marry or not to marry

[jessanddennis 0]

Hi everyone,

we are engaged and been together for many years. we met online seven years ago and saw each other for the first time in person this summer. after that i went back home to sweden, and now two months later entered america again. this is my second visit with my fiance and we are now considering our options. we want me to live here eventually, and our plan was to get married in my home country sweden next year but the waiting and the missing is really painful. we know that its legal to get married on a visa waiver if you didnt have any intent on marriage coming in, and we didnt. its something we are considering right now, we want to get married and we also want me to stay. our fear is that since we are engaged and was before i entered the country, they will think its planned? are we taking a risk by marrying and then adjusting status? since we didnt plan on this, we havent made any preperations at all so the only thing they could consider intent is that we were already engaged. i brought with me tons of evidence to go through customs, including evidence that im intending to return to sweden which i was. customs didnt ask me anything at all when i entered. we are not sure where to go from here. how big of a chance is it that they claim fraud if we get married? it really isnt fraud though, yes we are engaged and are planning a future together but we did plan for me to stay here. thank you so much for any help, sincerely jess and dennis

[TracyTN 237]

Hi everyone,

we are engaged and been together for many years. we met online seven years ago and saw each other for the first time in person this summer. after that i went back home to sweden, and now two months later entered america again. this is my second visit with my fiance and we are now considering our options. we want me to live here eventually, and our plan was to get married in my home country sweden next year but the waiting and the missing is really painful. we know that its legal to get married on a visa waiver if you didnt have any intent on marriage coming in, and we didnt. its something we are considering right now, we want to get married and we also want me to stay. our fear is that since we are engaged and was before i entered the country, they will think its planned? are we taking a risk by marrying and then adjusting status? since we didnt plan on this, we havent made any preperations at all so the only thing they could consider intent is that we were already engaged. i brought with me tons of evidence to go through customs, including evidence that im intending to return to sweden which i was. customs didnt ask me anything at all when i entered. we are not sure where to go from here. how big of a chance is it that they claim fraud if we get married? it really isnt fraud though, yes we are engaged and are planning a future together but we did plan for me to stay here. thank you so much for any help, sincerely jess and dennis

You're wise to have that fear. If they think you planned to marry when you arrived, your application for your green card would be denied and you have no grounds to appeal - a right you give up when you apply for permanent residency directly after entering on the VWP and marrying. You can always roll the dice if you think you have enough evidence to prove otherwise - but I feel you should know exactly what you're up against if they choose not to believe you.

If I were in your shoes, I would marry now, return to Sweden before my 90 days was up and have her begin the CR1 process to seek your spousal visa (you can actually begin the CR1 process when you're still in the US - you'll just need a certified copy of your marriage certificate to get started.) The guides here on the site will walk you through it step by step.

Edited August 15, 2012 by TracyTN

[Abell 11]

unless your marriage is not real they have almost no reason to deny your application, but they might note the way you got in the country and use it against your relatives if they ever wanna come visit you, from my experience knowing people who came in on tourist visa and tried to stay based on marriage I can say if it is your first visit and you already marrying someone that is a red flag for INS but if it is not your first visit to US and you marrying someone they won't care that much

[Xanax 349]

This should go in the "adjusting from a tourist visa..." section.

Many, many, many people do this (adjust for vwp) every year and the denial rate is very low.

It's a fairly simple process. Expensive at $1500 + medical.

Weigh the pros and cons:

Cons:

- Your family won't be there

- You won't be able to leave the country for 3-4 months

- It's expensive

- There is a chance of denial and no appeal

- You generally won't be able to work or drive or get an ssn until your EAD or GC either...etc!

Pros:

- You won't be apart for the duration of your application

- The process time is shorter than that of a K-1 or CR-1.

***I am sure there are things I have missed, review your options in the guide section above, make a decision and good luck

Edited August 16, 2012 by Xanax

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

**** Moving from K1 visa to AOS from Tourist visa, which seems to be the main path OP is considering ****

[DandT14 272]

Hi everyone,

we are engaged and been together for many years. we met online seven years ago and saw each other for the first time in person this summer. after that i went back home to sweden, and now two months later entered america again. this is my second visit with my fiance and we are now considering our options. we want me to live here eventually, and our plan was to get married in my home country sweden next year but the waiting and the missing is really painful. we know that its legal to get married on a visa waiver if you didnt have any intent on marriage coming in, and we didnt. its something we are considering right now, we want to get married and we also want me to stay. our fear is that since we are engaged and was before i entered the country, they will think its planned? are we taking a risk by marrying and then adjusting status? since we didnt plan on this, we havent made any preperations at all so the only thing they could consider intent is that we were already engaged. i brought with me tons of evidence to go through customs, including evidence that im intending to return to sweden which i was. customs didnt ask me anything at all when i entered. we are not sure where to go from here. how big of a chance is it that they claim fraud if we get married? it really isnt fraud though, yes we are engaged and are planning a future together but we did plan for me to stay here. thank you so much for any help, sincerely jess and dennis

It's probably not a big chance that they will accuse you of fraud at all. You posted this in the K-1 forum at first where people are more likely to tell you that this is wrong, and get all doom and gloom. At most they might ask you for evidence you intended to return, but that's probably not even likely.

