Just Married ;-) is Adjustment of Status ASAP??

[Brian121957 43]

A foreign citizen who enters the US without following the proper process has broken the law and is refereed to as an ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT.

A foreign citizen who enters the US on a K1 visa is a legal immigrant. If they marry within 90 days but do not file their I-485 (AOS) they do not become an illegal immigrant. They become a legal immigrant who is OUT OF STATUS.

A foreign citizen who enters the US on a K1 visa is a legal immigrant. If they DO NOT marry within 90 days and do not leave the US. What are they?

Maybe someone else can clarify the difference and what the legal impact is.

[USA-ALG 63]

I posted mine exactly 97-99 days from his POE. So, we are just one week past 90 days. We got married 2 weeks after he got here. I trust all should be fine. But prepare your AOS package in advance. It can get quite lengthy and time consuming. I wish you the best.

[thinkerlove0212 158]

Maybe more knowledgeable members can give a better response. Don't use scare tactics of ICE arrest. From reading VJ and others process it is understood that most will be out of status at some point and not "illegal".

[Caryh 5,206]

Maybe more knowledgeable members can give a better response. Don't use scare tactics of ICE arrest. From reading VJ and others process it is understood that most will be out of status at some point and not "illegal".

The term illegal immigrant is a layman's term and not a legal definition. So it means what ever people commonly want it to mean. Generally it means undocumented aliens, but is sometimes stretched to include those that come on non immigrant visas and stay beyond the visa. Legally there are different categories of aliens: resident and nonresident, immigrant and nonimmigrant, documented and undocumented, in status and out of status. The K-1 visa holder who marries but doesn't file for AOS before the I-94 expires is an out of status nonresident alien. The entire immigrant and nonimmigrant question is kind of a grey area with the K-1, as its a nonimmigrant visa used for immigration purposes. Therefore the K-1 who doesn't file is technically in violation and can be picked up by ICE as such. If ICE is active where you live its a worry. If they're not active, its not much of a worry. Any out of status time for the K-1 is normally forgiven because they married a USC.

Edited June 20, 2012 by Caryh

[KayDeeCee 4,892]

This is a good post by a very knowledgeable member: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/339219-avance-parole-am-i-worrying-my-wife-needlessly/page__view__findpost__p__5015440

[Dave&Roza 748]

A foreign citizen who enters the US without following the proper process has broken the law and is refereed to as an ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT.

A foreign citizen who enters the US on a K1 visa is a legal immigrant. If they marry within 90 days but do not file their I-485 (AOS) they do not become an illegal immigrant. They become a legal immigrant who is OUT OF STATUS.

A foreign citizen who enters the US on a K1 visa is a legal immigrant. If they DO NOT marry within 90 days and do not leave the US. What are they?

Maybe someone else can clarify the difference and what the legal impact is.

If they fail to married within the 90 days granted by the K-1 visa then they are an ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT and are acruing over stay days towards a 3 year or 10 year bar of entering the US. The K-1 Visa holder who marries within the 90 days but does not file for AOS until after the I-94 expires has no documentation to show anybody that they are legally in the US. So if detained by CBP or ICE or any other LEO that checks immigration status might hold them based on the expired I-94. Being detained is a royal PITA and the outcome will most likely involve an immigration judge telling you to file AOS and may give you a deadline which you better not miss. Is this a scare tactic? Maybe. But the fact that you can be detained and hauled in front of an IJ is a possibility. We filed AOS a few weeks before the wife's I-94 expired and had the NOA1 in hand before that date. So we were not willing to take a chance. There is no time limit to file the AOS after marrying within the 90 days, but there might be consequenses should the I-94 expire and you do not have the receipt from the AOS. It is your life, do what you will.

YMMV,

Dave

[Joandjo 20]

: Her's the ICE LINK

and a copy of the definition

An illegal immigrant in the United States is a (non-citizen) who has entered the United States without government permission and in violation of United States Nationality Law, or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa, also in violation of the law.

I don't like the scare tactics or the blunt approach some folks tend to take. I also have seen alot of people who don't realize there are consequences involved if we delay too long. The comment by Dave&Rosa isn't the most pleasant way to say it, but it's absolutely better than thinking it's okay to take your time. Getting the funds together was our priority and it took a chunk out of the stuff we wanted to do.

Not having the money is the only reason I'd wait. And even then I got a second job and pulled in a little more so we could get that behind us.