I Just Got Married

[SpaceBaklava 0]

Here's the situation, and thanks in advance to any KNOWLEDGABLE comments and advice.

I'm a U.S. citizen, born to immigrant U.S. citizens. I have dual citizenship and had spent 4 of the past 10 years working in Istanbul, Turkey. I returned to the U.S. a year ago.

3 Months ago, my girlfriend from Turkey visited for a trip here to see me and improve her english, a requirement for

her work as an air-stewerdess. A month after she got here, we decided to get married. I asked around, law firms

specializing in these issues mainly, and they said it would be ok.

By the way, my wife was here on a tourist visa but I'm not exactly sure which one. I can find out. It allows her to

stay here for up to 6 months.

My question is this: Would our applying for a green card without a lawyer be a mistake and come to be something we

regret. Some people have adamently insisted that I hire a lawyer for this process. Do I really need to? Are there any particulars in the history I've stated above that would suggest a lawyer should be consulted?

Thank You,

Levaant

[Anh map 2,098]

Getting married isn't a problem. You can even file the spouse visa petition now before she returns to Turkey.

If you are wanting her to stay and adjust status that may have complications. It comes down to intent upon entry. Entering on a tourist visa/VWP with immigrant intent is against the immigration law.

What other info did you get when "asking around?"

*Moved from Adjustment of Status-Family Based Visa to Adjustment of Status - Work, Student, Tourist Visa*

Edited February 10, 2011 by Anh map

[Luckywife2007 6]

Here's the situation, and thanks in advance to any KNOWLEDGABLE comments and advice.

I'm a U.S. citizen, born to immigrant U.S. citizens. I have dual citizenship and had spent 4 of the past 10 years working in Istanbul, Turkey. I returned to the U.S. a year ago.

3 Months ago, my girlfriend from Turkey visited for a trip here to see me and improve her english, a requirement for

her work as an air-stewerdess. A month after she got here, we decided to get married. I asked around, law firms

specializing in these issues mainly, and they said it would be ok.

By the way, my wife was here on a tourist visa but I'm not exactly sure which one. I can find out. It allows her to

stay here for up to 6 months.

My question is this: Would our applying for a green card without a lawyer be a mistake and come to be something we

regret. Some people have adamently insisted that I hire a lawyer for this process. Do I really need to? Are there any particulars in the history I've stated above that would suggest a lawyer should be consulted?

Thank You,

Levaant

Welcome SpaceBaklava,

In my opinion (and several other VJ Members) You do not need a lawyer unless you have some issues that may cause concern and therefore may require the assistance of an Attorney.

I suggest you read the guides here and decide which process will better fit you and your Wife. We have done everything ourselves (DCF) and we had a lot of guidance from this site as well as

as help from several of the Members here on Visa Journey. Here is a link from the Embassy's Website (Ankara) for the DCF process. http://turkey.usemba...nstructions.pdf

and if you should choose to file from the USA, as I stated above, those can be found here on VJ.

Good Luck!

Edited February 10, 2011 by Luckywife2007

[Krikit 1,164]

Merging duplicate threads.

Welcome to VJ.

[James And Oksana 19]

Here's the situation, and thanks in advance to any KNOWLEDGABLE comments and advice.

I'm a U.S. citizen, born to immigrant U.S. citizens. I have dual citizenship and had spent 4 of the past 10 years working in Istanbul, Turkey. I returned to the U.S. a year ago.

3 Months ago, my girlfriend from Turkey visited for a trip here to see me and improve her english, a requirement for

her work as an air-stewerdess. A month after she got here, we decided to get married. I asked around, law firms

specializing in these issues mainly, and they said it would be ok.

By the way, my wife was here on a tourist visa but I'm not exactly sure which one. I can find out. It allows her to

stay here for up to 6 months.

My question is this: Would our applying for a green card without a lawyer be a mistake and come to be something we

regret. Some people have adamently insisted that I hire a lawyer for this process. Do I really need to? Are there any particulars in the history I've stated above that would suggest a lawyer should be consulted?

