Advice did not do research

[straken 0]

Hello All

okay so here is our situation:

My Husband and I were dumb and did not do our research. I am Canadian and was engaged to my Husband who is a US citizen (Born here) . Proving our relationship will not be a problem at all. anyway he bought me a surprise ticket when I was visiting New York to come see him in Michigan, and we decided to just get married (I am a ceremony freak who tends to get scared of big ceremonies so we thought this was perfect as it will not be a big "production" )

reading all of the info here I am realizing we did this the wrong way and I am beating myself up for it as I guess I am scared now as now I already gave notice to my landlord , quit my job and in essence screwed myself for going back to Canada, thinking we could just do everything here.

I am just wondering what we should do here? I did NOT enter with the intent to get married,I was actually trying to help out my sister with her knew school , but we did know eventually we were going to get married being engaged and all. I know I am dumb for not researching but they told us nothing when we got the marriage licence nor when they married us. I should have looked all this up beforehand and I am really kicking myself and scared to get into trouble for not doing this the right way.

Anyhow thank you for any advice you have and I wish you all well with your own journey!

[JeannieL 44]

You will have to do things the right way and file for the CR-1 ...Read the guides and follow the directions. Unfortunately you will probably have to return to Canada for some time as the process will be longer than the 180 days that you are allowed to be in the US. I am sure that other people will add to this, but start reading the guides and forms.

[gigi_a 0]

Hello All

okay so here is our situation:

My Husband and I were dumb and did not do our research. I am Canadian and was engaged to my Husband who is a US citizen (Born here) . Proving our relationship will not be a problem at all. anyway he bought me a surprise ticket when I was visiting New York to come see him in Michigan, and we decided to just get married (I am a ceremony freak who tends to get scared of big ceremonies so we thought this was perfect as it will not be a big "production" )

reading all of the info here I am realizing we did this the wrong way and I am beating myself up for it as I guess I am scared now as now I already gave notice to my landlord , quit my job and in essence screwed myself for going back to Canada, thinking we could just do everything here.

I am just wondering what we should do here? I did NOT enter with the intent to get married,I was actually trying to help out my sister with her knew school , but we did know eventually we were going to get married being engaged and all. I know I am dumb for not researching but they told us nothing when we got the marriage licence nor when they married us. I should have looked all this up beforehand and I am really kicking myself and scared to get into trouble for not doing this the right way.

Anyhow thank you for any advice you have and I wish you all well with your own journey!

Don't worry. Not that big of a deal.

You are legally married and have not filed a K1 from what i understand, correct?

If that is the case. Return to Canada, if you are not there already and apply for CR1. The process is supposed to take around 5 months but could be 6-8 or so from what I have seen. There are detailed descriptions on this site (guides up top) as to how to begin the process. Look through it and come back at us with more specific questions.

[kzielu 1,147]

I am just wondering what we should do here? I did NOT enter with the intent to get married,I was actually trying to help out my sister with her knew school , but we did know eventually we were going to get married being engaged and all. I know I am dumb for not researching but they told us nothing when we got the marriage licence nor when they married us. I should have looked all this up beforehand and I am really kicking myself and scared to get into trouble for not doing this the right way.

Anyhow thank you for any advice you have and I wish you all well with your own journey!

Then stay in US and do AOS. Nothing wrong you did since you had no intent, no reason to go back and wait 8 months for CR1.

[straken 0]

hey

thank you for your responses , I am wondering if there is another way? our money is limited now and affording the "fees' plus going back to Canada and back here (considering I gave up my job) and trying to afford somewhere to stay while in Canada is quite an issue. is there something that could help us so that I could stay here in the US while we do this process. Again thank you and if not I guess that is our "problem" for not looking into this so I do take responsibility and may have to pay for this in the long run. We are just hoping that there would be another way to do this?

[mschana 0]

My story is similar to yours and my husband also lives in Michigan.I did the same dumb thing and quit job., gave up my house etc after we got married abruptly in August.trouble was that I was denied entry at Poe because it looked like I was immigrating on wrong visa. I did a voluntary cancellation of visa and we began processing k3 visa after my husband became citizen in April.

It may take a while but I can attest to the fact that it pays to wait and have right visa. Your husband can submit the i130 asap to put your paperwork in motion but do not overstay your tourist visa at all. I decided to make the best of the situation and rented other apartment volunteering with community project and now my former employer has offered my job back as I wait to relocate.hope this post encourages you...

[mschana 0]

PS got married in Michigan

Returned to kenya in Sept 2010

Flew to the US again Nov 2010 but entry denied at Poe and asked to get immigrant visa instead of tourist

PS got married in Michigan

Returned to kenya in Sept 2010

Flew to the US again Nov 2010 but entry denied at Poe and asked to get immigrant visa instead of tourist

[Eric-Pris 1,602]

hey

thank you for your responses , I am wondering if there is another way? our money is limited now and affording the "fees' plus going back to Canada and back here (considering I gave up my job) and trying to afford somewhere to stay while in Canada is quite an issue. is there something that could help us so that I could stay here in the US while we do this process. Again thank you and if not I guess that is our "problem" for not looking into this so I do take responsibility and may have to pay for this in the long run. We are just hoping that there would be another way to do this?

