K1 Visa I94 Expiring while Traveling within the US

[Firangi 0]

My wife (an Indian citizen who is here in the US on a K1 Visa) and I are currently facing a situation where she may need to travel by plane after her I94 expires, but before she is able to submit her Adjustment of Status packet.

Details:

My wife arrived in the US approximately two months ago on a K1 Fiance Visa, and we got married in California less than three weeks after her arrival. We were prepared to submit the Adjustment of Status packet soon after marriage. However, because it takes between 4 and 6 weeks to receive the official marriage certificate in California, our efforts have been substantially delayed.

For Christmas, we planned to travel from California to Pennsylvania in order to spend time with my family. We did not receive the marriage certificate before our departure date, and as a result, we were unable to submit the Adjustment of Status packed before we left California. We flew from California to Pennsylvania on 12/14/2014.

Herein lies the issue: Our return flight from Pennsylvania back to California is currently scheduled for January 15, 2015, which is one day after my wife's I94 expires and she becomes "out of status" / "out of compliance." The I94 / K1 Visa "stay" (written in ink next to the Visa in her Passport, and populated on the I94 form) expires on January 14, 2015. The K1 Visa itself expires March 09, 2015.

If we were just sitting at home in California, this really wouldn't be a problem. However, as you can probably guess, we are worried that we may experience issues when passing through security at the Philadelphia Airport. My hunch is that it really won't be an issue; I travel through the same airport every two weeks (for work), and I know that the TSA officers are actually pretty lax. I'm fairly certain that we can probably just "talk our way through" security by explaining that we are already married. We are carrying a "Customer Copy" of our marriage certificate, which we can use as evidence of this point.

However, there is definitely a risk that my wife will be stopped by security, and may not be allowed to board the flight (and possibly be deported). Do you think this is a significant risk? To play it safe, I could rebook my wife's flight for a few days before her stay expires, but this will be quite costly (especially around the holidays).

Any advice on this situation?

Thanks!

T and S

[msbau764 245]

My wife (an Indian citizen who is here in the US on a K1 Visa) and I are currently facing a situation where she may need to travel by plane after her I94 expires, but before she is able to submit her Adjustment of Status packet.

Details:

My wife arrived in the US approximately two months ago on a K1 Fiance Visa, and we got married in California less than three weeks after her arrival. We were prepared to submit the Adjustment of Status packet soon after marriage. However, because it takes between 4 and 6 weeks to receive the official marriage certificate in California, our efforts have been substantially delayed.

For Christmas, we planned to travel from California to Pennsylvania in order to spend time with my family. We did not receive the marriage certificate before our departure date, and as a result, we were unable to submit the Adjustment of Status packed before we left California. We flew from California to Pennsylvania on 12/14/2014.

Herein lies the issue: Our return flight from Pennsylvania back to California is currently scheduled for January 15, 2015, which is one day after my wife's I94 expires and she becomes "out of status" / "out of compliance." The I94 / K1 Visa "stay" (written in ink next to the Visa in her Passport, and populated on the I94 form) expires on January 14, 2015. The K1 Visa itself expires March 09, 2015.

If we were just sitting at home in California, this really wouldn't be a problem. However, as you can probably guess, we are worried that we may experience issues when passing through security at the Philadelphia Airport. My hunch is that it really won't be an issue; I travel through the same airport every two weeks (for work), and I know that the TSA officers are actually pretty lax. I'm fairly certain that we can probably just "talk our way through" security by explaining that we are already married. We are carrying a "Customer Copy" of our marriage certificate, which we can use as evidence of this point.

However, there is definitely a risk that my wife will be stopped by security, and may not be allowed to board the flight (and possibly be deported). Do you think this is a significant risk? To play it safe, I could rebook my wife's flight for a few days before her stacy expires, but this will be quite costly (especially around the holidays).

Any advice on this situation?

Thanks!

T and S

your wife will not be deported. because you are married you will be fine. there is a gray area in the law that allows you to be out of status when your I94 expires but you marry within the 90 day period. Someone here can give you a more technical explanation.

[TBoneTX 43,020]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the Working & Traveling forum. ***

[Moderator hat off]

It's not the TSA, but rather the CBP, who would be concerned about the passport and I-94. You're not traveling internationally, which is good at this stage, but CBP agents are known to hang around U.S. airports in the TSA area. The TSA will merely be concerned that your wife's form of ID (presumably the passport) matches the name on her ticket.

In the remote circumstance that you're challenged by a CBP agent, look him/her in the eye, say, "My wife is a K-1 visa entrant, and we're filing the I-485 just as soon as the incompetent state of California coughs up our marriage certificate. Good day to you, sir/ma'am." Then, proceed on your way.