Married 2 years wife visits on Visa Waiver from Germany, wants to adjust now - help

[obnancy 5]

Hi,

I am asking this for a friend. I successfully married an Australian while he was here on VWP and did all proper paperwork and got him his green card over five years ago so I am rusty with this stuff.

Our friends situation is this: He is American, his wife is German. They got married two years ago in Las Vegas while she was on a visa waiver. They were not

sure where they would live permanently so they have been flying back and forth on Visa Waiver. She entered the country again this time on May 20, 2015 and has 90 days.

They have decided she wants to stay here. Can they just fill out the I 485 and i 130 concurrently and she will stay in the country until adjustment is completed? If so, under the section for i 95 number since she came on visa waiver there is not one. She has a copy of her ESTA from germany. Should she fill out Visa Waiver under visa type and n/a under i 95 number?

Are there any other options they should choose. She would like to remain here and not be separated from him any longer.

Thanks!

[Cody and Daisy 373]

Suggest they read the Guides at the top of the page.

Mainly all of this -> http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

[obnancy 5]

Thanks, but guide only give the option for her to leave and file for a different visa from outside the country. Has anyone successfully adjusted from visa waiver while already married?

[Pitaya 2,576]

~Moved from Fam.-based AOS to WST-based AOS Forum~

~inquiry about adjusting from visitor visa (VWP)~

[Teddy B 17,251]

Thanks, but guide only give the option for her to leave and file for a different visa from outside the country. Has anyone successfully adjusted from visa waiver while already married?

Sure, many have done so successfully. The link you were given is for AOS inside the US.

[Hypnos 6,576]

The guide you were already linked is the proper course of action to follow.

Edited June 12, 2015 by Hypnos

[JFH 12,189]

I am also interested in this course of action. We have been married since September of last year and are currently flying back and forth and it is really getting us down.

We haven't started the CR1 yet as my husband is not in permanent employment. He is an artist and does "odd jobs" to tide him over between his art projects. I have always had a full-time, permanent job and have an MA.

I am reading of many success stories where people entered under VWP and then completed an AOS without leaving the country following marriage. From what I see, most, if not all, of these cases are people who were not married prior to their arrival. It is therefore easier for them to prove that there was no intent to stay beyond the 90 days. However, as we (and the friend of the OP) are already married, is it not harder to satisfy to an immigration official that we have no intention of staying when we arrive on a VWP entry? Common sense suggests that husbands and wives want to be together, that's the whole point of us being married! I have entered the U.S under the VWP 3 times since we got married in September and always clearly stated my situation ("my husband is a U.S. Citizen and I live in the UK and I am coming to spend a week/2 weeks with him" passport stamped without further ado).

Has anyone successfully completed this route after marriage? I guess the major advantage that I see over the standard CR1 is that we won't have this awful separation. I could arrive as usual and before the 90 days are up he would file the petition? Is that so? If it really is that simple, why are people even bothering with CR1 and putting themselves through this torture of living thousands of miles from your husband/wife?

Edited June 12, 2015 by JFH

[Hypnos 6,576]

Because entering the US on a nonimmigrant visa with the preconceived intent to remain and adjust status is considered immigration fraud.

For that reason, it's a subject only permitted to be discussed here if you have already entered the US and are examining your options. If you're planning this from abroad then the discussion will be quickly shut down.

[JFH 12,189]

I see the difference now.

It is certainly not my intention to commit visa fraud or to suggest that anyone should do that.

[teanet 20]

Yes, I did it. I came here on Esta and adjusted my status and got green card. It is possible.

Yes, I did it. I came here on Esta and adjusted my status and got green card. It is possible.