Getting married in Mexico, entering on B2, then adjusting status

[Dan C. 18]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading through this forum and website, and it's very helpful -- but I haven't been able to find any posts with our exact situation.

My fiancée and I are planning to get married next summer, in August of 2011. She is a Mexican citizen (from Tijuana, and holding a current B2 visa). I am an American (born and living in Philadelphia). Her family is from Mexico, and not all of them have visitor's visas, we're planning to get married in Mexico, so that everyone can attend, from both families.

As soon as possible after the wedding, we'd like her to move up here to Philadelphia. She can already come here and visit with her B2 visa (and she's been here several times). Once we're married, can she enter the USA with her B2 visa and then apply for a green card / AOS once she's in Philadelphia?

I understand there can be some issues with entering the US on a B2 with intent to immigrate, and we'd like to avoid such...entanglements.

If not, from what I understand, we'd have to get married civilly about 8-9 months before the wedding (so, soon) and then apply for a K-3 or a CR-1 visa. Does that sound right?

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[belinda63 2,981]

Entering the US on a tourist visa with the intent to immigrate is fraud and subject to penalties up to a life-time ban. Also lying about her marital status to enter the US on the tourist visa would be fraud.

Best thing would be to have a civil marriage now and start the CR-1 paperwork.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You cannot plan to move here on a B-2 visa with the intent to immigrate. That is immigration fraud. The people who have adjusted from B-2 visa usually have lengthy overstays or a sudden change in circumstances (in other words, they did not intend to stay here when they visited). So anyway, back to what you can do.

The most straightforward thing to do is to get married and file for a CR-1 visa. (The K-3 is dead and unattainable, even though it technically exists. Just ignore it). She can visit while the CR-1 is processing. Or, as you suggest, you could get married civilly 9 months or so before your real wedding and plan to have the visa in hand at the time of your mexican wedding. Sounds like a good plan to me.

You could also file now for a fiance visa (K-1) now and she could move here in 5 months or so. Then you would have a civil wedding, and THEN file to adjust status to that of permanent resident. About 3 months after you file for AOS, she would get travel papers and you could go to Mexico for your wedding. (The whole AOS might only take 3 months too... the travel papers are issued in case it takes longer to get the green card... it's like a guarantee in a way). She would be "stuck" here for about 4 months. Probably bad for planning a wedding in Mexico.

It seems to me that both take about the same amount of time: 8-9 months. Doing the K-1 route is more expensive, though the hardest leg (the consulate part, imo) would be done before the wedding. If you did the CR-1, then the consulate interview would be right around the wedding time.

You can find out more about the K-1 and CR-1 visas in their forums (along with their real timelines). I am not very familiar with the processes there, and my estimation that the consulate is the hardest part is based on reading, not experience. Anyway, good luck and congrats!

[Dan C. 18]

OK, fair enough. So even though she has a B2, it doesn't matter?

Would it be better to apply for a K-3 or a CR-1? It seems like a K-3 might be faster, but a CR-1 might be the same. Any recommendations?

While her CR-1 or K-3 is processing, would she still be able to use her B2 to visit me in Philadelphia?

[Dan C. 18]

Harpa Timsah posted right after I posted my reply, and it wouldn't let me edit, so sorry for the double-post.

Thanks so much -- that's really helpful. I wasn't sure if she could use a B-2 in place of a K-1 or K-3, so that's good to know she can't.

It's also a huge help to know that she can come to visit on the B-2 while the CR-1 is processing. I was worried about her not being able to enter the States; she crosses from Tijuana to San Diego on a regular basis to go shopping with her family, and of course, I'd want her to be able to come up so that we can pick out a place to live, get everything settled, that sort of thing.

Here's another question: let's say we get married in advance (say in January) and file for a CR-1, and somehow it's not ready by August. Would she be able to use her B-2 to come to Philadelphia and stay with me until her CR-1 is ready? She obviously wouldn't be able to work, but since her B-2 allows her to stay in the States for up to 6 months or so, would it be OK for her to use it so that she could stay with me until her CR-1 is ready?

