If Fiance does not get married within 90 days

[vadelice 0]

Me and my wife are happily married. I have a friend that has just arrived on a K1 fiance visa and she is worried that her boyfriend won't marry her because she said he has changed a lot since being together here. He is giving her altimatums. If she does not get married within the 90 day period what can she do? She wants to stay here and work. Will she need to return back to her home country? Can she stay here and speak with immigration to see if she can stay?

[milimelo 4,191]

Me and my wife are happily married. I have a friend that has just arrived on a K1 fiance visa and she is worried that her boyfriend won't marry her because she said he has changed a lot since being together here. He is giving her altimatums. If she does not get married within the 90 day period what can she do? She wants to stay here and work. Will she need to return back to her home country? Can she stay here and speak with immigration to see if she can stay?

No marriage - no stay - she will need to return after her 90 days on the I-94 are up. She can get another visa from her home country (student, work).

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Me and my wife are happily married. I have a friend that has just arrived on a K1 fiance visa and she is worried that her boyfriend won't marry her because she said he has changed a lot since being together here. He is giving her altimatums. If she does not get married within the 90 day period what can she do? She wants to stay here and work. Will she need to return back to her home country? Can she stay here and speak with immigration to see if she can stay?

If she marries the petitioner within the 90 day window then she can adjust status and get a green card based on the K1 visa. If she marries the petitioner after the 90 day window then she can adjust status if her husband also submits an I-130 petition for her. If doesn't marry the petitioner then she cannot adjust status - end of story. If she has some other basis on which to obtain permanent resident status then she'll need to return to her home country and get the appropriate type of visa. After entering with a K1 visa she can only adjust status by marriage to the K1 petitioner.

If her fiance is not treating her well now then I predict it will only get worse with time. She'd be better off calling it quits and going home.

[vadelice 0]

Thanks for the advice. I would hate to tell my friend this but I guess you are right, they have to return back to their home country and apply for a different visa.

[SuperDuper! 230]

All the above posts illustrate why the K1 Visa is SUCH a wise choice for so many smart people: It serves as a final Confirmation Period and Check that the relationship is on solid ground AFTER seeing the BENEFICIARY's initial adjustment period in the US. After 60 days or so, and everything is cool, then the marriage ceremony goes on as planned. But If the relationship blows up, then BENEFICIARY is sent packing back home on the next Jumbo Jet outta Dodge, and both move on in life. Hey, it's tragic, but at least the couple did not enter into a legally binding relationship called Marriage, and all the additional misery, expense and wasted time that that entails. May your friend's next relationship search find the true love he is looking for. Chances are, it will be a success because now he has his eyes wide open to the red flags he did not see before.

Edited December 25, 2010 by Boing!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

moved from General Immigration forum to K-1 forum as it addresses circumstances related to a K-1 visa

[Aztec&Taino 144]

Me and my wife are happily married. I have a friend that has just arrived on a K1 fiance visa and she is worried that her boyfriend won't marry her because she said he has changed a lot since being together here. He is giving her altimatums. If she does not get married within the 90 day period what can she do? She wants to stay here and work. Will she need to return back to her home country? Can she stay here and speak with immigration to see if she can stay?

What can she do if her fiance does not want to marry her within 90 days? Go back to her country. There is no legal way for her to stay here if her fiance does not marry her within the 9o days of her arrival. If he does not marry her she should count her blessings. Does she really want to marry him now that he has changed and is giving her ultimatums?

P.S. Advise your friend to not waste her money with an attorney (she will get the same answer, but it will cost her to hear it), better save that money for the return ticket.

