Question about 30/60 intent rule

[Ontarkie 13,916]

~~Moved to AOS from Tourist from Bringing Family Members of US Citizens to America - As the OP's wife is already in the US~~

[Boiler 43,434]

you are really gung ho about letting everybody know that there is no issue with adjusting from a tourist visa. Every thread that comes up about it you are there. It is almost as if you have a personal interest in the issue.

Nope

And I would really rather not have to, perhaps if it the thread had started in the correct forum it would not be needed.

[ChicagoSarah 127]

Rules are rules, and Boiler knows them well. Like them or not I guess!

[Cathi 5,610]

I have read that if you come into US as a visitor and then file for your green card that it sets up a red flag if it happens before 60 days after your last arrival in US , that it is best to wait. My situation is , my wife has been visiting me here in the USA for several times last year , one time she came out (as visitor) and she got married , then she returned to Canada. over 8 months later she return to USA and we are going to wait the 60 days before we apply for her papers , my question is will they look back and apply the 30/60 rule to our September wedding date? We got married 2 weeks after she came here on a tourist visa but we arn't appying for her green card until 60 days after a different stamp , I would really like some help on this.

I am American Citizen

She is Filipina Citizen but a Perminant resident of Canada (with USA tourist Visa) Visa type R class b1/b2

Is she here or in Canada right now? If she is here in the US right now she can adjust status. If she is in her home country you need to petition and I-130 for a cr-1 visa. If she is in her home country she cannot plan to come to the US with the intent to stay and adjust status, that's fraud.

[Cathi 5,610]

Ah, I overlooked that piece.

OP - what did she tell the border crossing agent about the purpose of her visit? Assuming she may have some personal belongings she will need, how will she get those to your house in the US?

The path you'v chosen is still immigration fraud. Many people get away with it, but it's not a risk I would be willing to run. Why not have her go back to Canada, file for the CR1, and have her continue to visit on her B visa? Then you know you've done everything legally and won't run into trouble down the road.

I'm not sure how you're going to prove that "she just came for a routine visit, but she HAD to stay because of ????" USCIS will likely see no reason she had to adjust status and will certainly not see how it was a spur of the moment decision (perhaps because it wasn't).

Can you explain exactly why the path they have chosen is fraud? Because it isn't. If they did not intend that she was going to adjust status before she entered the US there us absolutely nothing illegal about that they did. Plans change. Stop with the judgments people. Do I think that adjust of status shouldn't be a loophole that people are allowed to take advantage of? Yes. Do I think that immigration should do away with the loophole? Yes. But in the mean time it's a perfectly legal option, providing there was no preconceived intent.

[ChicagoSarah 127]

Can you explain exactly why the path they have chosen is fraud? Because it isn't. If they did not intend that she was going to adjust status before she entered the US there us absolutely nothing illegal about that they did. Plans change. Stop with the judgments people. Do I think that adjust of status shouldn't be a loophole that people are allowed to take advantage of? Yes. Do I think that immigration should do away with the loophole? Yes. But in the mean time it's a perfectly legal option, providing there was no preconceived intent.

Not loving the attack as I try and help people just like you are doing. He made it sound as though they planned to have her enter with intent to stay (which as you agreed is fraud). I'm concerned with how she got across the border without lying to the border agent (which again is fraud). If you read the rest of the thread, you'd see I agreed with Boiler and voiced only my concern for the possibility of lying to border crossing. No need to get angry. I had the same questions that you did, no judgment. Without the OP coming back and providing all the facts, I've provided the different scenarios and outcomes for those scenarios.

We need the OP to return to verify where the wife is now (which appears to be in the US).

[Boiler 43,434]

over 8 months later she return to USA and we are going to wait the 60 days before we apply for her papers

I thought it was pretty clear, she entered the US less than 60 days ago.

I

As to what she said was when she entered I assume visiting? What else?

[Hypnos 6,576]

Lots of people do adjust from tourist visas and end up just fine. But, as many mentioned, it is visa fraud.

It can be, in certain circumstances. That doesn't seem to be the case here, though.

The path you'v chosen is still immigration fraud.

Again, no.

I'm just trying to encourage the legal route that means no trouble down the road. Adjusting is certainly easier and will likely do just fine, but aren't they likely to have some questions at their AOS interview?

I know lots of people enter on tourist visas and adjust status and get away with it, but I think we can all agree that it's not the right way to go about it.

AoS = a legal route, providing it wasn't pre-planned ahead of PoE and you didn't misrepresent your intentions to CBP.

Even if pre-conceived intent was a factor (which it doesn't seem to be here), if it is the sole negative factor then it cannot be the basis for a denial of an I-485 (see Matter of Battista and Matter of Cavazos).

Edited March 25, 2015 by Hypnos

[Merrytooth 5,748]

yah, all the people with VWP and tourist should just AOS inside US, instead of waiting outside especially those with TSC.

[ChicagoSarah 127]

Thanks, Hypnos. You can always state things clearly and matter-of-fact (which is a huge help on a site like this).

I'm going to refrain from posting things for a bit....somehow I seem to come under attack, even when I correct myself/learn along the way! I didn't understand that his wife was already in the US, hence my concern about misrepresentation and visa fraud/preconceived intent. Once I did realize that, I got on board with Boiler.

I must have read into the OPs post, because it sure sounded like preconceived intent to me. Either way, I clearly stated in later posts that Boiler was right that AOS was a valid option for them and that my concern remains what she told border crossing when she came here (but again, perhaps I read into some preconceived intent that others did not).

Good luck, OP! Hypnos and Boiler are great resources, so take their advice to heart!

[Hypnos 6,576]

The US immigration system is a mess, and a patchwork of rules that apply sometimes to a and b, but not c; with jobsworths making things up as they go along in some cases. The fact that they still ship paper files around the country in 2015 should be a worrying sign to anyone.

It is sorely in need of a top-to-bottom structural overhaul that encompasses every level of its bureaucracy. I am very sure that this will not take place anytime soon.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Hypnos

[ascertainLovE 165]

"Not loving the attack as I try and help people just like you are doing. He made it sound as though they planned to have her enter with intent to stay (which as you agreed is fraud)."

for every honest person that asks and is clueless about coming to the US and doing a AOS from a tourist visa there are probably 9 dishonest people that know exactly what they are doing and want to bypass the waiting process.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Very true.

Unfortunately we cannot peek inside their minds to tell the difference between the two.

[Boiler 43,434]

The US immigration system is a mess, and a patchwork of rules that apply sometimes to a and b, but not c; with jobsworths making things up as they go along in some cases. It is sorely in need of a top-to-bottom structural overhaul that encompasses every level of aits bureaucracy. I am very sure that this will not take place anytime soon.

To be fair it is not just immigration.

[ChicagoSarah 127]

i've spent the last 2 years on this site trying to learn the ins and outs of the system, and I'm obviously still nowhere close. You'd think something like fiance and spouse visas would be a relatively black and white process, but that is clearly not the case!