B2 vs K-1

[Max1gk 68]

Hi everyone,

I recently read that people that enter the US with a B2 visa can later apply for adjustment of status (which of course might eventually not be approved..),but that this is not allowed for people that come from countries that partecipate in the Visa Waver Program. My question is: if I apply for a B2 from Italy,can I later adjust status there without too much worries there since I'll be married with my future wife (US citizen) or they will give me troubles for that? theorically this would be cheaper and a shorter process then the K-1 visa..would this be considered a visa fraud or there are legal knots that would allow me to do that?

[AnD 0]

Hi everyone,

I recently read that people that enter the US with a B2 visa can later apply for adjustment of status (which of course might eventually not be approved..),but that this is not allowed for people that come from countries that partecipate in the Visa Waver Program. My question is: if I apply for a B2 from Italy,can I later adjust status there without too much worries there since I'll be married with my future wife (US citizen) or they will give me troubles for that? theorically this would be cheaper and a shorter process then the K-1 visa..would this be considered a visa fraud or there are legal knots that would allow me to do that?

I'm in that position right now, so I'll probably face a firing committee at my interview. Fact is, if you enter on VWP or any tourist visa, you should not be planning to stay. If for whatever reason your personal circumstance changes after you've entered the country legally using your visa and you decide to get married, yes you can apply for AOS. Personally I am nervous about it. How can I prove to them that there was no intent to get married? Given the huge amount of evidence they require just to believe you are in a bonafide relationship, what will it take for them to accept that I entered without planning tp get married? Dunno... I would recommend you go through either fiancé visa or return home to apply as spouse post nuptials.

Anyone adjusting from b2 get accused of fraud? Please share your experiences.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Nope, that is visa fraud. You cannot enter on a B-2 visa with the intent to stay and immigrate. Since you are planning this now, before you are married, before you are in the US, then it is not an option for you. Most people who adjust from a B-2 are people with long illegal overstays or have sudden changes in circumstances.

Furthermore, if you apply for a B-2, and lie and say you do not have an american fiance, then you could be in big trouble later. Chances are the B-2 wouldn't be granted anyway.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

It is visa fraud to enter the US as a visitor - whether with a B2 visa or on the Visa Waiver programme - with the intent of getting married and remaining in the US to adjust status as a way to bypass the appropriate immigration process. You can visit the US and get married, but you cannot stay.

If you were in the US and had entered with no intention of staying when you entered, but you met someone here, fell in love, became engaged and decided to marry, then you are allowed to remain in the US to adjust status as you had no intention of remaining in the US when you arrived. Your circumstances changed while you were here. Entering with the intent to remain while pretending to be a visitor is visa fraud and taken very seriously. Depending on the degree of misrepresentation at the border (and on the immigration applications) it can lead to deportation and a lifetime ban of ever being allowed to enter the US.

There are no viable, legal shortcuts for doing the proper immigration process. Immigration paperwork doesn't end when you get the green card; there are additional applications that must be completed and any misrepresentation on the first becomes compounded on the following applications. There is also no time limit on when visa fraud can come back to bite you so even if, on the off chance you got away with it at the first stage, you will never be able to rest comfortably that it won't be discovered later on in the process. You can still be deported and banned even after getting citizenship. The stress and worry and potential risk for you and your family for the rest of your life just isn't worth saving a few months of time from doing things the legal way. Bite the bullet - file for the fiance visa or get married and file for the CR-1 visa. What's a few months compared to the rest of your lives together?

Edited October 21, 2010 by Kathryn41

[EllaC 190]

Don't do that, go for K-1. If you want to enjoy all the good things a lawful position offers you, you should go for K-1, definitely. I know it takes longer, but it's legal and you'll be a lawful permanent resident after the AOS process will be over(they do suggest it at the consulate after the K-1 visa is issued. They usually say: Give this envelope at the POE and please adjust status!) They kind of not saying that when it comes to B-2. On the contrary, they will never tell you to do that as it's likely to cause trouble. While after going through the K-1 process, you'll have your visa, you'll get married, become a LPR once the AOS is approved and may apply for citizenship only 3 years after that. It's much more simple, it doesn't make things even more complicated as the AOS from B-2. But if you still want to study this problem, you should know there's a section in the forums about AOS from different types of visas. Check it out!

