Marriage on tourist visa, seeking advice on how best to proceed

[freshgreengrass 12]

Hi all,

I am a Canadian citizen, and I have almost used up my six month limit tourist visa to spend time with my partner. My passport is stamped to return to Canada on May 1st. I have been here since February 2nd, and we are getting married this week.

I really do not want to return to Canada, so would it be feasible to file for an adjustment of status now and stay here? We had not previously intended to wed, and are very much ready to file all the paperwork and complete all the tasks associated as we would like to start our life together.

Is this possible?

Thanks!

[Jack2107 46]

Well clearly you know the process.

You can stay and file your Papers but won't be able to work or travel anywhere for 90days.

It isn't the legal way to do it. Even though people do it.

You should GO home and do it LEGALLY!

[Boiler 43,576]

Well clearly you know the process.

You can stay and file your Papers but won't be able to work or travel anywhere for 90days.

It isn't the legal way to do it. Even though people do it.

You should GO home and do it LEGALLY!

What law is it breaking?

[EM_Vandaveer 2,370]

Please ignore Jack2107's answer.

If indeed you had no intent to stay when entering the US, then it is perfectly LEGAL to marry & file for AOS.

Follow this guide:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

Well clearly you know the process.

You can stay and file your Papers but won't be able to work or travel anywhere for 90days.

It isn't the legal way to do it. Even though people do it.

You should GO home and do it LEGALLY!

Nothing illegal about it. Clearly if it was illegal then the law would not allow it. The law allows it therefore it's legal. It's very simple, really. Edited April 3, 2016 by EM_Vandaveer

[JFH 12,189]

It is legal. It is a sore point for some who are waiting patiently or not so patiently outside the country to be able to join their loved ones.

It is open to abuse, which is why some people really don't like it. I personally know of people who have abused it. One arrived with two cats on the VWP with no intention whatsoever of returning. Another made massive posts on another forum about quitting her job, selling her possssions, saying goodbyes to her friends before entering on the VWP with no intention to return.

Personally, I find it fascinating. I have visions of houses all over the world with cars abandoned on the drive, food in the fridge and freezer, pets in boarding kennels, paperwork on the desk at the office waiting for the person to return, piles of unopened mail, library books not returned, and so on because people went on a trip to see their wife/boyfriend/husband or whoever and then decided never to return.

Which is why I find it hard to believe in some cases (and because I know of three people who abused it and no one who genuinely changed their mind). I have considered staying when I've been there with my husband. But there were just too many loose ends to tie in order to stay for good and without being able to travel back to unplug the freezer and hand back the keys to the landlord it just wasn't in the equation.

Edited April 3, 2016 by JFH

[KayDeeCee 4,892]

Well clearly you know the process.

You can stay and file your Papers but won't be able to work or travel anywhere for 90days.

It isn't the legal way to do it. Even though people do it.

You should GO home and do it LEGALLY!

It is LEGAL! > http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/590950-aoseadap-from-b2-visa/page-2#entry8083787

OP, follow this guide> http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

[Dirty harry 25]

Hi all,

I am a Canadian citizen, and I have almost used up my six month limit tourist visa to spend time with my partner. My passport is stamped to return to Canada on May 1st. I have been here since February 2nd, and we are getting married this week.

I really do not want to return to Canada, so would it be feasible to file for an adjustment of status now and stay here? We had not previously intended to wed, and are very much ready to file all the paperwork and complete all the tasks associated as we would like to start our life together.

Is this possible?

Thanks!

Totally legal. even an overstay will be forgiven.To any one saying otherwise, or if your butt hurt because you did it a different way, get over it. Name 1 visa that isn't abused. In fact, a tremendous amount of people abuse the k-1 visa program.But some how according to many this is the "right way to do it". What it really boils down to is people are upset because they had to wait, and the person who adjusts from a tourist visa didn't have to wait. That's the crux of the issue. This creates a hierarchy in the minds of some in the first group that is totally imagined, and because they did it the "right way" they love to come rain on everyone's parade. BTW I have experienced both types of of AOS. My wife came on a k-1 and her parents are coming from a B/2.I personally believe there should be absolutely no wait for visas or AOS of Americans who get married or have immediate family members coming to the U.S as long as background checks happen.

Harry