Another Question

[Stephen87 0]

hello again,

i was tlaking to my girlfriend and she said that a woman at her work said that her step daughter about 7 years or so ago came to the usa from australia and got married then stayed in the usa while they applied for some visa so she could stay there... and was allowed to stay in teh usa while the visa was pending...

is this still avaliable or can it still be done and how if so?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

It is possible but as you've already thought about it, it's illegal.

Basically you CAN enter the US on a visitor visa or the VWP and get married and adjust status from there however it's considered visa fraud to enter the country on a visitor visa with the INTENT to marry and subsequently stay (you can of course marry but you must leave) unless you can prove that your intent was not to do so. Also, if AOS is denied you have no avenues to appeal the denial and you will be asked to leave the country. Depending on how long the AOS takes to deny if you have overstayed your I-94 for a period exceeding 180+ days you will have a 3 year ban. The US always assumes that your intent is to stay and it's up to you to prove your intent was not to stay...

This move is VERY risky and it's is not recommended. You're better off having your gf come to Australia (or you there), get married, LEAVE the US and then apply for a CR-1 visa (so you can work immediately on entry) or if you prefer do the K1 route which means you need to get married within 90 days of entry into the US on the K1 visa.

Please feel free to tell your girlfriend to tell that woman at work that what her step-daughter did is not something to be encouraged and had you not come here to ask about it, and instead just done it, you COULD have ended up in a lot of trouble and she should refrain from ever suggesting this to anyone again. I'm sure she wouldn't want the guilt of knowing because of her ill-informed advice that you and your girlfriends options suddenly became much more limited.

Edited January 19, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[Stephen87 0]

Thank you for that

i thought this would be the case... we just have to decide if we want to get married then apply for a CR-1 visa or do the K1 visa.... depends what we want to do about the wedding too lol...sigh so much planning

thanks again