Did our K1 in Thailand, got married in Florida,

[jojosky 0]

We have spent the last 2 years trying to come here on a K1 Visa. We finally made it here and got married and now we have to do all these forms and interviews again. When is enough enough. Am I being pranked? My folks are worried my wife will be deported. How can they deport her if we are married and her child is a US citizen. Can they? Is the I-485 just for her to become a US citizen?

Thanks

pissed

Edited September 16, 2009 by jojosky

[Kathryn41 3,207]

We have spent the last 2 years trying to come here on a K1 Visa. We finally made it here and got married and now we have to do all these forms and interviews again. When is enough enough. Am I being pranked? My folks are worried my wife will be deported. How can they deport her if we are married and her child is a US citizen. Can they? Is the I-485 just for her to become a US citizen?

Thanks

pissed

Hi jojosky,

The K-1 is the first step on the long road to becoming a citizen. It is the visa that allows your fiancee to come to the US in order to get married and gives her permission to apply to remain in the US. The K-1 visa only gives your fiancee/wife legal status in the US for 90 days. You are supposed to get married within those 90 days and then apply for permission for her to remain in the US. This is a vital next step because unless your wife applies for a green card she is not allowed to remain in the US -even though she is married and has a US child - after those 90 days are up. Applying for a green card is called "Adjusting Status" from the non-immigrant K-1 visa status to an permanent resident immigrant - shortened to AOS. You use the form I-485 to do this. It does not make her a citizen - it gives her permanent resident status in the US, which means she is allowed to live in the US legally. It is often known as having a 'green card'.

Your parents' concern is valid. If you don't go on to the next step of this process - the AOS - your wife can be deported once those 90 days allowed by the K-1 visa expire. Once she submits the AOS application, however, she gets legal status again in the US as "AOS applicant".

You should read the Guides posted at the top of these page for the general Guides and the ones at the top of the AOS forums as they will answer many of your questions.

Just to let you know, once your wife gets her green card she isn't finished yet with the immigration process. If you are married for less than 2 years when her AOS application is approved, her green card and permanent resident status is considered 'conditional' and only good for 2 years. Starting 90 days before the 2nd anniversary of her green card the two of you need to send in another application to USCIS called 'Removal of Conditions". With this form you also provide proof that you have a real marriage, not one made for immigration benefits. When this application is approved she will receive a 10 year green card which needs to be renewed every 10 years. After she has had her green card for 3 years and you are still married, however, she is allowed to apply for US citizenship.

So, as you can see, it really is a Visa Journey. You need to do a lot of reading to know what is ahead of you. Many of us have done all of the paperwork ourselves without using a lawyer. While it may feel like you are being pranked, you are not. This is all very serious and you need to follow the process through in the correct order at the correct time or the consequences can be very serious.

Please read over the guides here on Visa Journey and if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask them. There is a wealth of experience among our members.

Also, I am moving your post from the Citizenship forum to the AOS from Family Based Visa forum as that is the next stage for your journey. Good luck.

[Ellie-and-David 38]

We have spent the last 2 years trying to come here on a K1 Visa. We finally made it here and got married and now we have to do all these forms and interviews again. When is enough enough. Am I being pranked? My folks are worried my wife will be deported. How can they deport her if we are married and her child is a US citizen. Can they? Is the I-485 just for her to become a US citizen?

Thanks

pissed

It seems you were woefully under-prepared and lacking knowledge about this process.

Now the good news.....you are in the right place!

Kathryn has given you some excellent and very succinct information about your forthcoming visa journey. Read the guides, use the search engine on the site and you'll be well on your way to making your wife a legal permanent resident.

Best of luck to you and your wife

[thepizzadude 26]

Follow this link to learn about the timeline for the K! process beginning to end:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;page=k1flow

Follow this link to learn about the AOS process also read about AP (advanced parole) and EAD (employment authorization document):

AOS http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1k3aos

EAD http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1k3ead

Another thing you may be interested in HOW TO GET A SS CARD:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...om&page=ssn

Congrats on the recent marriage, good luck to you and your wife!

[trillium13 84]

We have spent the last 2 years trying to come here on a K1 Visa. We finally made it here and got married and now we have to do all these forms and interviews again. When is enough enough. Am I being pranked? My folks are worried my wife will be deported. How can they deport her if we are married and her child is a US citizen. Can they? Is the I-485 just for her to become a US citizen?

Thanks

pissed

Why so angry about it? This is something that everyone who goes through the K1 must do once they get to the US. It's nothing to throw a temper tantrum about. I don't understand how people go through the whole K1 process and then have no idea that there is a "next step".

And yes, your wife is subject to deportation if she does not adjust status to permanent residency. Read the guides.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1k3aos

[thongd4me 69]

We have spent the last 2 years trying to come here on a K1 Visa. We finally made it here and got married and now we have to do all these forms and interviews again. When is enough enough. Am I being pranked? My folks are worried my wife will be deported. How can they deport her if we are married and her child is a US citizen. Can they? Is the I-485 just for her to become a US citizen?

Thanks

pissed

Create/Edit Timeline

You have much experience (and are in for more) but you only joined VJ 2 days ago.

You will get good advice here but we ask to fill the timeline in so we can have a better

idea of the context of your situation, i.e. the exact time frames quoted.

It may take a little time to do this (and if you don't remember all the exact dates, put in

guesses because your guesstimates are better than ours).

Korp Khun Krap