If you didn't have the intent to marry when you entered, then you're fine. Get married, file AOS and live happily ever after.

Edited August 16, 2012 by DandT14

[Little_My 463]

I was in the US first on a F-1 student visa. I got engaged to my now-husband in March 2010. Since then, I entered with the F-1 twice, before we eventually got married in February 2011. My last entry was in January after going home for Christmas, so about a month and a half before our marriage at Manhattan city hall. Not once was I asked about intent during the AOS process, nor did me being engaged to an American ever come up at POE. I highly doubt you would have any issues going through AOS in the US, though it is of course good to be aware of the risks - such as no right to appeal a negative decision.

If you're ready to go through the process here, and you don't need to go back to Sweden in the next 3-4 months or so, then I would just get it over and done with. However, if you do want a bigger wedding with both families present etc. then either K-1 or CR-1 might be better options for you. Though overstay isn't an issue for spouses of US citizens who file for AOS, you should attempt to minimize the amount of days you end up overstaying your VWP, i.e. get the paperwork send out as soon as possible. This means getting married very soon, and getting all the paperwork together quickly. You will also need to get the medical done before you can file.

I would say the whole process will cost around $2,000, which includes the filing fees, medical fees, and money spent on things such as passport photos, possible notarized copies, translations, etc.

[aayitrun 66]

since ur already engaged, if u marry and file aos from the vwp, that might be a red flag since u clearly misused the vwp to enter for the purpose of immigration.

its a risk.

i would recommend either going the k1 route, or the cr1 route after u marry in sweden. yes its a few months apart, but its better than being called out by immigration and possible issues later in life.

[DandT14 272]

since ur already engaged, if u marry and file aos from the vwp, that might be a red flag since u clearly misused the vwp to enter for the purpose of immigration.

its a risk.

i would recommend either going the k1 route, or the cr1 route after u marry in sweden. yes its a few months apart, but its better than being called out by immigration and possible issues later in life.

Did you read her post? She clearly stated she intended to return when she entered. She didn't misuse the VWP. She entered as a visitor and changed her mind after she got here, like MANY of the other people in this forum, my husband included.

[aayitrun 66]

Did you read her post? She clearly stated she intended to return when she entered. She didn't misuse the VWP. She entered as a visitor and changed her mind after she got here, like MANY of the other people in this forum, my husband included.

my bad. sorry i misread.

ok so your case is just fine, although if i were an io i would have a hard time believing that it wasnt planned since u have been engaged for many years.

[ValerieA 350]

my bad. sorry i misread.

ok so your case is just fine, although if i were an io i would have a hard time believing that it wasnt planned since u have been engaged for many years.

So then what do you think of my situation, where I entered already married to my husband then AOS'd? IT DOESN'T MATTER.

OP, you should be just fine. From what you've posted, I see no reason they would deny your AOS, if you want to go that route.

[aayitrun 66]

So then what do you think of my situation, where I entered already married to my husband then AOS'd? IT DOESN'T MATTER.

OP, you should be just fine. From what you've posted, I see no reason they would deny your AOS, if you want to go that route.

im not saying you cant. people have been successful and clearly you had your stuff organized well. at the same time people also have failed with the best of intentions. i personally dont like treading on the so called grey areas. upto you.

[Jen&Allen 0]

Forgive me for asking the same questions over but to clarify:

A person can enter under the visa waiver program from another country to the US and get married. They are then able to Adjust Status from there? Would they apply for the AOS before or after the 90 days is up on the VWP? And the general wait time for a GC is around 3-4 months?

Again sorry for repeating the same questions.

Thank you!

[DandT14 272]

Forgive me for asking the same questions over but to clarify:

A person can enter under the visa waiver program from another country to the US and get married. They are then able to Adjust Status from there? Would they apply for the AOS before or after the 90 days is up on the VWP? And the general wait time for a GC is around 3-4 months?

Again sorry for repeating the same questions.

Thank you!

Yes, provided they didn't enter with the intent to AOS. Ideally, you want to file before you overstay. If you do overstay the 90 days you can still file. And yes, it generally takes 3-4 months.

[Jen&Allen 0]

Yes, provided they didn't enter with the intent to AOS. Ideally, you want to file before you overstay. If you do overstay the 90 days you can still file. And yes, it generally takes 3-4 months.

Thank you very much!