[Aztec&Taino 144]

All the above posts illustrate why the K1 Visa is SUCH a wise choice for so many smart people: It serves as a final Confirmation Period and Check that the relationship is on solid ground AFTER seeing the BENEFICIARY's initial adjustment period in the US. After 60 days or so, and everything is cool, then the marriage ceremony goes on as planned. But If the relationship blows up, then BENEFICIARY is sent packing back home on the next Jumbo Jet outta Dodge, and both move on in life. Hey, it's tragic, but at least the couple did not enter into a legally binding relationship called Marriage, and all the additional misery, expense and wasted time that that entails. May your friend's next relationship search find the true love he is looking for. Chances are, it will be a success because now he has his eyes wide open to the red flags he did not see before.

Yeap!

[vadelice 0]

All the above posts illustrate why the K1 Visa is SUCH a wise choice for so many smart people: It serves as a final Confirmation Period and Check that the relationship is on solid ground AFTER seeing the BENEFICIARY's initial adjustment period in the US. After 60 days or so, and everything is cool, then the marriage ceremony goes on as planned. But If the relationship blows up, then BENEFICIARY is sent packing back home on the next Jumbo Jet outta Dodge, and both move on in life. Hey, it's tragic, but at least the couple did not enter into a legally binding relationship called Marriage, and all the additional misery, expense and wasted time that that entails. May your friend's next relationship search find the true love he is looking for. Chances are, it will be a success because now he has his eyes wide open to the red flags he did not see before.

I totally agree with you on this. The difficult thing is she wants to stay and not go back because its very difficult for her to come back. But like you said if he change his mind when she got here and started to change with her its probably best for the two. Another thing is she is not working because she does not have a SS card yet and she would not have any money to buy a ticket back. Would she be stuck here?

What can she do if her fiance does not want to marry her within 90 days? Go back to her country. There is no legal way for her to stay here if her fiance does not marry her within the 9o days of her arrival. If he does not marry her she should count her blessings. Does she really want to marry him now that he has changed and is giving her ultimatums?

P.S. Advise your friend to not waste her money with an attorney (she will get the same answer, but it will cost her to hear it), better save that money for the return ticket.

Thanks for the tip. She is very worried about not having money for a return flight due to not working or having a SS card.

[newlyweds2010 208]

Please allow me to make a comment that may sound off topic. Many times I read comments that sound like "if you don't comply with this, or if you don't marry that, etc. then you are packed on the first plane back home and bye bye to the US". This kind of comments sound inappropriate to me.

I understand that the US is the land of opportunity and many people want to live here because it's the best country in the world etc. etc. But please also consider that we (foreigners on a K1 visa) came here exclusively for personal/family reasons, so if things don't work out with the loved one, it's so much better to go home, which in many cases (I think of several European countries) is at least not worse than here. What I mean is that we are not receiving a favor.

Back to the question: yes, if the K1 visa holder doesn't marry, he/she will have to return home.

Merry Christmas to all.

[Aztec&Taino 144]

Please allow me to make a comment that may sound off topic. Many times I read comments that sound like "if you don't comply with this, or if you don't marry that, etc. then you are packed on the first plane back home and bye bye to the US". This kind of comments sound inappropriate to me.

I understand that the US is the land of opportunity and many people want to live here because it's the best country in the world etc. etc. But please also consider that we (foreigners on a K1 visa) came here exclusively for personal/family reasons, so if things don't work out with the loved one, it's so much better to go home, which in many cases (I think of several European countries) is at least not worse than here. What I mean is that we are not receiving a favor.

Back to the question: yes, if the K1 visa holder doesn't marry, he/she will have to return home.

Merry Christmas to all.

People come to this website to try to understand the immigration process. Other people who are also at some point of the immigration process are also here to give helpful answers to others. It is a helpful community to give answers to legal immigration questions. In reference to the OP's point it is TRUE that the "friend" would not be able to stay legally if she does not marry her sponsoring fiance. Why would it be inappropriate to answer a question with the legal truth?

[newlyweds2010 208]

It's not the content of the answer itself to be inappropriate, it's the way the "legal truth" is expressed that sounds rather rude, at least to me as a foreigner with very limited English skills.

