K1/ I-94

[itsc0r_ 1]

• Hi everybody! just wondering if you guys can help me with our situation. So I already have my K1 visa that will expire on March 23 2015 since my fiancé is an active military he'll be on deployment this February till end of May. I live in the philippines and he's stationed at Japan, and the wedding will be at RHODE ISLAND at his moms, because of that we ended up with our last RISKY option which is booking me a ticket a week before my visa expires ( March 17,2015 ) now i got these questions, will the Custom Border allow me? will they deport me? will they grant me my 90 days stay/ I-94?

  If ever i got my 90 days stay the covered date of that will be march 17-June 17 which is another problem of us too because my fiancé will make it there by the end of May meaning we only have like 20 days to get married sounds crazy right? for sure by the time I process my AOS,EAD,AP both my visa and I-94 are expired already, am I allowed to stay there while waiting? though its really like me over staying already,base to what I've read it will take 2-4 weeks to wait or longer.

  Please help us, any advise will be greatly appreciated!

[Tahoma 2,298]

Since you would like more time to plan your wedding, why don't you fly to the U.S. one day before your visa expires instead of one week? It makes no difference to the immigration officers.

You can file your AOS as soon as you get an official marriage certificate, but it's ok to file your AOS packet late. If you file late, just stay away from the CBP interior check points.

Another thing you could do is to have a quick civil marriage, then have a wedding celebration later.

[Dashinka 25,719]

First, I am assuming you mean 2016 with all your dates. My fiancé used up almost the entire six month validity of the K1 before she came over and we used that time to plan a wedding that was relatively small (family mostly) at my brother's house two weeks after she arrived. I should note that we did not set a date until she had he K1 in hand and we purchased her airline tickets. That worked out just fine for us, and was very memorable. I would suggest coming a few days before your visa expires (remember, this is tied to the date of the physical, not the approval date), but don't cut it too close, use the time now and after you arrive to plan a nice small wedding, and get married soon after your fiancé gets back from deployment. As to the AOS, there is no deadline for filing this package. With the K1, you only have to satisfy the getting married requirement within 90 days of arrival. When your I94 expires, if you are legally married, you will not be deported, but you will also not be able to work, or re-enter the country if you leave. You will essentially be in a holding pattern until you adjust, but not on any USCIS radar for deportation. There are many examples here at VJ where people filed the AOS a year or more after marriage for a variety of reasons.

Good Luck!

[Dashinka 25,719]

Just one clarification. When I say you will not be able to re-enter the country if you leave prior to receiving your AP/GC, what I mean is that if you were to leave, your spouse would then need to file for a spousal visa (IR1/CR1) to allow for your return. Most people try very hard to avoid this considering they have already been down the K1 path.

Good Luck!

[Hank_ 9,174]

• Hi everybody! just wondering if you guys can help me with our situation. So I already have my K1 visa that will expire on March 23 2015 since my fiancé is an active military he'll be on deployment this February till end of May. I live in the philippines and he's stationed at Japan, and the wedding will be at RHODE ISLAND at his moms, because of that we ended up with our last RISKY option which is booking me a ticket a week before my visa expires ( March 17,2015 ) now i got these questions, will the Custom Border allow me? will they deport me? will they grant me my 90 days stay/ I-94?

  If ever i got my 90 days stay the covered date of that will be march 17-June 17 which is another problem of us too because my fiancé will make it there by the end of May meaning we only have like 20 days to get married sounds crazy right? for sure by the time I process my AOS,EAD,AP both my visa and I-94 are expired already, am I allowed to stay there while waiting? though its really like me over staying already,base to what I've read it will take 2-4 weeks to wait or longer.

  Please help us, any advise will be greatly appreciated!

You can enter the USA any time BEFORE the expiration of the visa, so as Tahoma mentioned enter closer to that day if it helps you.

Once you clear POE you will have your I-94 (online) and 90 days to marry. Your visa is voided the second you clear POE so it is of no concern once in the USA.

You can process AOS almost anytime (once you have certified copies of your marriage certificate), this process is not restricted to being done within the 90 days, even though I believe getting it done the sooner the better Once you file your I-485 with USCIS you will have legal status.

[itsc0r_ 1]

Since you would like more time to plan your wedding, why don't you fly to the U.S. one day before your visa expires instead of one week? It makes no difference to the immigration officers.

You can file your AOS as soon as you get an official marriage certificate, but it's ok to file your AOS packet late. If you file late, just stay away from the CBP interior check points.

Another thing you could do is to have a quick civil marriage, then have a wedding celebration later.

Thank you so much for the reply and suggestion Tahoma! really appreciate it!

[itsc0r_ 1]

First, I am assuming you mean 2016 with all your dates. My fiancé used up almost the entire six month validity of the K1 before she came over and we used that time to plan a wedding that was relatively small (family mostly) at my brother's house two weeks after she arrived. I should note that we did not set a date until she had he K1 in hand and we purchased her airline tickets. That worked out just fine for us, and was very memorable. I would suggest coming a few days before your visa expires (remember, this is tied to the date of the physical, not the approval date), but don't cut it too close, use the time now and after you arrive to plan a nice small wedding, and get married soon after your fiancé gets back from deployment. As to the AOS, there is no deadline for filing this package. With the K1, you only have to satisfy the getting married requirement within 90 days of arrival. When your I94 expires, if you are legally married, you will not be deported, but you will also not be able to work, or re-enter the country if you leave. You will essentially be in a holding pattern until you adjust, but not on any USCIS radar for deportation. There are many examples here at VJ where people filed the AOS a year or more after marriage for a variety of reasons.

Good Luck

Oh yea sorry about that yes I meant year 2016, thank you for the correction Bill also for the response!

Knowing stories like this is pretty helpful especially for us beginners thank you for sharing now we are both relieved.