marriage on tourist visa

[misa 2]

Plus you probably won't see many people here since we're all doing things the legal way.

[Marilyn. 340]

there are a couple of people on VJ who came to the United States, got married and then applied for AOS.... I can't think of any names at the moment though...

the problem is when people come to the US with the intent of getting married and staying in the United States...

[Thatchi 0]

I married on tourist visa and am adjusting from here....

[Traditions Way 0]

I know somebody who came here on a tourist visa and got married. She and her husband had their AOS interview last November 30, 2006 and guess what she got approved and received GC in a couple of weeks. We followed the usual K1 journey and we had our AOS interview on September and guess what we are pending because of FBI name check. SUCKS!!!!

Edited January 16, 2007 by Traditions Way

[MPGGPM 0]

All the more reason to go the K1 route - you never know what may happen at AOS so why risk it. *Most* K1 processes are relatively fast - I would think the temporary separation is a small price to pay for long term piece of mind.

Could be....but I said I'd be nervous doing it, ........I didn't say I wouldn't, had I the chance and the opportunity was right.

Our case was more complex than most, so that wasn't an option.

But, nerves be danged........if I had to weigh that against being separated from my spouse for what could be up to a year, or maybe even more. I mean...there are posts on this forum just today, where people have been on "administrative processing" for months, on TOP of the normal time it takes to process their visa.....and have been separated from their spouse for even longer than they originally had thought.

If US Immigration is going to take their own sweet time with this process, and might send some RFE's etc....or have some other delay.........better I could spend that time with my spouse here in the USA, ....than separated by continents and oceans........just being able to visit once in a while and for a short time.

I still think I'd hire a lawyer, though, just in case....(but that's just me...probably worry too much).........but the way I look at it, I am already spending that and more on plane tickets, phone bills, etc. alone.

To me.....if a person has the chance and opportunity to adjust from a tourist visa, they should take it. I just don't think the risks are that much greater than that of doing things the other way.

......... as long as they are careful, of course.

Edited January 16, 2007 by MPGGPM

[josieq 0]

Hi, my name's Josie and I'm new here, so bear with me.

I was wondering about applying for adjustment of status while in the US, as well. My husband is from the UK, we have been married a little over a year. I was living in England, legally, on a spousal visa for a year, but we decided to move here. I've moved back and have been here for several months. We're wondering what the best course of action is. Since we're already married, could he enter as a tourist and then apply for adjustment of status? Or is that risky? How does that work, and are there any FAQs about it? Or is it better legally to apply for either K-3 or C-1 or whatever it is? I've been reading that there's no way to guarantee either one of those is faster than the other, is one of them cheaper or easier than the other?

I was also reading the USCIS website where it lists all the fees for the forms, and most of them don't seem bad, except for the Supplement A to the I-485, which is $1,000. Is that right? Why is that one so expensive, and is it always necessary?

I understand that I can find a lot of this information elsewhere on the website and I've been looking and trying to consider my options, but I am a little lost and I wanted a little personal advice from people who have done this. Anything at all would be SO helpful.

Thanks a bunch,

Josie

[josieq 0]

Okay, I realized that after I posted this I ought to just try to do more research, and I pretty much answered my own questions. You can go for either visa, right, like go for the K-3 unless your I-130 gets approved before it does, in which case it'd probably be easier to go for the CR-1 since we won't have to adjust my husband's status.

I think I'm following this correctly. I still have a few questions here and there, but I don't have them clearly in my mind yet.

Thanks! I'm sure you'll hear from me again.

Jos

[am1996 0]

there are a couple of people on VJ who came to the United States, got married and then applied for AOS.... I can't think of any names at the moment though...

the problem is when people come to the US with the intent of getting married and staying in the United States...

We now wife came here as a tourist without any intent of getting married but then I proposed, we got married and are now adjusting status. As long as there was no visa fraud at the time the alien entered the country as a tourist, there is nothing illegal or dangerous about subsequently changing his/her mind, getting married and adjusting status.