Thank You,

Levaant

I think it would be difficult to adjust status of the current tourist visa, as they would see the relationship prior to her coming and say the marriage was planned. I think the advantage you have right now over many people is she can be here on her tourist visa. I would apply for CR1/K3 very soon, and make sure she does not overstay her current tourist visa. The process of getting one will likely take longer than she has on her tourist visa, but I think in the long run it will be well worth it, as it shows your willingness to comply with the system of immigration. Attempting to adjust status from tourist visa would likely to appear the opposite way and complicate things very much.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

You're fine, just follow the guides here on VJ.

It's important that she not leave the US again until she either has her Green Card or Advance Parole (you'll read about that in the guides).

Expect that you will get some negative feedback and even warnings that she should return to Turkey instead of adjusting in country but that isn't needed.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Unless you've left out any critical details (like if she was pulled into secondary inspection on entry and asked about the wedding dress in her suitcase... ) then you shouldn't have any serious problems adjusting status. Intent is a serious factor that they do consider, but it won't cause problems unless they have evidence she intended to immigrate when she entered the US, and that she misrepresented her intent to an immigration officer.

You don't need a lawyer. This is a bureaucratic process - not a legal process. As long as you're willing to spend some time learning what you need to provide then you can do this yourself.

[Anh map 2,098]

Is she intending to continue her work with the airline? As Bob said, she should not leave the US until the process is complete. If she's wanting to return to her job then the spouse visa would be the best route.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Concur with Jim. Since you are just yet asking about the possibility to adjust your wife's status, I simply conclude that you guys didn't have any intention to do so beforehand.

By the way, they call air stewardesses flight attendants now. I just call 'em "Miss."

[SpaceBaklava 0]

WOW!

What a great site! So many replies within just a day. Thanks to everybody trying to help me out.

I'm going to reply to some of the questions/comments.

1. We didn't plan this. It just happened. As I said, that's why I researched a bit before we decided to do it. I don't/didn't know about all the technicalities and wanted to make sure that it wouldn't be a problem.

2. The plan is that she won't return. At least not before we apply/finish with the process. I'm aware that this would require her not leaving the country during the period of her green card if she wanted to apply for citizenship, etc.

The ONLY reason that I'm considering hiring an attorney is because we need to resolve this issue before her tourist visa expires. Although there have been some

who told me that as long as there is nothing unequivocably suggesting that we had planned to get married and thus, should have applied for a fiance visa beforehand, there are others, as on this post, who assure me that as long as that is the case there won't be a problem.

Let me give a bit more background to those who have some experience or knowledge of similar cases.

Me and my wife had been dating for 4 years before we got married. A year and a half ago we got engaged in Turkey. There is an abundance of informal material recording our relationship and engagement such as photos, Facebook, etc.

My plan was to return to Turkey upon earning my Associates Degree. I later decided, about 4 months ago, that I would like to continue my education with the intention of working in the U.S. and not returning to Turkey as a teacher as I had originally planned. That's why we got married. We didn't want to remain apart for longer than necessary.

I was born and raised in the U.S. My immigrant parents, both of whom entered the country around 35 years ago, have since gained U.S. citizenship. I'm not sure if this relevent but I'm just putting it out there. I feel a little bit awkward about relaying so much of my history and hope it at least serves in helping.

What "guides" should I refer to?

Thank You,

Levaant

[SpaceBaklava 0]

Were you guys referring to the I-130 guide? Are there any others that I should check out? And how complicated is the process? This is what I'm most anxious about: I've been told that there are "tricks" and "traps" and that it changes all the time, etc...Will reading it carefully be enough to ensure that I don't mess it up?

Thanks!

[SpaceBaklava 0]

One other important thing!

As of right now, the only documentation of our marriage is our marriage certificate. In Turkey, on her passport and all her forms of identification, my wife is

still officially the same as is her last name.

