Possible AOS from B2?

[Journeyer 17]

Note; someone who has been given a visitor visa but have choosen to overstay their visa, is just as quilty as those who cross into the US without a visa.

I was not intending to offend anyone. But, if the Note above is in reference to my fiancee, it is in error because she has not overstayed and has never done so in the past.

[silvana.toma 15]

Those same ppl that you are calling illegal may have come into the US using a B2 visitor, but have never left to go home. Why don't we just call them guest who have just over stayed their welcome. Note; someone who has been given a visitor visa but have choosen to overstay their visa, is just as quilty as those who cross into the US without a visa. BTW, the Over staye quest (illegals) spend money as well.

Right....but the difference is that they don't pay any taxes! NOT to mention unemployment for us citizens for obvious reasons... I'm not judging don't get me wrong...i'm only observing, and it's very sad. And what's even worse is that no one is doing anything to stop it.

[Journeyer 17]

Let us know what happens!

Thanks, I will.

[silvana.toma 15]

I would not loose my faith just yet. Did you look up any lawyers? When did you say her visa expires?

You know...few years ago, they also gave me only one month to stay- that was the first time i entered us, and i called customs(i didn't even had to go there) and i told them i would like to stay longer and they aproved me for another 5 months....she could use the holiday excuse...what's the worst they can say? NO, because they can not ban her for asking a question. And not that i am an expert but i think that customs guy was only trying to intimidate your GF by saying he will revoke her visa and etc...maybe he was hoping she will say something that he wanted to hear or something....because come on...he had no REAL PROOF that she was planing on entering US with immigration intent....not when she entered us so many times and left each time before visa expired...if she really wanted to immigrate she would have done it long ago, right??

Let us know what the lawyer says, i'm dying to know...

Best of luck!

[Journeyer 17]

I would not loose my faith just yet. Did you look up any lawyers? When did you say her visa expires?

if she really wanted to immigrate she would have done it long ago, right??

Best of luck!

Exactly. And why would she have bought a round trip non-refundable ticket if she planned to stay? Also, you have a good point about calling to ask for extension, you wouldn't think someone who plans to stay illegally would bother asking for an extension. Oh well. I will be continuing to post here with the details of what happens.

[Journeyer 17]

I would not loose my faith just yet. Did you look up any lawyers? When did you say her visa expires?

Best of luck!

Sorry, I somehow did not see that first paragraph when I read your post. I am starting to search for a lawyer. The date on the I-94 is Jan. 14 so we don't have much time. The B2 Visa is good until 2018.

[ceadsearc 515]

This is for ceadsearc

Maybe you need to read the entire post and the previuous post to get the point. I am sick of ppl who wants to tell me that they don't see the point of a post. Then you don't understand immigration, nor history. WHY must it always be the us vs them mentality that some people has. How do you or anyone on this board know if someone is illegal, unless they themselves tell you. I don't see anyone here in Maryland driving around with signs up that says I am illegal.

What in the world are you talking about?? Understanding immigration and history? History of what? Us vs them? Who is us and who is them? It's common knowledge there are people living illegally in every state in the US. No one said they are literally driving around with signs that say they're illegal. The POINT is that the OP of this thread is asking about his wife WHO IS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN OUT OF STATUS. Therefore, whatever you think of people overstaying visas or entering without inspection or driving around saying their illegal (whatever you're talking about) is completely irrelevant. Get back to the topic at hand, or clarify why you're bringing this up in the first place.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Sorry, I somehow did not see that first paragraph when I read your post. I am starting to search for a lawyer. The date on the I-94 is Jan. 14 so we don't have much time. The B2 Visa is good until 2018.

By all means, see an immigration lawyer. Personally, I wouldn't get my hopes up about getting an extension. By default, CBP is supposed to grant a stay of a minimum of six months to someone who enters with a B2 visa. They aren't supposed to cut the time without a good reason. Whether or not they made any notation in her passport is irrelevant. You can bet your boots they entered the reason into the computer.

There has been a lot of banter, as well as some vague and misleading info tossed around in this thread. Bob's first post hit the nail squarely on the head. I'd go further and say that if the CBP officer who questioned her knew anything at all about how to do his/her job then they peppered her with questions designed specifically to set her up for a material misrepresentation finding if she attempts to adjust status in the US. I'd also say that, because they were absolutely convinced that she's living in the US, they intentionally gave her a drastically shortened stay in order to provoke her into doing something desperate - like marrying you and filing for AOS.

What I'm saying is that there is a strong possibility they set her up. Filing the CR1 is definitely the wisest course of action here. There is virtually no risk of a misrepresentation if you go that route.

[Boiler 43,429]

I do not think they have to quite that devious, they could have out her on the next plane back.

There are cases on here where people adjusted despite the POE having marked their passports No AOS.

[SunDrop 59]

Fact is, they don't know what the CBP wrote on her electronic records. Fact is also that they have 2 'safe' options and one 'risky' route. The risk of having to fight a material misrepresentation denial is usually enough of a deterrent to 'force' couples into going about things the K-1/CR-1 route. That's why CBPs do set people up. I've had things said to me on 2 different occasions that don't come anywhere near the same level of scrutiny as the OP's fiancee but I knew the moment it was said, it was recorded and would probably have bitten me in the azz if I'd tried to AOS: 'Well, have a merry Christmas and whatever you do, don't go getting married, will you?' and 'I'm letting you in this time, but make sure you leave...' First comment I told them I was visiting my boyfriend; second comment my best friend over Christmas, when I hadn't been into the US for 15 months.

