Married but on Tourist Visa

[MalaysianGirl 26]

The stamp in her passport says Class ____WC____ (or something that looks like WC) and then hand-written below is 15 FEB 2012 (the admitted date is NOV 18 2011 - part of the stamp)

That means she can stay until 15 February 2012.

[captal 2]

In the guide it says " A copy of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport along with English translation. (If in any language other than English)"

It would be easier just to use her passport- which also provides a LOT of evidence of a bonafide marriage as we have visited ~10 countries together (same entry/exit stamps) in the last 2 years.

[ceadsearc 515]

In the guide it says " A copy of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport along with English translation. (If in any language other than English)"

It would be easier just to use her passport- which also provides a LOT of evidence of a bonafide marriage as we have visited ~10 countries together (same entry/exit stamps) in the last 2 years.

That will suffice for the I-130 but she will still need her birth certificate and a translation of it for the I-485.

[captal 2]

This is all so much fun!

It's looking like I won't have a job before we have to put our application in. How much money do I need to have in the bank to not need a joint sponsor? Never mind- I found the answer- looks like 3x the poverty limit. I'm thinking I could always put the application in and if they reject it, use a sponsor.

We're considering moving to do some job hunting. I'm worried about what address to put on the application... if I use a temporary address or a P.O. Box is that going to cause problems? Should I use my parents address in IL even though we'll likely be in CA?

Edited January 12, 2012 by captal

[Little_My 463]

1. They WILL reject it if you do not meet the income requirements. There is no "if". There is no point in submitting the papers without meeting the financial requirements, either through your income and savings or through a joint sponsor. In your case it seems like you will need a co-sponsor to qualify. If you send the papers and you do not meet the income levels, USCIS will send you an RFE with a limited time for you to respond - and if you do not respond within that time, the application will be denied. So get a joint sponsor.

2. Do not use a temporary address nor a PO box. I would advice to use your parent's address if you two do not have a temporary residence at the moment. Any changes in addresses during this process can easily result to you not receiving correspondence from USCIS, which can result to some very annying and frustrating delays, or in a worst case scenario, denial because you failed to react to something they sent, or failed to show up for an appointment which you never knew about.

[captal 2]

We're very close to having enough to meet the requirements without needing a job, if we include my wife's assets in Japan. I'm just brain-storming, but I could put in the application and if they RFE, I hopefully have a job by then, and if not, I get a sponsor.

[jojolicious 38]

Definitely use your parents' address since you'll be moving around to look for jobs. Maybe you could also ask one of your parents to be a co-sponsor as well.

[Little_My 463]

I am not quite sure if you can use your wife's assets to qualify. You could use her income, if she was currently working and could prove that her income will continue from the same source after immigrating, and you can use the USC spouses assets - but the instructions do not mention using the beneficiary's assets to qualify. Even if this was possible, from what I have seen in these forums, most people who include assets to qualify and with these assets are right above the poverty line seem to always get an RFE. Especially if you would be barely over the poverty limit, I would personally just go for the co-sponsor straight away and not even try to make it with your wife's foreign assets. It is very hard for USCIS to determine whether assets can or cannot be liquidated if needed, and what the actual value of those assets would be - which is why most people tend to get RFEs, unless their assets happen to be somewhere along the lines of a private jet or a yacht..

[captal 2]

Darn- sold the private jet already

Thanks for the advice- we still have about a month before we MUST put her application in (visa expires Feb 15), so my job situation my change by then. If not, I'll find a sponsor.

Edited January 12, 2012 by captal

[captal 2]

Update:

I've filed my taxes for the year and my wife underwent her physical by a civil surgeon today. She was only required to get MMR and tetanus as she had Chicken Pox in the past. We brought her vaccination records which were all in Japanese, but they took our word for what she had and didn't have. Total cost = $330 (we go back Friday to have them look at her TB skin test and get all the forms) Please be careful when you go to Civil Surgeons- they gave us an out of date form (from 2011) to fill in- luckily I'd brought the newer form with me and I brought this to their attention.

My sponsor is more comfortable loaning me a couple thousand dollars to make it over the 3x 125% of poverty limit and then helping if we get an RFE. I'm more comfortable with that as well because it gives me more time to find a job. If we get an RFE and then find a job, do I still need to reapply with a sponsor?

