What if she stays solo?

[Mr Bill 0]

This is not a real problem for us, but my lawyer asked me a very interesting question and I promised that I would try to get her the answer:

Theoretically, if my fiancee and I did not get married and she nevertheless decided to stay in the U.S. against my wishes could I get in legal trouble with the USCIS?

[Ellie-and-David 38]

This is not a real problem for us, but my lawyer asked me a very interesting question and I promised that I would try to get her the answer:

Theoretically, if my fiancee and I did not get married and she nevertheless decided to stay in the U.S. against my wishes could I get in legal trouble with the USCIS?

I'm confused....hold on a sec. Your lawyer asked you to find out the answer to a question? Is she an immigration lawyer? If I interpreted what you said correctly then I'd stop paying her now. This is stuff your lawyer should know.

To answer your question:

The fiance visa has an expiration date. It is activated when your fiancee enters the country and she has 90 days to marry you. After those 90 days have expired the visa will have expired and your fiancee would have to return to her home country if you are not married.

If she overstayed her visa, any legal repercussions would be on your fiancee. If she stayed here illegally, she faces deportation and if enough of an overstay is accrued she could be banned from re-entering the USA for anywhere between 3 years - a lifetime ban. You would only be in trouble if you engage in any activity that USCIS could prove was "visa fraud" ie: they discover she paid you for going through the visa process, and you had no intention of getting married.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

This is not a real problem for us, but my lawyer asked me a very interesting question and I promised that I would try to get her the answer:

Theoretically, if my fiancee and I did not get married and she nevertheless decided to stay in the U.S. against my wishes could I get in legal trouble with the USCIS?

You could, but there is no need to. If your fiancee does not go through with the marriage, or even if she does and then does a "runner", you need to report it to USCIS. It is not your duty to enforce immigration law and if a fiancee does this you are best not to try. Duly report it to the USCIS and be done with it.

The only way you get in trouble is if she runs off and you DON'T report it, they could assume you were committing visa fraud to get someone into the US and avoid the immigration process.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

This is not a real problem for us, but my lawyer asked me a very interesting question and I promised that I would try to get her the answer:

Theoretically, if my fiancee and I did not get married and she nevertheless decided to stay in the U.S. against my wishes could I get in legal trouble with the USCIS?

I'm confused....hold on a sec. Your lawyer asked you to find out the answer to a question? Is she an immigration lawyer? If I interpreted what you said correctly then I'd stop paying her now. This is stuff your lawyer should know.

To answer your question:

The fiance visa has an expiration date. It is activated when your fiancee enters the country and she has 90 days to marry you. After those 90 days have expired the visa will have expired and your fiancee would have to return to her home country if you are not married.

If she overstayed her visa, any legal repercussions would be on your fiancee. If she stayed here illegally, she faces deportation and if enough of an overstay is accrued she could be banned from re-entering the USA for anywhere between 3 years - a lifetime ban. You would only be in trouble if you engage in any activity that USCIS could prove was "visa fraud" ie: they discover she paid you for going through the visa process, and you had no intention of getting married.

A couple of minor corections. Attorneys rarely kno wthis stuff. It is not necessary to be an attoeny to file a petition and most people do not use one, so anyone with avaerage intelligence can charge $2000 to have a secretary fill out forms. Never be surprised at the the ignorance of attorneys.

The visa has an expiration which applies to its use to enter the USA. It is 6 months. Once the fiancee enters the USA her visa is CANCELLED, think of it as a postage stamp to get her here, once she is delivered the stamp is cancelled and cannot be used again. Once she has entered she is given an I-94 which is valid for 90 days (as you correctly pointed out) she needs to get married to the petitioner within 90 days or go home. If she does not meet the obligations all you can do ius report her and let the USCIS handle it. It is NOT your problem if properly reported.

[Mr Bill 0]

This is not a real problem for us, but my lawyer asked me a very interesting question and I promised that I would try to get her the answer:

Theoretically, if my fiancee and I did not get married and she nevertheless decided to stay in the U.S. against my wishes could I get in legal trouble with the USCIS?

I'm confused....hold on a sec. Your lawyer asked you to find out the answer to a question? Is she an immigration lawyer? If I interpreted what you said correctly then I'd stop paying her now. This is stuff your lawyer should know.

To answer your question:

The fiance visa has an expiration date. It is activated when your fiancee enters the country and she has 90 days to marry you. After those 90 days have expired the visa will have expired and your fiancee would have to return to her home country if you are not married.

If she overstayed her visa, any legal repercussions would be on your fiancee. If she stayed here illegally, she faces deportation and if enough of an overstay is accrued she could be banned from re-entering the USA for anywhere between 3 years - a lifetime ban. You would only be in trouble if you engage in any activity that USCIS could prove was "visa fraud" ie: they discover she paid you for going through the visa process, and you had no intention of getting married.

This is not a real problem for us, but my lawyer asked me a very interesting question and I promised that I would try to get her the answer:

Theoretically, if my fiancee and I did not get married and she nevertheless decided to stay in the U.S. against my wishes could I get in legal trouble with the USCIS?

I'm confused....hold on a sec. Your lawyer asked you to find out the answer to a question? Is she an immigration lawyer? If I interpreted what you said correctly then I'd stop paying her now. This is stuff your lawyer should know.

To answer your question:

The fiance visa has an expiration date. It is activated when your fiancee enters the country and she has 90 days to marry you. After those 90 days have expired the visa will have expired and your fiancee would have to return to her home country if you are not married.

If she overstayed her visa, any legal repercussions would be on your fiancee. If she stayed here illegally, she faces deportation and if enough of an overstay is accrued she could be banned from re-entering the USA for anywhere between 3 years - a lifetime ban. You would only be in trouble if you engage in any activity that USCIS could prove was "visa fraud" ie: they discover she paid you for going through the visa process, and you had no intention of getting married.

The lawyer I was talking with was not an immigration lawyer. She is helping me put together my will, my Power of Attorney, and some other documents. Thanks for the advice!

This is not a real problem for us, but my lawyer asked me a very interesting question and I promised that I would try to get her the answer:

Theoretically, if my fiancee and I did not get married and she nevertheless decided to stay in the U.S. against my wishes could I get in legal trouble with the USCIS?

You could, but there is no need to. If your fiancee does not go through with the marriage, or even if she does and then does a "runner", you need to report it to USCIS. It is not your duty to enforce immigration law and if a fiancee does this you are best not to try. Duly report it to the USCIS and be done with it.

The only way you get in trouble is if she runs off and you DON'T report it, they could assume you were committing visa fraud to get someone into the US and avoid the immigration process.

Thanks for the advice!

[lucyrich 20]

One other thing to point out: If she came here on a K-1 visa, she can't ever adjust status except on the basis of a marriage to the original petitioner. No other adjustment of status is possible.

There have been a few sad stories posted here of people who fell in love with someone who had entered years ago on a K-1, and instead of marrying the original petitioner and adjusting, the alien stayed in the US after the original relationship ended. That kind of alien is illegal in overstay status, and, unlike most overstaying situations, there's nothing simple the new US Citizen fiance or spouse can do to fix the situation. The alien must leave the US and get another visa, but as soon as the alien leaves the US, she's under a 10 year bar for the prior overstay of more than a year. In addition, she's got to convince immigration officials that, "this time, it's for real", in spite of her prior conduct.