[yohino 22]

The K3 is pretty much useless/unobtainable now a days, you'd be one of the very few if you could actually land one, but for your situation I don't even see why it would be beneficiary to get it.

So just focus on the CR-1.

Being allowed in to the US while in the progress is always up to the CPB officer at the POE, if she is able to bring evidence of strong ties that she is going back to Mexico she shouldn't have a problem. A copy of you NOA1 is a good thing to bring as evidence that you are doing this the legal way.

[Dan C. 18]

OK cool -- I had heard the K-3 was being phased out, but I saw it listed here on the site and wasn't sure whether it was still a viable option. We'll just go for the CR-1.

I would guess that the CBP at the POE wouldn't make a big stink about her going into the States for shopping, since it's what most people at the Tijuana-San Ysidro crossing are doing (either shopping or working in San Diego). That's good advice about having the NOA1 handy, too.

Thanks to everyone for the replies so far...I knew this place would be a good place to ask. Great site.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Yes, she can use her B-2 to visit at any time. If the visa wasn't ready in time, she would have to go back to Mexico for her interview and reenter on that CR-1 visa. The entry itself is what triggers her status as a permanent resident. As Yohino points out, you are always at the mercy of the Border Patrol officers whether they would let her in, so she should bring evidence that shows she is going back to Mexico to help strengthen her case each time she enters. The fact that she has used it often and left on time would, I think, also strengthen her case.

[emjay7 0]

Hi Dan! I just want to ask if you have any update regarding your situaion. Im married to a US citizen, havent filed anything yet. I plan to visit my husband using my tourist visa. Which one has laess risk of being in trouble at POE, entering with no papers filed yet or with a pending CR1/k3 visa? thanks

[ceadsearc 516]

Hi Dan! I just want to ask if you have any update regarding your situaion. Im married to a US citizen, havent filed anything yet. I plan to visit my husband using my tourist visa. Which one has laess risk of being in trouble at POE, entering with no papers filed yet or with a pending CR1/k3 visa? thanks

Having already filed a CR1 is probably to your benefit - CR1 would show you do NOT intend to stay and adjust status and would be a concrete reason why you would have to return to your country - for the consulate interview. If you arrive married with no papers filed it may look more like you intend to immigrate.

[tm81663 10]

Dan, your situation sounds VERY similar to my own. I met a woman in Hermosillo while working there and proposed last month. She lives and works in Hermosillo Mexico, and has a B2 Visa and visits Arizona several times a year.

Our religious wedding is planned for April, 2014 in Mexico, and before that time, she plans to stay in Mexico and continue to work there. But once May 2014 or so comes around, we are hoping for her to come to Michigan where my home is.

We checked with a lawyer to be sure, but I believe the best route to achieve this plan is to marry legally in the USA as soon as possible, then file for the CR-1 using the I-130 form. We would be traveling to Tucson, AZ from Mexico using her B2 tourist Visa, spend the weekend there, and get married if the mood strikes (as our intent to go to the USA of course would be shopping and going to a baseball game).

If we marry in the USA and she returns that same weekend to Mexico, I do not believe this would be an issue as when speaking to our lawyer, you can have a change of intent than what you originally stated to your border agent when crossing for your visit. As long as our intent is to do things in the US, and then our intent during our stay changes and we decide to marry, that should be OK. Though this would be hard to technically prove if later asked, it seems our situation would be similar to yours where if she returned soon to Mexico after the marriage (that weekend), there was no intent to stay in the USA, and we'd be OK. Do you agree?

Also, in scheduling the Juarez interview, is there any flexibility? I noticed your interview looked to be about 8 months after your initial application. My only fear is that her interview is scheduled EXACTLY on our wedding date. Though this is not likely, its possible. If that happens, is there any flexibility to reschedule?