You basically have 2 choices:

1. Stay in the US and file the forms to adjust status, hoping that they accept your explanation that you didn't have intent. People do adjust status this way, but it can be risky. The burden is on you to prove that you did not have intent when you entered the US. Can you prove that your job expected you to be back, or that you had other ties, etc. If not, I'd go with the CR-1 just to be safe. If they decide that you lied to get in (and had intent), that's fraud. You may be facing a ban. And you'll have to live in Canada with your husband.

2. Go back to Canada (no matter how bad your financial situation is-the gov't doesn't care about that btw) and file for a spousal visa (CR-1). This is the safer way to go.

[Darnell 8,478]

Hi ! Since you not enter USA with intent of being married in USA, you have a really good shot at doing an Adjustment of Status. Review the GUIDES section here, find the appropriate guide for you, and move forward. You'd NOT be chasing a visa.

*** not a K-3 visa topic, moving to AOS/tourist/student/work forum ***

[I_like_rhomboids 0]

You basically have 2 choices:

1. Stay in the US and file the forms to adjust status, hoping that they accept your explanation that you didn't have intent. People do adjust status this way, but it can be risky. The burden is on you to prove that you did not have intent when you entered the US.

I don't think this is true. Don't they have to prove material misrepresentation? USCIS are the ones who must prove she actually lied about her intent, she doesn't have to prove anything beyond her marriage being genuine as I understand it, though I'd wait from confirmation from people who know more about it.

[LaL 418]

I don't think this is true. Don't they have to prove material misrepresentation? USCIS are the ones who must prove she actually lied about her intent, she doesn't have to prove anything beyond her marriage being genuine as I understand it, though I'd wait from confirmation from people who know more about it.

Yup - she proved intent at the border. They let her in, she got married and she can file to adjust her status based on this. Going back to CR1 is an option, but certainly not the only one.

[mof 15]

People can and do adjust while here. You do not have to show proof that you had no intent unless they question you about it. If you were asked at your POE and you lied about it, you'd most certainly be in trouble. If you quit your job and ended your lease before you came to the US, you could potentially face trouble, too. If you did after you got married, you should be fine. It's actually be quite legal to be in love with an American AND spontaneously decide to get married... While it would be more "proper" to go back home and file for the appropriate immigrant visa, USCIS does allow for adjustment of status while in the US.

I came to the US already married and my wife simply refused to go back to our nomadic lifestyle. I didn't have any idea this would happen when we came to the US but found myself stuck here without being able to go the "preferred" visa route. Long story short, there was absolutely no problem in adjusting status for me. We were not questioned about intend, either - but I had previously entered the US upwards of 200 times and had always left...

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

You will have to do things the right way and file for the CR-1 ...Read the guides and follow the directions. Unfortunately you will probably have to return to Canada for some time as the process will be longer than the 180 days that you are allowed to be in the US. I am sure that other people will add to this, but start reading the guides and forms.

Not necessary. She entered without intent to immigrate. She can adjust status.

You basically have 2 choices:

1. Stay in the US and file the forms to adjust status, hoping that they accept your explanation that you didn't have intent. People do adjust status this way, but it can be risky. The burden is on you to prove that you did not have intent when you entered the US. Can you prove that your job expected you to be back, or that you had other ties, etc. If not, I'd go with the CR-1 just to be safe. If they decide that you lied to get in (and had intent), that's fraud. You may be facing a ban. And you'll have to live in Canada with your husband.

Wrong. She doesn't have to prove she didn't intend to immigrate. USCIS would have to prove that she DID intend to immigrate.

AOS is a discretionary benefit that an IO will grant by weighing the positive and negative factors. Entering the US as a non-immigrant with intent to immigrate is a serious negative factor but it's not enough to outweigh the positive factor of being an immediate relative of a US citizen. There are precedent BIA cases establishing this, and it's even covered in the Adjudicators Field Manual.

In a nutshell, even if USCIS had proof that she intended to immigrate when she entered as a non-immigrant they still would not use that as a basis for denying AOS. They would need additional proof that she lied about her intent. The OP did not not intend to immigrate when she entered the US so it would be unlikely that USCIS would have evidence to the contrary, or that they would have evidence she lied about her intent. She should be able to adjust status without her intent becoming an issue.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Okay well here's the truth of it:

- you do NOT have to prove lack of intent

- you CAN file for AOS while in the US. Guide is here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

- do NOT go home. Worst case scenario your AOS is denied (which I HIGHLY doubt) you will still have an approved I-130 which is the first part of the CR-1 process and you can then process the CR-1 in Canada. Really though, I doubt you'll have a problem.

Unless at the border they specifically told you not to AOS, or you told them a lie you will be fine. People do it all the time (with intent it's illegal of course). You can honestly say you didn't have intent, and if asked you have the proof of the ticket to your sister and then the LATER ticket to your fiance to prove you didn't go straight to him.

You'll need to pay the $1070 for AOS and the I-130 fee of $420 and your medical I-693 will be maybe $200 if you're lucky, can be more (mine was $400). Just be aware of all of that. Try and file asap, before your I-94 expires to be safe with your status.

**Jim posted while I was posting. Agree with him

Edited June 26, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony