I think I got some pretty bad immigration advice today

[ad8816 32]

Hello everyone! My husband and I were at the bank today to get a paper notarized when the conversation of immigration came up with the banker who was helping us. Our banker said she came from India in 2003 on a B-2 Visa, got married two days before her scheduled return date and then never left the USA and adjusted her status while staying in America. She was adamant that my husband should NOT LEAVE the United States (despite his return ticket in one month) and was telling us that if he leaves, he probably won't come back until our CR-1 processes in 3-4 years. We explained to her that, since he has the ESTA Visa Waiver, this is considered Visa fraud, but she was holding firm to her beliefs that he should NOT leave the United States and that he could adjust his status while being here and we could live happily ever after. 

 

Of course, we won't follow this advice and my husband would never over-stay his time in America. On this visit, he is not staying anywhere near his allotted 90 days, so there are no problems. I was just alarmed that someone would be so adamant about this advice she was giving to two young adults! Also, she was recommending us to see the top attorney in California (one who processed her Visa) and that he would be able to process this case for us and get my husband to stay and adjust his status with no problems, despite the Visa Waiver Program. Another thing she mentioned was, if an attorney prepares your I-130 packet, your case will be reviewed "much sooner" whereas if you prepare it yourself, USCIS just puts it to the wayside. I just want to have some reaffirmation that my thought process is correct and my prior research about the CR-1 Visa has not let me down. 

[Dashinka 24,593]

If the choice the two of you made was to file for a CR1, I would stick with it.  She was wrong in many aspects, first of all, the majority of CR1s are processing in 12-14 months, and secondly as you told her, your husband can visit while the application is processed.  He will however have to prove to CBP each time that he does not intend to stay when he attempts to enter the US possibly through showing his ties to Italy.  Also, her advice to a use a lawyer, and that using a lawyer will speed things up is totally untrue.  Certainly many people use a lawyer either for supposed peace of mind, or because they have a complicated case such as criminal issues, etc, but it is not required as many here will attest to.  Also, using a lawyer will not speed anything up no matter what she, or any lawyer tells you.  Perusing VJ you may come across many instances or stories where a lawyer actually process down.

 

Regardless, I would stay the course as you already decided.

 

Good Luck!

Edited December 22, 2017 by Bill & Katya

[Coco8 1,042]

Yes, he can stay and get a green card by doing AOS.

 

CR1 takes 14 months approx. 

 

No, doing AOS with ESTA is not fraud. You can do AOS right now. What is fraud is coming to the US with the intention of doing AOS. 

 

Having an attorney does not make your case go through faster. Sometimes it actually makes it slower because they make mistakes and you have to pay a lot of money. I don't recommend a lawyer.

 

 

Edited December 22, 2017 by Coco8

[MrHanky 1,377]

2003 was a long time ago, things change

[martin bk 19]

Short answer - Yes your husband can stay and adjust status - even from the VWP it is not FRAUD, you do not need a lawyer, but it’s your choice. 

Obviously not everyone can, due to commitments back home, but if you do decide to do AOS he won’t be able to work or leave the USA until he has advance parole and EAD 

 

Do what’s best for you. And good luck in whatever choice you make. 

 

[Hypnos 6,576]

Ask which law school the bank teller got her JD from, and how many times it took her to pass the Bar.

[JFH 12,190]

On this journey you will meet many such people who think they understand the process and will try to give "advice". Some of them have been through some sort of immigration process many years ago and don't realize that things change. I'm sure this person knows that banking has changed a lot since 2003 so she cannot be surprised that immigration has too. Some people will offer advice despite never having been through the process. On the plane back to the U.K. after I got married here on the VWP (I left 3 days after the wedding and I was crying on the plane) the woman next to be said "oh you don't need a visa to live in America. Your husband is American so you just go to "the office" (she couldn't even say which "office") and get your passport stamped". I think that's how it worked in the 1940s when soldiers brought home brides from Asia and Europe when they came home from the war. It's a lot different today.

 

Many years ago a CR-1 took several years. That's why the K-3 was introduced. The process is now about 12 to 14 months. You are doing the right thing. It is possible for him to stay and adjust but it sounds like this is not how you want to do things. Spontaneously deciding to never go back home from a vacation and walking out on a job, leaving family members to pack up your stuff and clean your apartment, return the keys, sell your car, etc is not for everyone. Especially as it puts you in limbo here for almost a year. Right now I wouldn't want to be out of status for 1 minute, let alone 1 year.  And my career is too important to me to just walk out like that. Only you can decide which visa path is right for you. 

 

She could be just jealous that your husband, being from a VWP country, can visit easily and she, being from India, had to fight for a B-2. Unfortunately you will also see jealousy in this process.

 

All in all, I would say don't take immigration advice from a bank teller, just as you wouldn't take financial advice from USCIS. 

[Boiler 45,663]

He can stay and adjust many do.

[ad8816 32]

2 minutes ago, JFH said:

On this journey you will meet many such people who think they understand the process and will try to give "advice". Some of them have been through some sort of immigration process many years ago and don't realize that things change. I'm sure this person knows that banking has changed a lot since 2003 so she cannot be surprised that immigration has too. Some people will offer advice despite never having been through the process. On the plane back to the U.K. after I got married here on the VWP (I left 3 days after the wedding and I was crying on the plane) the woman next to be said "oh you don't need a visa to live in America. Your husband is American so you just go to "the office" (she couldn't even say which "office") and get your passport stamped". I think that's how it worked in the 1940s when soldiers brought home brides from Asia and Europe when they came home from the war. It's a lot different today.

 

Many years ago a CR-1 took several years. That's why the K-3 was introduced. The process is now about 12 to 14 months. You are doing the right thing. It is possible for him to stay and adjust but it sounds like this is not how you want to do things. Spontaneously deciding to never go back home from a vacation and walking out on a job, leaving family members to pack up your stuff and clean your apartment, return the keys, sell your car, etc is not for everyone. Especially as it puts you in limbo here for almost a year. Right now I wouldn't want to be out of status for 1 minute, let alone 1 year.  And my career is too important to me to just walk out like that. Only you can decide which visa path is right for you. 

 

She could be just jealous that your husband, being from a VWP country, can visit easily and she, being from India, had to fight for a B-2. Unfortunately you will also see jealousy in this process.

 

All in all, I would say don't take immigration advice from a bank teller, just as you wouldn't take financial advice from USCIS. 

Thank you for this response!!! I really appreciate it. I just want to know we are doing the process correctly and justly. We had planned to go through CR-1 because having that year of processing will also us to both get school out of the way and my husband will be able to graduate in the meantime. We 100% did not ever anticipate for him to not return back to Italy from this visit, so hearing this information today was a bit shocking, as you can imagine. 

Again, thank you for your thoughtful response and helpful information.  

[ad8816 32]

1 hour ago, Bill & Katya said:

If the choice the two of you made was to file for a CR1, I would stick with it.  She was wrong in many aspects, first of all, the majority of CR1s are processing in 12-14 months, and secondly as you told her, your husband can visit while the application is processed.  He will however have to prove to CBP each time that he does not intend to stay when he attempts to enter the US possibly through showing his ties to Italy.  Also, her advice to a use a lawyer, and that using a lawyer will speed things up is totally untrue.  Certainly many people use a lawyer either for supposed peace of mind, or because they have a complicated case such as criminal issues, etc, but it is not required as many here will attest to.  Also, using a lawyer will not speed anything up no matter what she, or any lawyer tells you.  Perusing VJ you may come across many instances or stories where a lawyer actually process down.

 

Regardless, I would stay the course as you already decided.

 

Good Luck!

Yes we researched a lot and really had to weigh out the pros and cons for this Visa. It would really make me nervous to change things up at this point, especially when the alternative could be unfavorable. Thank you for the response! 

[evapaula 230]

Your banker wasn't completely wrong and you shouldn't be so appalled   You husband can stay and adjust if that's what you prefer to do, since he didn't come to the US with that intention. It's probably impractical for your situation and you seem to have the next year well planned out, but it's nothing illegal. 

[StuBear65 68]

Did you get married on this visit, or did you get married on a previous visit?

If you got married on this visit, was it a spur of the moment marriage, or did your husband enter the US with the intention of getting married?

 

The answers will determine if he was eligible to file for AOS or not, and if the advice given was correct or not.

 

 

[Dashinka 24,593]

7 hours ago, ad8816 said:

Yes we researched a lot and really had to weigh out the pros and cons for this Visa. It would really make me nervous to change things up at this point, especially when the alternative could be unfavorable. Thank you for the response! 

As others have said what the banker said about staying and adjusting after marriage is in fact a legal path and many do that.  However, not everyone can pick up their lives from one country and choose to stay in another at the drop of a hat.  Which is why we have other choices.  As you further stated the desire to finish school for Both of you it seems the CR1 is the best option.

 

Good Luck!

[JFH 12,190]

12 hours ago, StuBear65 said:

Did you get married on this visit, or did you get married on a previous visit?

If you got married on this visit, was it a spur of the moment marriage, or did your husband enter the US with the intention of getting married?

 

The answers will determine if he was eligible to file for AOS or not, and if the advice given was correct or not.

 

 

It doesn't matter when they got married. The spouse of a USC can adjust status at any stage, even after 20 years of marriage, provided there was no intent to do so at the time of arrival on that visit. The marriage also doesn't have to be spontaneous. We got married on a VWP visit and although the marriage was planned in advance, had I changed my mind after arrival and decided to stay, I lawfully could have done so. All that is required for AOS in this way to be possible is to be an immediate relative of a USC who had no immigration intent at POE - since everyone who has been admitted into the country as a tourist has been deemed by CBP to have no immigration intent that point is pretty much moot. 

 

Also, immigration intent is not enough to deny an AOS application from a spouse of a USC. 

 

Most, if not all, of us know that what the bank teller said was correct in terms of legality. My concern is that the advice was not only unsolicited but also not appropriate. It was very unprofessional of her. She was essentially telling the OP that the path they have chosen (CR-1) is a mistake. Quite frankly it's none of her business. Had I been on the receiving end of her so-called advice I likely would have made a complaint to the management. 

Edited December 22, 2017 by JFH

[StuBear65 68]

2 hours ago, JFH said:

It doesn't matter when they got married. The spouse of a USC can adjust status at any stage, even after 20 years of marriage, provided there was no intent to do so at the time of arrival on that visit. The marriage also doesn't have to be spontaneous. We got married on a VWP visit and although the marriage was planned in advance, had I changed my mind after arrival and decided to stay, I lawfully could have done so. All that is required for AOS in this way to be possible is to be an immediate relative of a USC who had no immigration intent at POE - since everyone who has been admitted into the country as a tourist has been deemed by CBP to have no immigration intent that point is pretty much moot. 

 

Also, immigration intent is not enough to deny an AOS application from a spouse of a USC. 

 

Most, if not all, of us know that wgat the bank teller said was correct in terms of legality. My concern is that the advice was not only unsolicited but also not appropriate. It was very unprofessional of her. She wax essentially telling the OP that the path they have chosen (CR-1) is a mistake. Quite frankly it's none of her business. Had I been on the receiving end of her so-called advice I likely would have made a complaint to the management. 

I stand corrected (said the man in the orthopaedic shoes).