Should we go the Turkish Consulate/Embassy asap to have her passport updated? Does anyone know if all we need in order to do this is the certificate and an in-person visit to the above mentioned Consulate in NYC? In any case, I'm going to call tomorrow and find out.

What I'm getting at is, do I apply her as her married last name or her old last name? I'd think it would be the married one, right? But I don't want to make the critical mistake of filling in the "wrong" last name. I don't want them to say, "Her last name doesn't match up with the name on her forms of identification" or "Your request has been rejected because her last name isn't filled in as the last name on the marriage certificate."

Thanks.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You follow this guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

I don't know who you have been talking to about tricks or traps or lawyers or who knows what. Sounds like a lot of rumors Answer questions literally and honestly.

She does not have to change her name at all. If she wishes to change her name, then apply for the GC in her married name. Once she gets Employment Permission (called EAD and temporary until the GC is approved) then she can also get a SSN in her married name. There is a place for "other names used" on the forms, put her maiden name there. They are really NOT trying to trick you.

You should work on getting all evidence you can get. Can you get her on your lease right now? Some things, like joint bank accounts, are hard to get without a SSN. The I-130 has a list of evidence suggestions. Gather what you can.

Best to get the application sent off before her authorized stay expires, to avoid illegal days. However, all illegal ("out-of-status") days are irrelevant/forgiven for immediate relatives of US Citizens. Just nice for peace of mind not to spend a day "illegal." Once you get the application accepted for initial review and your checks chased, then she will begin a new period of authorized stay, to wait out the results of the petition and application. The whole thing has been taking around 3-4 months lately. You will have an interview together at the end. Good luck.

[ceyhunihal 6]

One other important thing!

As of right now, the only documentation of our marriage is our marriage certificate. In Turkey, on her passport and all her forms of identification, my wife is

still officially the same as is her last name.

Should we go the Turkish Consulate/Embassy asap to have her passport updated? Does anyone know if all we need in order to do this is the certificate and an in-person visit to the above mentioned Consulate in NYC? In any case, I'm going to call tomorrow and find out.

What I'm getting at is, do I apply her as her married last name or her old last name? I'd think it would be the married one, right? But I don't want to make the critical mistake of filling in the "wrong" last name. I don't want them to say, "Her last name doesn't match up with the name on her forms of identification" or "Your request has been rejected because her last name isn't filled in as the last name on the marriage certificate."

Thanks.

I also got married in Turkey(I am Turkish-American)after I got married, I returned back to USA.I took my Turkish marriage licence to Turkish Consulate to get it translated.To changed my last name to my husbands last name,I had to send copies of mariage licence to driver licence office,social security office,banks,passport office and they changed it all without any problem.

[Barbara J 115]

Here's the situation, and thanks in advance to any KNOWLEDGABLE comments and advice.

I'm a U.S. citizen, born to immigrant U.S. citizens. I have dual citizenship and had spent 4 of the past 10 years working in Istanbul, Turkey. I returned to the U.S. a year ago.

3 Months ago, my girlfriend from Turkey visited for a trip here to see me and improve her english, a requirement for

her work as an air-stewerdess. A month after she got here, we decided to get married. I asked around, law firms

specializing in these issues mainly, and they said it would be ok.

By the way, my wife was here on a tourist visa but I'm not exactly sure which one. I can find out. It allows her to

stay here for up to 6 months.

My question is this: Would our applying for a green card without a lawyer be a mistake and come to be something we

regret. Some people have adamently insisted that I hire a lawyer for this process. Do I really need to? Are there any particulars in the history I've stated above that would suggest a lawyer should be consulted?

Thank You,

Levaant

So now you say in other post you got engaged a year and a half ago so when she came here she was already your fiancee. Like others have said you should start the CR1 process and then she will go home and you wait for approval. If you apply for AOS how are you going to deny she was your fiancee when you say you had a party and all back in Turkey and you have photos. mmmm and she came here on a tourist visa when you were already engaged. I'm just saying could look bad for you if you try AOS at interview time.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Barbara J