AOS and VWP

[chelsea.and.john 0]

Hi, I'm new to VJ and I was reading thru some posts about adjustment of status to get myself more familiar with it. To explain my situation, my husband came over on VWP to visit me (he was only my boyfriend at the time) and during his stay we decided to get married and did. (yay!) So we went to Atlanta with an Infopass Appt. and spoke to an immigration officer. He said, no problem, my new husband could stay and gave us our packet of paperwork. My husbands 90 days on his I-94 for VWP expired a few days ago and because of the immigration officer's answers I wasnt worried about him accruing out of status days. But now I've been reading some new stuff and its making me a bit worried that he will be denied because his 90 days expired before we got the paperwork in. We are planning on sending it off in the next few weeks anyways, but were taking time because of the rush of xmas and work and taxes, and also waiting on my name change paperwork to be finished. We asked the immigration officer if there was a certain time period we needed to have the paperwork filled out and he said no, just dont take 2 years and laughed, kinda being light hearted with us. SO...after all that...my question is.....am I ok relying on the immigration officer's word and is there any chance he will be denied due to overstay?

[DelcoCouple 1]

If the AOS application is successful then the overstay will normally be forgiven

[chelsea.and.john 0]

If the AOS application is successful then the overstay will normally be forgiven

Thank you! is there any other info we should know about?

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Do not leave the USA until you have the Greencard in hand...

Kez

[chelsea.and.john 0]

Do not leave the USA until you have the Greencard in hand...

Kez

Hi thanks for the advice! I see you are from Scotland as well!

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Hi.... yes I am from Arbroath... where are you from? I also came over on vacation and did AOS from VWP and as long as you did not have intent to remain when you entered you should be ok.... took me 183 days from day we filed to get approval at AOS interview....

Good Luck

Kez

[birdnbloke 0]

From what I understand, as long as there are no problems with the AOS, and you file before 180 days of overstay have accrued, everything will be cool and all will be forgiven

[Yodrak 7]

carruthers06,

Adjusting from visitor, whether B visa or VWP, really is something that should be discussed in a consultation with an experienced immigration attorney. Many, perhaps most, people are successful, but it can be quite fact specific.

Are the facts of your case the same as those of other people who have been successful, or is there some detail in your case - yet unmentioned - that might be crucial and sets your case apart?

Yodrak

..... SO...after all that...my question is.....am I ok relying on the immigration officer's word and is there any chance he will be denied due to overstay?

[athena_ny 1]

On the AOS form, it says nothing about 180 days. Just that you can apply if you overstayed then lists conditions, one of which is "you are an immediate relative of a United States citizen (parent, spouse, widow, or unmarried child under age of 21)". If you entered without inspection, it's a completely different story, but my husband overstayed by almost 2 yrs (active lawsuit, visa expired a little before it was filed, and he didn't have the money to go back to Peru, etc etc long story involving the death of his father) and we've been told by attorneys we should have no problems.

From what I understand, as long as there are no problems with the AOS, and you file before 180 days of overstay have accrued, everything will be cool and all will be forgiven

[meauxna 15]

On the AOS form, it says nothing about 180 days.

And?

If a person racks up +180 days of overstay, they face a 3 year bar on re-entry.

There is more to it all than forms. I think a lot of people here forget that (not saying that you forgot it; you may not have ever know it).

[athena_ny 1]

Nonono, I know they face it on re-entry. I'm saying if they never leave, overstays over 180 days are still generally forgiven.

On the AOS form, it says nothing about 180 days.

And?

If a person racks up +180 days of overstay, they face a 3 year bar on re-entry.

There is more to it all than forms. I think a lot of people here forget that (not saying that you forgot it; you may not have ever know it).

[Yodrak 7]

carruthers06,

You might want to find out the consequences if the AOS application is not successful.

Yodrak

If the AOS application is successful then the overstay will normally be forgiven

Thank you! is there any other info we should know about?

[chelsea.and.john 0]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! Yodrak, I've heard before that I might want to consult an attorney but I've also seen several couples with situations much like me and my husbands. The fact that an immigration officer told us no problem he can stay makes me think that an attorney is not neccesary. Dont you think? There are no strange circumstances to our case. No previous marriages, no children. We met online thru a mutual friend right before I was going to Scotland to study abroad and we spent 6 months together there. After I returned home, John came to visit me and my family for the 90 days allowed on VWP and during that time we decided to get married and we did!

Ok aside from that.....the 3 year barr on entering the country. I am aware of this but I'm curious...when you you actually get the ban? Overstaying 10 days? 30? 60? or is it at 180? And if you do overstay about 30 days or such do you get any penalty?

Ohhh the many questions LOL

~Chelsea

[chelsea.and.john 0]

Nonono, I know they face it on re-entry. I'm saying if they never leave, overstays over 180 days are still generally forgiven.

On the AOS form, it says nothing about 180 days.

And?

If a person racks up +180 days of overstay, they face a 3 year bar on re-entry.

There is more to it all than forms. I think a lot of people here forget that (not saying that you forgot it; you may not have ever know it).

Okay......so *IF* my husband accrued 180 he would face the ban on re-entry even if the AOS is successful and he has a greencard? HE would never be able to visit home? (even though he's no where near accruing that, only at 14 days overstay)

*utter confusion*

Edited January 30, 2007 by carruthers06

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Being out of status for 180 days (6 months) generates a 3 year ban from re-entry to the US if the individual leaves the US during this time, plus USCIS will treat an AOS application as abandoned by the act of leaving the country. Being out of status for 1 year generates a 10 year ban from re-entry to the US if the individual leaves the US during this time. When he files the AOS application and receives his NOA1 (receipt of application), he will no longer be out of status; his status will be 'AOS Applicant'. Once he receives the greencard (AOS approved), then any previous out of status stay is forgiven for family members only, so he would be able to leave the US and return safely. It does not sound like he will accumulate 180 days, but it is a good idea to get the AOS application in as soon as possible; while he is out of status he is always at risk, even if it is unlikely that he will be targeted.

Also, if there is an overstay, an AP 'Advance Parole' is worthless. USCIS will grant the AP however the border guard will not allow the re-entry because of the previous overstay violation.

Edited January 30, 2007 by Kathryn41