Hi all, Happy Thanksgiving, well I am confused as to what I should do. At the moment I am in the USA on a tourist visa (multiple entry,10 years) with the annotation:married to an american citizen. I am just wondering if its possible to file for an aos while I am here or will this be a major risky bussiness? We will be married for 2 years come January. (Second time, I have come on tourist visa, first (single entry). This time around my I-94 card will expired next month. Do you think its possible to adjust for status before the I-94 and hence stay here or should I go home and do the K3 visa, well as soon as I go home my husband file for the petition and I wait for the interview at the US embassy in my native country (same place we got married in).The reason why we mention risky bussiness is because when we went to Canada last week, they gave us hell going and coming back (they were saying how I shouldn't receive the visa etc) So I don't know what I did wrong because I have obtained both visas from their respective consulates. They were asking if we cross border all the time etc (this is our first time going to canada together). But at the same time they adviced us to aos right away before the I-94 expires, Will this hurt my chances of getting a green card?I am just so confused the reason why I even think of it as risky bussiness is when some attorneys that we have called mention that they might use me visiting on a tourist visa as fraud, I am just so worried and confused,I know my question is long and winded, I apologize for that, I hope you guys can help I would surely appreciate it.

so in short should I stay and adjust or go home and do the K3 /IR?

On average how long does it take for me to get a a visa to come here again because I'm assuming my tourist visa will no longer be valid, I'm Malaysian?

I just hate being apart from my husband but I still want to do the right thing

Thank you

Confused & sad

AOS and stay.

You are here legally.
You did not do anything sneaky to fraudulently enter the country.

Ask a lawyer to be certain, but I dont think you broke any laws, so you should be able to stay.

AOS will be denied!
If you could everyone that were married would get a tourist visa and come do AOS instead of going thru the process.
You'll have to go home and do a K3/CR-1.
Do the CR-1 and forget about the K3.
K3s are a joke at this time.

I believe that if you were married in your native country that you are not eligible to AOS here while on a tourist visa. Had you got married here in the US, things would be different. You may want a consult (quickly) with a knowledgable experienced marriage based immigration lawyer to confirm that, but I believe you may need to return to your home country to wait out a K3 or IR1 process.

Check with a good immigartion lawyer, but I would think proving that you entered without the intent to immigrate would be darn near immpossible to prove (as in convince USCIS) since you were married in Malaysia prior to your arrival.

The fact that you were married before you entered the US has no barring on whether you can file for AOS now.... It very much has to do with what your intentions were when you entered the US.... If when you entered you had no intent to remain and had ties back in your home country and a booked flight then you can apply for AOS and remain here while it is being processed....

If you came with the idea that once here you could file for AOS and remain then you had intent at entry and to file file for AOS would be committing visa fraud....

You should have a meeting with a good immigration Lawyer to go over your case and make sure there is nothing in your circumstances that will cause you problems later....


Kez

Yes, while what you say is true, saying you had no immigrant intent and proving it are two different things. Just saying it and showing that you had a lease and a job might not cut it. Tourists who spontaneously marry have a better shot at proving their intent was non-immigrant. Being a tourist to visit a spouse might make it harder to convince immigration officials that your intentions were to return home. Most important for the OP is to get good legal advice before proceeding.

It would be no harder to prove you had intended to return to your own country than it would be for someone who got married here in the US.... most people are never even asked about it at interview and there are several people who have done exactly what the OP is asking about and they have had no problems getting approved....

As long as you legally entered the US and you did not enter with the intent of remaining or to circumvent the immigration laws.... there is no reason that you can not successfully do AOS..... If you read the Law and the USCIS guidelines it does not mention anywhere that being married at the time of entry would exclude you from being approved....

Kez

Of course, it's probably worth running this by a good immigration attorney first.

I think filing for AOS would be a waste of your time. There may be an outside chance of success but it seems clear that to do so would circumvent US immigration law. If I were you, I'd get the immigrant visa petition filed ASAP. If you don't overstay your visa, there's a good chance you can visit again during the immigrant visa process.

Someone who got married here in the US could make the argument that they had no intent to marry and it happened spontaneously; that argument might fail them but is available. I am sure it has failed some and worked for others. That is not an argument available to the OP. That is all I am saying.

Unforturnately, your reading or my reading of the law has little to do with anything. It is the way the law is actually implemented that matters. So, we can look to USCIS rules and instructions to see how they spell it out. Which again is great, but then again, we have to see how it works in practice. Ok, the OPs intentions are pure as snow, you believe them, but can they convince USCIS?

Literal reading of laws and regs will get you nowhere. You have to look at how the various government agencies and courts are interpreting the legislation. For example, USCIS instructions say that K1 petitioners can get approval without meeting their fiance(e) if such meeting violate long standing cultural traditions of the bene or would impose an undue hardship. There are plenty of people who have read that, interpreted that literally (both VJers and non-VJers) and went ahead and applied with a darn good and honest explanation why they couldn't meet, and were subsequently denied. Haven't seen 1 person get approved here without meeting. Literal interpretation won't cut it.

Now, I am sure that the OPs situation is not unique, but people married to USC's getting tourist visas or coming on VWP then AOSing is not all that common either. I agree with pushbrk on this one.

I think the annotation in the visa that the OP is married to a US Citizen is clear notification that adjusting status while visiting via this visa, is not an option for her. What other reason would there be for the annotation?