I couldn't find anywhere in the law that "all immigrants who don't get married will be packed on the first plane and sent back to their home country and bye bye to the US". This section of the law, unknown to me, should probably continue with "and get the f outta here pronto", right?

As I said before, those who come here on a K1 do it to get married and be together with their loved one. Most of the times, they accept and face more sacrifices than they would have, had they remained in their home country. If things don't work out well, for the most various reasons, I can assure you that there is no need to be packed into anything. They know the way to the airport already. Parcels who are sent by error to a wrong destination and need to be sent back belong to a different category.

[Aztec&Taino 144]

It's not the content of the answer itself to be inappropriate, it's the way the "legal truth" is expressed that sounds rather rude, at least to me as a foreigner with very limited English skills.

I couldn't find anywhere in the law that "all immigrants who don't get married will be packed on the first plane and sent back to their home country and bye bye to the US". This section of the law, unknown to me, should probably continue with "and get the f outta here pronto", right?

As I said before, those who come here on a K1 do it to get married and be together with their loved one. Most of the times, they accept and face more sacrifices than they would have, had they remained in their home country. If things don't work out well, for the most various reasons, I can assure you that there is no need to be packed into anything. They know the way to the airport already. Parcels who are sent by error to a wrong destination and need to be sent back belong to a different category.

Mmmhhh... First of all, I don't think your English skills are limited. Secondly, I'm sorry if you feel as though the advice given has the tone that you describe because it is not the intended tone, whatsoever. I guess there is always room for miscommunication and misinterpretation, particularly in the written form because there are no body language and speech tone cues to help convey the message. Thirdly, you may find it interesting to know that I, the US citizen and petitioner, am actually a naturalized citizen so I know of the hardships that come with migrating to a new country.

Best wishes!

[belinda63 2,981]

Legally the person can stay until the I-94 expires. If they do not marry the K-1 petitioner they are required to leave by that time or they will be out of status. The person, to my knowledge, cannot obtain another visa for the US without first leaving the country. If purchasing a plane ticket is a problem please contact the embassy for your country.

I have feelings and believe this is a horrible situation. I wish I could tell the person who gave up their life in their home country, left everything behind, and came here that it's OK you can stay. I wish I could tell them to hang in there and the potential/present spouse will change. I feel for the person but there is nothing more than can be done other than enjoying their visit to the US.

[pushbrk 12,105]

It's not the content of the answer itself to be inappropriate, it's the way the "legal truth" is expressed that sounds rather rude, at least to me as a foreigner with very limited English skills.

I couldn't find anywhere in the law that "all immigrants who don't get married will be packed on the first plane and sent back to their home country and bye bye to the US". This section of the law, unknown to me, should probably continue with "and get the f outta here pronto", right?

As I said before, those who come here on a K1 do it to get married and be together with their loved one. Most of the times, they accept and face more sacrifices than they would have, had they remained in their home country. If things don't work out well, for the most various reasons, I can assure you that there is no need to be packed into anything. They know the way to the airport already. Parcels who are sent by error to a wrong destination and need to be sent back belong to a different category.

See bold above. First, you didn't see anybody say that because it isn't true. It's actually worse. Nobody packs them on the plane and sends them back. They are responsible for leaving the USA on their own. The consequence of not doing so, is they become illegal aliens who when they DO leave, (after overstayihng six months or more) face a ban on re-entry of three or ten years depending on how long they overstay.

It gets more risky yet, if they decide to go ahead and marry just to get the green card, then end the marriage before they remove conditions. To get conditions removed and get full permanent residence, they must convince an adjudicator they entered the marriage in good faith, not just that they entered the USA in good faith. Strait talk is not rude. Mincing words and giving false hope is the ultimate rudeness.

Life happens and people change their minds and/or behavior but the K1 is a fiance(e) visa, not a trial relationship visa. Buyer beware. Make your plans and decisions wisely, then handle the results like an adult.

Edited December 25, 2010 by pushbrk