How long is it legally ok to wait to file AOS (from K1)

[melusine 5]

Hello All,

Lots of you know me already And I did personally filed for AOS right after our wedding.

But I want to know what your opinions are on the subject.

The Scenario is a couple with a spouse coming on a K1

Married within 90 days

If there is no financial issues, nothing hurt to file right away but what about if there is financial issues ?

Edited December 11, 2008 by melusine

[payxibka 10,048]

some have waited months and years.... all seem to have adjusted status satisfactorily

[YuAndDan 153]

This question gets asked multiple times daily.

FAQ: 6.1)...How soon after we get married should we apply for Adjustment of Status?

http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k1k2visa-aos.html#6.1

[melusine 5]

Thanks for your Answer Yu.

I was looking through the guides and all but didn't found that answer on my own

Edited December 11, 2008 by melusine

[richo 0]

You know in our interview, the IO didn't ask about it but she commented from the time I entered US which is March 2008 up to the time we got married JUne 2008 so she kinda like counted that april--may--june and then commented "you guys like have to think if its what you really want eh?"

I think its more of an issue if we got married within the 90 day tiimeframe. She didn't question about the timeframe from marriage to application of AOS. And inour case we got married june 6, 2008 my fiance visa expired on june 22 and we filed july 13, 2008.

Edited December 11, 2008 by richo

[Otto 83]

If there is no financial issues, nothing hurt to file right away but what about if there is financial issues ?

It may be possible to apply for a Fee Waiver (depending on the financial situation).

Fee Waiver

[candyace 0]

If there is no financial issues, nothing hurt to file right away but what about if there is financial issues ?

It may be possible to apply for a Fee Waiver (depending on the financial situation).

Fee Waiver

That link didn't work for me. :S

[Otto 83]

If there is no financial issues, nothing hurt to file right away but what about if there is financial issues ?

It may be possible to apply for a Fee Waiver (depending on the financial situation).

Fee Waiver

That link didn't work for me. :S

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

Fee Waiver

[john_and_marlene 162]

some have waited months and years.... all seem to have adjusted status satisfactorily

Not true. There have been post here on VJ where severe consequences have been encountered. There has been at least on poster in the past that ran into trouble because her husband died before they completed AOS. More recently, Valsu's wife was picked up at a bus station and put into a detention center because her legal stay has expired. The fact of the matter is that ater the I-94 expires, they are out of status. In many cases this out of status time is erased with an eventual AOS--cases where there have been no intervening circumstances which interfered with the eventual AOS.

I feel it is irresponsible to postpone AOS for any reason--to do so is putting the immigrant at risk. It is a disservice to imply that postponing the AOS is without risk.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=61963&hl=

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry2423559

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry2265011

[DanielParul 50]

Ideal situation is to get married and file for AOS before the I-94 expires because technically once I-94 expires the beneficiary does not have any legal status nor is awaiting adjustment. To delay AOS is taking a risk and the consequences can be very serious.

[pushbrk 13,645]

You know in our interview, the IO didn't ask about it but she commented from the time I entered US which is March 2008 up to the time we got married JUne 2008 so she kinda like counted that april--may--june and then commented "you guys like have to think if its what you really want eh?"

I think its more of an issue if we got married within the 90 day tiimeframe. She didn't question about the timeframe from marriage to application of AOS. And inour case we got married june 6, 2008 my fiance visa expired on june 22 and we filed july 13, 2008.

Just to correct a common misconception... A K1 visa expiration date is meaningless once you've used the visa. It's a single entry visa that dies upon US entry. Status from that moment forward is based on the expiration date of your I-94, regardless of whether the visa expiration date was the next day or 179 days later.

[pushbrk 13,645]

some have waited months and years.... all seem to have adjusted status satisfactorily

Not true. There have been post here on VJ where severe consequences have been encountered. There has been at least on poster in the past that ran into trouble because her husband died before they completed AOS. More recently, Valsu's wife was picked up at a bus station and put into a detention center because her legal stay has expired. The fact of the matter is that ater the I-94 expires, they are out of status. In many cases this out of status time is erased with an eventual AOS--cases where there have been no intervening circumstances which interfered with the eventual AOS.

I feel it is irresponsible to postpone AOS for any reason--to do so is putting the immigrant at risk. It is a disservice to imply that postponing the AOS is without risk.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=61963&hl=

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry2423559

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry2265011

One report in the last few days, has the immigrant in jail awaiting a deportation hearing. "All" is not accurate but in most cases, a delay has no consequence. We also see many who delay and then the marriage ends before the AOS is filed. I always advise that where possible, AOS be filed within 180 days of the I-94 expiry.

[john_and_marlene 162]

some have waited months and years.... all seem to have adjusted status satisfactorily

Not true. There have been post here on VJ where severe consequences have been encountered. There has been at least on poster in the past that ran into trouble because her husband died before they completed AOS. More recently, Valsu's wife was picked up at a bus station and put into a detention center because her legal stay has expired. The fact of the matter is that ater the I-94 expires, they are out of status. In many cases this out of status time is erased with an eventual AOS--cases where there have been no intervening circumstances which interfered with the eventual AOS.

I feel it is irresponsible to postpone AOS for any reason--to do so is putting the immigrant at risk. It is a disservice to imply that postponing the AOS is without risk.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=61963&hl=

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry2423559

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry2265011

One report in the last few days, has the immigrant in jail awaiting a deportation hearing. "All" is not accurate but in most cases, a delay has no consequence. We also see many who delay and then the marriage ends before the AOS is filed. I always advise that where possible, AOS be filed within 180 days of the I-94 expiry.

I always advise AOS be filed before the I-94 expiry. Although filing before 180 days keeps a bar from occuring due to overstay accumulation, it does nothing to keep the petitioner from dieing and removing the basis for adjustment. There is currently a legal dispute regarding the ability to adjust if the petitioner dies before the adjusment is adjudicated, but there is no such dispute regarding the ability to adjust if the petitioner dies before the adjustment is filed.

[reeses16 8]

My understanding is that as long as you are married within 90days of entry on the K1 you can adjust at anytime, with a caveat that if the non-adjsuted person is caught removal proceedings will begin, but there are measures (waivers, hearings, etc.) that can be taken to allow them to remain in the US. I would guess that all of this cost as much if not more than AOS, and surely isn't worth the uncertainty and effort required to straighten it out, when it was avoidable.

I understand everyone's situation is different. We filed AOS a few days after our wedding and we didn't have extra money to pay the fees. We used a credit card for most of our expenses (groceries, gas, etc). so that we had the cash available to pay AOS. I'm not a big fan of using credit, but we felt it was justified. It was better than worrying what would happen to my hubby if he was stopped.

[himher 634]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry2471096

Valsu's wife is at this time in prison. This is a special situation because she bolted for a woman's shelter, but when she was found ICE put her in a holding cell because she was married/K1 with no filed adjustment of status.