I won't fly in through Twin Cities because of the attitude of CBP there on 2 different occasions. The last time, before hubby and I had even met, I thought I was going to be refused entry because I wasn't going to see my folks who were adjusting to GCs from L-1 at the time, and the CBP didn't like this fact.

Journeyer and his fiancee sound like people with enough life experience and wisdom to be responsible and intelligent enough to decide what's best for them. Life's too short to go through all that they both have in life, to then bring added stress and worry when there's a temporarily frustrating but safer way forward.

Good luck with your marriage and congratulations! The only advice I can give that no one has is to make the most of the time you do have together in person, celebrate your union, and plow all your energy into getting everything you need to file your CR-1. Absolutely get legal advice about extending her B-2 but take heart in knowing that once you've completed the CR-1 process and are reunited stateside, she can ping-pong back and forth to her heart's content, ideally through that same CBP's post in Miami every single darned time! lol

Edited December 20, 2010 by SunDrop

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I do not think they have to quite that devious, they could have out her on the next plane back.

There are cases on here where people adjusted despite the POE having marked their passports No AOS.

CBP has nothing to say about whether or not somebody adjusts status in the US. A CBP officer writing "No AOS" in a passport has no binding legal authority whatever. You don't need CBP's permission to adjust status.

The only thing that matters is whether the alien made any statement that could be construed as a material misrepresentation if they do attempt to adjust status, and if that statement was recorded in the alien's electronic records. It's almost impossible to know for certain whether this is the case. Even if the alien said "I have no intention of adjusting status during my stay" it would not amount to a material misrepresentation unless there was evidence that they actually did intend to adjust status, and they went ahead and attempted to do so. Other than a suspicion based on the frequency of the alien's visits to the US, it's unlikely the alien would have any idea what evidence CBP might have that might prove they lied about their intent when they entered.

There have been several cases posted here on VJ where it was obvious that CBP was setting the alien up for a material misrepresentation denial if they attempted to adjust status. In one case, they pulled the alien into secondary inspection and confronted them with the evidence they found in their luggage, made them sign a statement that they did not intend to adjust status, and then gave them a shortened authorized stay. The member's remarks indicated that this had exactly the effect CBP was hoping it would - they were panicked that they might never be allowed to enter the US again with their B2 visa, and were considering staying in the US and filing an AOS petition.

It's really up to the individual CBP officer if they suspect an alien intends to immigrate. They can put them on a plane back to their home country, or they can give them enough rope and see if they hang themselves.

[Journeyer 17]

It's really up to the individual CBP officer if they suspect an alien intends to immigrate. They can put them on a plane back to their home country, or they can give them enough rope and see if they hang themselves.

It is really sad that US immigration would be wasting time on trying to frame law abiding citizens over something trivial instead of concentrating on keeping out terrorists and other dangerous persons.

We are happily married now, so it looks like the next step for us is to talk to an experienced immigration lawyer and go from there.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

It is really sad that US immigration would be wasting time on trying to frame law abiding citizens over something trivial instead of concentrating on keeping out terrorists and other dangerous persons.

We are happily married now, so it looks like the next step for us is to talk to an experienced immigration lawyer and go from there.

Sorry to be hardnosed, but I just can't help it.

Law abiding or not, an alien is not a citizen.

They're also not trying to frame anybody. The dictionary definition of "frame", as a verb in the context you used it, is "To make up evidence or contrive events so as to incriminate (a person) falsely". They're not making up anything. They're looking for evidence of something that, if it exists, indicates an intention to violate immigration law.

The problem with the law, in this particular case, is that violating it hinges on what was going through the alien's mind at the time they entered the US. It's mind boggling that they could even consider regulating something like this, but they did. Like anything having to do with enforcing the law, everything depends on the evidence. Since adjustment of status is a discretionary benefit, it's entirely up to an immigration officer to weigh that evidence. There are no courts, and no rules of evidence - only the guidelines in the Adjudicators Field Manual. Those guidelines were revised back in the mid 1980's so that immigration officers can no longer deny AOS solely for preconceived intent, even if they have solid evidence that the intent existed at the time the alien entered the US. It's a negative factor, but it's just not serious enough to override the fact that they are an immediate relative of a US citizen. However, lying to an immigration officer IS serious enough to deny AOS, and even ban the alien from returning, if the lie was about a material fact that could affect whether they are allowed to enter.

Your wife denied she intended to immigrate when she entered the US. If she actually attempted to adjust status then an immigration officer might be able to conclude that she lied about her intent if there was evidence of her intent to contradict her statement. Like I said in my previous posts, other than her frequent visits to the US, it's almost impossible to know what evidence they might have. And like I said above, everything depends on the evidence. That evidence becomes moot if she doesn't actually attempt to adjust status.

You're actually fortunate to be learning this stuff in advance. There have been many people who have been severely burned by this process because they made naive mistakes, not realizing they were generating the evidence that would be used against them, or how severe the consequences would be.

In order to keep from letting this immigration stuff drive you crazy, or compel you into doing something rash like crashing a plane into a government building, it helps to try to keep a cool rational head about it. When something seems totally oppressive or unreasonable you should try to learn what the reason for it is, and what sort of abuse they're trying to prevent, and then think about what you can do to convince them that you're not one of the people trying to abuse the system. In your case, filing a CR1 would prove that.

[silvana.toma 15]

Congrats on the wedding!!! Wish you guys all the happines in the world!!

Let us know what the lawyer said.

[Journeyer 17]

Congrats on the wedding!!! Wish you guys all the happines in the world!!

Let us know what the lawyer said.

Thanks! I will keep posting as I hope what I learn will help others here the same as I have learned much from reading here.