Edited October 21, 2010 by Ella & Octav

[EllaC 190]

I'm in that position right now, so I'll probably face a firing committee at my interview. Fact is, if you enter on VWP or any tourist visa, you should not be planning to stay. If for whatever reason your personal circumstance changes after you've entered the country legally using your visa and you decide to get married, yes you can apply for AOS. Personally I am nervous about it. How can I prove to them that there was no intent to get married? Given the huge amount of evidence they require just to believe you are in a bonafide relationship, what will it take for them to accept that I entered without planning tp get married? Dunno... I would recommend you go through either fiancé visa or return home to apply as spouse post nuptials.

Anyone adjusting from b2 get accused of fraud? Please share your experiences.

Oh my, there might be a problem with that. If you get married while in the USA, if you still want to be legal, you gotta return back home and your spouse will file for a CR-1. But then again, it may cause you trouble because if the immigration officers at the POE asked you about your plans... you obviously didn't tell them about the intention of getting married('cause they'd have sent you back home on the next flight), so you need to explain that it wasn't part of the plan and it just happened. This falls well outside my area o expertise...

[AnD 0]

Oh my, there might be a problem with that. If you get married while in the USA, if you still want to be legal, you gotta return back home and your spouse will file for a CR-1. But then again, it may cause you trouble because if the immigration officers at the POE asked you about your plans... you obviously didn't tell them about the intention of getting married('cause they'd have sent you back home on the next flight), so you need to explain that it wasn't part of the plan and it just happened. This falls well outside my area o expertise...

I figure the truth is the best policy for me. I KNOW I had no plans of getting married, didn't even want to get married in the US because it meant my family couldn't be there plus I had a return ticket for a month after I arrived. Considering the huge burden of proof required as evidence of bonafide relationship, I'm just worried about what it will take to unrefutably prove non intent.

For the record, I think k1 or CR1 is the better way to go about it.

[desert_fox 32]

I'm in that position right now, so I'll probably face a firing committee at my interview. Fact is, if you enter on VWP or any tourist visa, you should not be planning to stay. If for whatever reason your personal circumstance changes after you've entered the country legally using your visa and you decide to get married, yes you can apply for AOS. Personally I am nervous about it. How can I prove to them that there was no intent to get married? Given the huge amount of evidence they require just to believe you are in a bonafide relationship, what will it take for them to accept that I entered without planning tp get married? Dunno... I would recommend you go through either fiancé visa or return home to apply as spouse post nuptials.

Anyone adjusting from b2 get accused of fraud? Please share your experiences.

Went to an immigration attorney in Las Vegas 4 years to deal with an issue, and I asked him specifically about this, since I had a newphew that married a lady on a tourist visa 12 days after she arrived, and subsequently adjusted status without a problem.

His reply was that it is indeed a visa fraud, but due to the fact that the local immigration centers lacked the funding, trained investigators, and just plane lacked talent to deal with it; to investigate and to actually make an issue out of it. They do however, get a copy of the original visa appliation to see if any misrepresention was done. But, at that time, it was no problems and he had several clients doing exactly that and never had a problem.

Now, that was four years ago, I have no idea what the situation is like today.

[marlea 84]

If you are coming from a country that is a VWP country, the embassy is going to look at your application as questionable to begin with. They will want to know WHY you are applying for a tourist visa when you could very easily visit without one. There was a couple from the UK who recently tried this route, and the fiance was denied the Visitors visa at the London Embassy because it was obvious what he was trying to do. The couple then applied for a Fiance visa and were approved with no problem.

I agree with others, why go through all the worry just so you can be together a few months sooner? Yes, you may get away with it at first, but even gaining citizenship won't make the lie go away. A few months apart before you get married is nothing compared to all the hassle you might have to go through years down the line if USCIS finds out. It would be much worse to be married, have a life here, then have your LPR status or citizenship striped and a lifetime bad put on you because you wanted to get here a few months faster.

Edited October 22, 2010 by marlea