can I file these simultaneously?) without any documentary evidency of my B2 status?

P.S.
Kezzie, just in case it's not already obvious, you just made my day and, for that matter, my year!

am1996 -- Just to let you know I think that Zyggy was a CBP officer ???? If I'm wrong I'm sorry but I'm sure I have read that before on here and all the advice he has given me on crossing has been DEAD ACCURATE !!!!!!!!!

As I've previously posted, there is a very good reason that a specific country in the Caribbean was chosen. We can't easily change destinations.

As for the AP, I did not realize that I could get it done by the end of the year. The question now is whether I am allowed to file for all that good stuff without a I94 and without any documentary evidency of a B2 status.

I'm afraid I don't read where it states "reasonable" in the INA. It just states at the discretion of the officer. THe CBP officer does not need to make a reasonable determination. If it's his feeling that you are lying, being mistruthful, or in any way shape or form not eligible to enter the US, then you aren't getting in. And it's completely up to one person on what evidence to accept, how its interpreted, and how the INA is interpreted. The law is written to keep people out and leaves the decision on who get's in up to the CBP officer and only the CBP officer. The only individual a CBP officer can't deny entry to by law is a US Citizen.


This is where your logic falls flat. Once you enter the US, the decisions of law enforcement officers are subject to judicial review. At a POE, the INA took away any judicial review in regards to entry to the US and leaves the decision of who get allowed entry to the US to the CBP officer. So if a CBP officer denys you.. it doesn't matter.. you can complain all you want, but their decision stands.

CBP officers do care about the law.. it's their responsibility to enforce the INA. If it were me and you came before me, I would deny you entry for the reasons I have given and the INA backs me up on that decision. What you don't seem to understand is that there is no higher appeal power you can go to when your standing at the POE. The only power is in the hands of that CBP officer in permitting entry or denying it. I'm sorry that you don't get that...

You seem to think by quoting case law and other stuff is going to get you through. Sorry, but once a decision is made.. it's made and there is no appeal. Only you getting escorted to either a plane to Canada or a detention center to await removal to Canada.

I was not some rogue officer.. the INA is written to prevent individuals who have immigrant intent from getting in the door. CBP are the doorkeepers. No matter what some people think on here.. the CBP is there to enforce the law and some people on here don't think that the law should apply to them.

The rules about being here legally are that you were inspected at a POE so if you were checked at the border and waved through then yes you were ispected and are here legally.... if you swam across a river or were hidden in the back of a truck then no you could not do what you need to do now....

You are canadian and many many canadians cross the border eveyday without getting a I94 or a stamp in there passport in fact I beleve all you need is your Canadian Drivers Licence and something with your address... I may be wrong...

For doing the AOS you would include a leter epaining your entry to the USA giving your point of Entry and the Date....

if you can get yourself organised and get married asap there is no reason why you would not be able to have your AP before the end of the year....

Here is a link to the guide that will help you through the process....

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

I also did AOS from a tourist visa and it took 181 from start to finish.....


Kezzie

Sure... you can get married by a JP and file for the forms now. Just where it asks for an I-94 number, just state "Canadian Citizen". and for the date just put down the date that you entered the US. USCIS knows that Canadian Citizens are not issued I-94's when they enter the US and knows how to deal with your situation.

I wish you nothing but the best of wishes and luck...

"Further, as a Canadian, while I am still generally subject to the same laws as all other foreign nationals when it comes to a number of situations, my ACTUAL burden of proof is quite a bit lower than it is with other foreign nationals. As with everything else, there are quite a few exceptions to the rule but, from what I know right now, the odds are that my approach should work."

I bet there's quite a few Canadians on here that would not have the same opinion. They're, shall we say, REALISTIC...

You are risking a lot for a freaking island wedding. You're risking a 10 year ban on entering the US? Geez, get over yourself & your corporate high powered lawyer fiance & listen to a former CBP. I see he still is trying to HELP you even though you think you know better than he does.

Shocking.

Everyone I know on here is here FOR LOVE - we don't care if it's city hall or a big church wedding. We won't risk our futures for a beach.

I believe, if I am reading correctly, that it was said tongue in cheek.



Now, it's January? How can you avail yourself of tax benefits for the calendar year 2005, if, indeed, you are not going to marry until January 2007. This is getting more absurd by the moment! Am I the only one that is wondering about the veracity of the OP?

see my reply above!

and

Woo hoo, I knew that there was a reasonable solution to all this! I guess we're getting legally married on Monday (not very romantic but if that's the only drawback to this approach, I'll get over it). Thank you all SO MUCH!

There is no need to rude replies. The original plan was to get legally married in the US before the end of the year (so we'd be able to file a joint tax return for '06) and then have a ceremony in the Carribean in the second week of January.

Now it looks like we're getting married on Monday!

[/quote]
Now, it's January? How can you avail yourself of tax benefits for the calendar year 2005, if, indeed, you are not going to marry until January 2007. This is getting more absurd by the moment! Am I the only one that is wondering about the veracity of the OP?
[/quote]

No, I think AM1996 wanted to get married in the US now and then again in the Caribbean. The purpose of the US weddign was tax purposes and the purpose of the Caribbean wedding was for 'the real deal' thing. I hope I am not mis-interperating anything here. If I'm wrong in my translation .. sorry.

Kezzie ... good job spelling it out. I guess it was not so clear before - I guess that my understanding of the post came from being immersed in all of your conversations.

AM1996 - good luck with things as of Monday. Hope the timelines work in your favour :-).

Ziggy ...
"Just where it asks for an I-94 number, just state "Canadian Citizen". and for the date just put down the date that you entered the US. USCIS knows that Canadian Citizens are not issued I-94's when they enter the US and knows how to deal with your situation."
Should I take this advice too on the I-129F? I was going to put the date I entered and then estimate months as the "Date Authorized stay expires"

Congrats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mozplay, this is EXACTLY right.

My last question: I last entered the US at the end of April. If my AOS and, most importantly, AP application is not approved prior to the 6-month expiration of my current B-2 status, what do I do to prevent "visa overstay" arguments later?

You will not accrue out of status if you file prior to the expiry. Condescending? are we not entitled to question such a discombobulated query, especially one tht refutes the regulations information given to you by one who was assigned that duty?

AM, your initial question was answered and many of us followed you on the convoluted journey you've taken to get essentially back to the same place we all told you from the beginning. Considering that you have mentioned you'll be speaking to an immigration attorney and considering the fact that we here on this board are not attorneys nor getting paid to answer your questions, you might want to back up a step. If we're confused and questioning you/your motives (especially as the story has changed as you've discovered new ways to approach it), at least do us the courtesy of not acting like you're paying us too much for the privilege.

Yes...

Well said Zyggy !!!!!!!!!

Well, I think you Canuk's ought to have to do *2* appilcations instead of just one... I'm gona call my congressman about that!

Bill

j/k of course

You mentioned that you've flown in each time you entered the US. You might not have an I-94 or Passport stamp, but would you still have the ticket stubs from your flight showing you came from Canada to the US on X date? Just thinking, if you really need to prove your date of entry, that might be something you'll want to hold onto.

(I have no clue how AOS works since I havn't been through it yet, just me wondering)

I for some reason read this entire post
which does not apply in any way to me, and have come to the conclusion that I am getting a serious case of VJ addiction

I think you have gotten some good, straightforward advice from numerous sources and should adjust your plans, at least that's what I'd do.
getting an expensive *risk assessment* from a lawyer seems like adding another worm to the can.