I am exhausted from reading all the different information on this site. My fiancée, she was not that when she arrived, and I are planning on getting married in the United States before her I-94 expires. The situation is this: I met her two years ago, and we extensively traveled the world together, including her visit to the US and subsequent departure. She came back again and was granted a 6 month I-94 which is due to expire Dec 31, 2006. Her Visa will then expire on Jan 15, 2007. We are planning on getting married shortly (in teh USA), but I am confused about the steps to be taken afterward:

As I understand it:
Get Married here in the states and then we should file for AOS within 90 days (to be safe). However, her I-94 will expire. Will that become an issue? What else do we need to apply for immediately, EAD, SSN, etc.
Are we too close to the expiration date of her I-94?
Should she return to her country of origin before the I-94 expires even though we are married (which I think is a really bad idea)?
Thoughts, help, etc….Thanks in advance

If someone knows a link that outlines some of my questions and/or steps, I would appreciate that as well.

Well, according to what you wrote, her visa expired already. Do you mean Dec 2007?

Yes, I did, sorry about that, it was a typo. Thanks for catching it.

As long as she did not enter the US with the intent of getting married and remaining then you should have no major issues with doing AOS... you can file for EAD and AP along with the AOS + I-130, this will allow her to work and travel abroad. It is better to file for the AOS package before her I-94 expires, although any overstay is forgiven when married to a USC...

A chat with a Immigrations Lawyer is always a good idea, just to go over your case and check that there is nothing that will cause you major issues....

Follow this guide about filling for AOS when you are both within the US.... http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

Good Luck

Kez

You have several options:

1) Get married, she stays and applies for AOS, EAD, AP. You won't have to spend extended time apart but your fiancee/spouse won't be able to go home and settle her affairs until her AP is approved. She also has to be ready in case she is asked to prove she did not have "immigration intent" when she came in on her B1 visa. Don't worry about the I-94 expiring as any overstay is usually overlooked for spouses of USCs who apply for AOS. Please note that if her "overstay" runs over 6 months before you are able to apply for AOS, then she should not apply for AP as she might trigger a ban when she tries to re-enter the USA.

2) Get married, she goes home and you file for K3 or CR1/CR2 visa. Doing it this way, your fiancee/spouse can go home and wrap up her affairs properly. You will have to spend time apart while the visa is being processed. She should leave before her I-94 expires.

3) Not get married, she goes home and file for K1. Same as number 2 but K1s are usually processed faster than K3 or CR1/CR2 visas.

Hi all,

Hope everybody is cuddling up with their loved ones in such chilly days!

I am in a similar situation. I arrived in the US on a tourist visa in earlier October (visa will not expire until next April) to visit my boyfriend without the intent of marrying him, whom I have been in a long distance relationship for nearly 3 years now. However, things changed since last week! We finally feel that it is time to get married and share lives together after much separation.

I have consulted a few lawyers via emails and most of them are very wary towards the getting married in the US/ AOS route except one. She said we could marry here after three months of my arrival date which is January 2008 then file for AOS/ EAD/ AP. It will only take four months to get those documents and I would be free for working and traveling internationally. I am a little skeptical as it seems that AOS takes a long time.

Another way is going for the K1 route. We file a K1 while I am still on B2. But the lawyer said it will take up to 12 months from now which means I will have to be separated from my boyfriend for a long time...

Any comment, advice or experience sharing regarding the AOS/ EAD/ AP timeline or just my case in general would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Rach

I think staying, marrying and filing for AoS is a better way. You may get lucky and question of intent will never rise. You may get unlucky... what do you have to prove that you did not have intent to marry?
I would say, with 6 month stay it is very reasonable that your intent to marry arose within those 6 months in the US. It is a long time. But it would be nice if you had something else - something that normally would require your fiance to return to Russia. Does she own property there? Is enrolled to a university?
It would be safer if she had something to convince USCIS that she had reasons to go back.

Look up the average time for K-1 filers from this website. My guess is that it is about 8-9 months.
AOS does take a long time, but if you can stay within the US border then it should not be a problem.
If you choose to marry and stay - think of possible proofs you could offer to prove you did not have intention to marry when entered the US.
Good luck,
Rika

The B1 visa is not adjustable.

No visa is "adjustable". Some granted stays are "extendable". Neither applies in this case, since the alien's status is what needs adjusting and under the described circumstances the alien is eligble for a status adjustment.

Thank you for the good advice. We are going to go with option one. We never had the intent on getting married, just spending time together and seeing the sights. The good thing is that her brother lives in her flat back home, so affairs wise, things can wait. However, I guess we are going to have to buy some warmer clothes, as she didn't pack for winter months in the US. Oh well, the price we pay for love.

We are exactly in the same situation. We got married early october and filed for I-130, I-485 and I-765 early november. Just make sure you and your wife have the same address. We didnt file for I-131 bec my wife overstayed her B1/B2 visa and this might trigger inadmissability. I'm not so sure about the SSN but we figured we're just gna wait for EAD approval before we file for SSN. Good luck to us!