And finally, any info on the required medical exam? how detailed is it? Does it occur in Juarez or does my fiancee do it in her hometown?

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you also for your original post, it gave us the confidence to do this process on our own.


Thanks,

tom

Hi everyone,

I've been reading through this forum and website, and it's very helpful -- but I haven't been able to find any posts with our exact situation.

My fiancée and I are planning to get married next summer, in August of 2011. She is a Mexican citizen (from Tijuana, and holding a current B2 visa). I am an American (born and living in Philadelphia). Her family is from Mexico, and not all of them have visitor's visas, we're planning to get married in Mexico, so that everyone can attend, from both families.

As soon as possible after the wedding, we'd like her to move up here to Philadelphia. She can already come here and visit with her B2 visa (and she's been here several times). Once we're married, can she enter the USA with her B2 visa and then apply for a green card / AOS once she's in Philadelphia?

I understand there can be some issues with entering the US on a B2 with intent to immigrate, and we'd like to avoid such...entanglements.

If not, from what I understand, we'd have to get married civilly about 8-9 months before the wedding (so, soon) and then apply for a K-3 or a CR-1 visa. Does that sound right?

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Edited July 31, 2013 by tm81663

[Dan C. 18]

Hi Tom,

First off, let me just say congratulations on your engagement!

Your situation does sound really similar to ours, and I think you would be fine doing it on your own without a lawyer. We wound up doing the process exactly as you had described -- cross to the US on the tourist visa, get married, come back, and file for the CR-1. We had no trouble at all with that approach, and the entire process went very smoothly. Slowly, of course, but smoothly nonetheless.

She won't have a problem with intent, because she won't have any intent to stay when crossing with her B2. Intending to get married in the US doesn't imply intent to stay. If you're asked, you could say this -- but they never even raised an eyebrow about us getting married in the States. It wasn't a problem at all.

Plus, by getting married in the US, you get the benefit of having your paperwork in English, and not having to deal with the loads of Mexican paperwork involved with getting married in Mexico. Unless things have changed, you would actually have to petition the Mexican government to let you marry her legally in Mexico, and it's a big headache. Plus, although I love Mexico, their government is not the most efficient with regards to processing paperwork. You absolutely would be better off getting married in the US.

If you decide to go that route, it probably would be a good idea to get married as soon as you can. We were not able to get our marriage certificate from the county of San Diego immediately -- we had to wait three weeks for processing, So, we weren't able to start the process immediately after getting married -- I would recommend getting as much paperwork as possible in order before the civil ceremony. Her birth certificate will need to be translated, for example. This cost us some time too.

In regards to scheduling an interview -- although you schedule interviews for the K-1, you do not schedule them for a CR-1. They will tell you when your interview is, about 4-5 weeks ahead of time. We didn't have any reason to adjust our interview date, but from what I've read, unless there are dire circumstances preventing you from attending, they aren't flexible about it. Your interview is when your interview is -- if you want to reschedule, they will reschedule it for when they have another interview slot available, and who knows when that might be. There's really not much you can do about this in terms of wedding planning, but they don't do interviews on the weekends, so as long as your wedding is on a weekend, you will probably be OK.

As for the medical exam, she will have to do it in Juarez. It's a walk-up deal -- she shows up at 6 AM with her paperwork at one of two clinics in the city, they do the medical, she has to pay for any required vaccinations (it cost us about $100 or so) and then it's over. She'll have to come back later to get her results to bring to the interview the following day. So, when going to Juarez, allow yourself a day to do the medical prior to the interview.

One thing she will have to do in Hermosillo ahead of time is attend an ASC appointment, where she'll get her fingerprints taken. There is an ASC center in Hermosillo that she can go visit, she'll just have to make an appointment. They'll let you know when you can do this.

I think that's about it...if you have any other questions, let me know! Good luck!

Edited July 31, 2013 by Dan C.