Right now I'm waiting a couple weeks to fill out the rest of the forms because it looks like a lot of the forms are updated mid-January. Is there anything else we should be doing in the meantime?

Thank again for everyone's help.

[desmond&molly 5]

I'd be careful with the loan. USCIS might want to know where the savings came from and you could end up at square one.

Having adjusted from an expired I-94 I can tell you that you can wait past Feb. 15.. Of course if you're able to do it before that's always the best possible option. The out of status won't prevent thr officer from approving the case. The repercussions are: she is susceptible to being put in deporation proceedings between the time the I-94 expires and the AOS is received (although this is a very slight chance). And if the amount of time out of status goes over 180 days she would be subject to 1 year ban - so she couldn't leave the US until the AOS is adjudicated (which is roughly taking 4 months).

Good luck!

[captal 2]

Hmm, that brings another option to the table then. Waiting until I have a job to put in the paperwork so that we can avoid having a sponsor. It puts her in breach of her visa though. Would that mean we couldn't fly anywhere domestically after the 15th of Feb?

My sponsor is very wary of the paperwork as it makes him incredibly responsible for my wife. If I die or we get divorced, he could potentially end up having to fork over a lot of $ which makes him unhappy. I hope and pray neither of those things happen though!

Edited January 20, 2012 by captal

[captal 2]

Has anyone else had experience doing an AOS on an expired tourist visa? Are there any other negative repercussions? It would definitely be better for us to apply once I have a job, but that likely won't happen before her tourist visa expires.

Today was a massive PITA- my wife's TB skin test came back positive because she was vaccinated against TB as a child. That meant we had to go and get a chest x-ray. The place they sent us would have been over half an hour on a good day, but we got like 8 inches of snow in Chicago today. We left the doctor's office a little after 1pm and got home around 6pm. Awful.

Back to the doctor on Monday and then we're flying to San Jose on Tuesday.

Edited January 21, 2012 by captal

[captal 2]

Got the sealed envelope from the doctor today, as well as a copy for our records. Everything is fine, but I noticed when I got home that he had forgotten to fill in the portion where it asks what ID he verified her by ("Form of applicant ID Presented"). He signed everything else saying that it was actually her, so I hope that doesn't cause any problems...

I'm still wondering about the option of letting her tourist visa expire and putting our application in once I've found work. It sounds like as long as she is less than 180 days out of status, we're ok. Any repercussions other than what desmond&molly said?

[Little_My 463]

As stated earlier, overstaying a previous visa does not really affect the AOS process. Overstay is overlooked when a foreigner adjust status based on marriage to a US citizen. However, the time beyond the expiry of her I-94 is unauthorized stay, so she is on borrowed time until the AOS papers have been filed and received by USCIS. If she overstays 180 days or more she is actually subject to 3 year ban to the US (not one year), and 365 days or more, and the ban is 10 years. However, the ban won't take effect unless the leaves the US before getting her greencard. She wouldn't be able to travel on the advance parole travel document, which means she could not leave the US until she has the actual greencard in her hands. Even if she overstays for less than 180 days, traveling with an AP with any overstay is not advisable, as she could be denied entry back in even with the AP.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a previous overstay does not disappear as a result of successful AOS. I'm not quite sure what the repercussions could be in the long run, but based on what I have read here, a previous overstay could come to hunt a person if he/she for example gives up the GC voluntarily and then departs the US, as this could still result in a ban based on an overstay that occurred before the foreigner got his/her greencard. So, let's say she overstays by 180 days or more before you find a job, then you adjust her status and get her a GC, and a couple of years from getting the GC you decide to move to her country due to whatever reasons. After living abroad for a while you attempt to come back to the US to visit, or maybe to move here, it would theoretically be possible that the 3 year ban that she would have been subject to due to the previous 180 day overstay would take effect. It would also be hard for her to ever get a non-immigrant visa to the US with a previous overstay. Again, this is only if she decides for whatever reason give up her GC - as a permanent resident, these are not issues to worry about. I might be wrong about this, and if I am, I'm sure someone will correct me soon.