You must obviously be comfortable with your ability to provide satisfactory answers regarding the circumstances that lead to this change of plans and should be aware that the timing of your marriage affects USCIS' presumptions (marriage in the first 30 days gives rise to a rebuttable presumption that the tourist visa was obtained with a fraudulent intent; marriage after the first 30 days but before 90 days is treated neutrally; marriage after the initial 60 day period gives rise to a rebuttable presumption that there was no fraudulent intent in entering as a tourist).

In my wife's case, we are quite comfortable with all of the above since we got married after the initial 60 days (we actually did not know about the presumption at the time -- it just so worked out that we got married then). We can also provide evidence that she had spent about $1,000 taking one of Canadian medical board exams since at that time she intended to start a Canadian medical residency this year. It would've obviously been utterly nonsensical for her to spend the time and money taking (and very successfully passing) the exam if she had intended to immigrate to the US.

[stephthegeek 0]

Our lawyer told us the same thing as am1996. I came down from Canada on a tourist visa with no intention to marry but got proposed to after about three months and decided to get married and stay The lawyer said that anything under 30 days can raise suspicion, but after 60-90 days, there should be no problem.

[athena_ny 1]

I met my husband after he was already in the country - came on a tourist visa that expired, his father died and a lawsuit was opened so now he can't leave - so honestly, our situation is legal because his intent at the time was not to immigrate - he hadn't seen his father for 5 years so his intent was to come here, visit, then return home and hopefully get a student visa. Didn't work out that way, but his lawyers have said that there really shouldn't be any issues because he entered the country legally.

Of course the K1/K3 is the recommended route ... and if you're purposely trying to commit visa fraud because you don't want to wait, you're only adding to the problem - the problem being long wait times, etc., but everything I've read says that it's not too much of an issue as long as you can prove your intent when you arrived in the country was not to marry.

[kitkat1 5]

The lawyer said that anything under 30 days can raise suspicion, but after 60-90 days, there should be no problem.

This is a myth. It's not about the timing - it's about intent.

[am1996 0]

The lawyer said that anything under 30 days can raise suspicion, but after 60-90 days, there should be no problem.

This is a myth. It's not about the timing - it's about intent.

What's a myth? If I am not mistaken, the Adjudicators' Field Manual states that marriage in the first 30 days creates a rebuttable presumption that the non-immigrant visa was obtained through fraudulent means; that marriage within the second 30 day period is treated neutrally; and finally that marriage after the 60 day period creates a rebuttable presumption that the non-immigrant visa was NOT obtained through fraudulent means. So yes, it is certainly all about the intent but providing sufficient evidence of the non-immigrant intent is certainly a lot easier if you are not required to overcome a presumption against you.

[kitkat1 5]

The lawyer said that anything under 30 days can raise suspicion, but after 60-90 days, there should be no problem.

This is a myth. It's not about the timing - it's about intent.

What's a myth? If I am not mistaken, the Adjudicators' Field Manual states that marriage in the first 30 days creates a rebuttable presumption that the non-immigrant visa was obtained through fraudulent means; that marriage within the second 30 day period is treated neutrally; and finally that marriage after the 60 day period creates a rebuttable presumption that the non-immigrant visa was NOT obtained through fraudulent means. So yes, it is certainly all about the intent but providing sufficient evidence of the non-immigrant intent is certainly a lot easier if you are not required to overcome a presumption against you.

Can you show the link to the Adjudicator's Field Manual and where this is stated? It does not seem to exist anywhere in the manual. . .

It's clear lawyers advise this to clients, but that's about it.

[am1996 0]

Can you show the link to the Adjudicator's Field Manual and where this is stated? It does not seem to exist anywhere in the manual. . .

It's clear lawyers advise this to clients, but that's about it.

I have seen it either in the AFM or in the FAM, so it's not a myth. I'll try to find a link and will post it here. I also remember seeing the link posted somewhere on VJ.

[kitkat1 5]

Can you show the link to the Adjudicator's Field Manual and where this is stated? It does not seem to exist anywhere in the manual. . .

It's clear lawyers advise this to clients, but that's about it.

I have seen it either in the AFM or in the FAM, so it's not a myth. I'll try to find a link and will post it here. I also remember seeing the link posted somewhere on VJ.

Really? Everything I've read on VJ indicates that this is a myth and something that lawyers tell their clients, but is not in the manual anywhere.