Time without filling for AoS after K1

[Kirin2002 257]

Hello everyone;

I suppose a lot of people have entered this question here. But, how much time can you spend in the States after a marriage on a K1 Visa without filling for AoS? We want my fiancé's sister to fill the I-134 for the K1 Interview but after that we would want to fill for the AoS by ourselves. The problem comes now: my fiancé won't start working until October or so, so I would be in the States without filling for the Green Card about 3 or 4 months. Is this a big problem?

Also, could I take planes and travel in the States without filling for the AoS?

Thank you so much guys!

Edited February 15, 2018 by Kirin2002

[usmsbow 802]

13 minutes ago, Kirin2002 said:

Hello everyone;

I suppose a lot of people have entered this question here. But, how much time can you spend in the States after a marriage on a K1 Visa without filling for AoS? We want my fiancé's sister to fill the I-134 for the K1 Interview but after that we would want to fill for the AoS by ourselves. The problem comes now: my fiancé won't start working until October or so, so I would be in the States without filling for the Green Card about 3 or 4 months. Is this a big problem?

Also, could I take planes and travel in the States without filling for the AoS?

Thank you so much guys!

 

Well you can be in the US indefinitely w/out filing for AoS, but you'll be out of status. Not ideal, but not the end of the world either. If you get married after you're here for nearly 3 months, then file for AoS a month later, not a big deal. 

 

You're also in Chicago, far from the southern border, so that's good (since Border Patrol has checkpoints down there). 

 

And yes, you could fly and travel w/in the US w/out filing for AoS, assuming your passport is still valid. Some on VJ will probably warn you and say it is a bad idea, but it is certainly do-able. 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2018 by usmsbow

[geowrian 22,339]

You are granted 90 days of legal status upon entry on a K-1 visa. After 90 days, if you have not filed for AOS then you will accrue unlawful presence and be technically deportable (although not a priority for deportation so it's unlikely they will do anything). You can file for AOS years later so long as you married within the 90 days and the same I-129F still provides an I-864. Once you file for AOS, you are granted authorized stay while the case is pending. AOS will not be denied due to any overstay as the spouse of a USC.

 

Any travel by plane or public transportation that is subject to inspection carries a risk if you are out of status and don't have authorized stay (i.e. after 90 days and without AOS being filed) . It's a low risk, but there are cases of CBP officers working alongside TSA officials at airports (especially near the border), and/or federal officers inspecting buses and checking immigration status.

 

If you do have legal status or authorized stay, then carrying proof of that is prudent in the rare event they check it.

Edited February 15, 2018 by geowrian

[Kirin2002 257]

6 minutes ago, geowrian said:

You are granted 90 days of legal status upon entry on a K-1 visa. After 90 days, if you have not filed for AOS then you will accrue unlawful presence and be technically deportable (although not a priority for deportation so it's unlikely they will do anything). You can file for AOS years later so long as you married within the 90 days and the same I-129F still provides an I-864. Once you file for AOS, you are granted authorized stay while the case is pending. AOS will not be denied due to any overstay as the spouse of a USC.

 

Any travel by plane or public transportation that is subject to inspection carries a risk if you are out of status and don't have authorized stay (i.e. after 90 days and without AOS being filed) . It's a low risk, but there are cases of CBP officers working alongside TSA officials at airports (especially near the border), and/or federal officers inspecting buses and checking immigration status.

 

If you do have legal status or authorized stay, then carrying proof of that is prudent in the rare event they check it.

Thank you for your complete response!!! You answered a lot of questions I had.

Another last question: is there any way to present the I-864 later? Like in the interview or something instead of the initial AoS Packet.

Thank you so much!

[geowrian 22,339]

2 minutes ago, Kirin2002 said:

Thank you for your complete response!!! You answered a lot of questions I had.

Another last question: is there any way to present the I-864 later? Like in the interview or something instead of the initial AoS Packet.

Nope. The I-864 is required with the AOS filing.

An insufficient I-864 (missing supporting evidence or doesn't meet the financial requirements) should still be accepted but would very likely be issued a Request For Initial Evidence (RFIE) long before they adjudicate the I-485 (and they won't process the EAD or AP in the meantime).

[Kirin2002 257]

3 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Nope. The I-864 is required with the AOS filing.

An insufficient I-864 (missing supporting evidence or doesn't meet the financial requirements) should still be accepted but would very likely be issued a Request For Initial Evidence (RFIE) long before they adjudicate the I-485 (and they won't process the EAD or AP in the meantime).

Thank you so much! For us it is much like a game and playing with times... Let's see if we have any luck, but we're desperated and wanna be together soon.

Thanks for your help

[Kirin2002 257]

24 minutes ago, usmsbow said:

 

Well you can be in the US indefinitely w/out filing for AoS, but you'll be out of status. Not ideal, but not the end of the world either. If you get married after you're here for nearly 3 months, then file for AoS a month later, not a big deal. 

 

You're also in Chicago, far from the southern border, so that's good (since Border Patrol has checkpoints down there). 

 

And yes, you could fly and travel w/in the US w/out filing for AoS, assuming your passport is still valid. Some on VJ will probably warn you and say it is a bad idea, but it is certainly do-able. 

 

 

The thing is my fiancé should move to California in September or so and start working in October more or less, so I would have to go to the south... (Bay Area in this case). And a month later it is still too soon for us. If we want to do the K1 interview now and I go in mid-April, we would have to get married in July and could not fill for AoS until October or November, so .... calculate around 4 months without filling.

[Roel 7,193]

Should have file for cr1 instead. Sounds like the spouse visa would work better for you. 

[usmsbow 802]

3 minutes ago, Kirin2002 said:

The thing is my fiancé should move to California in September or so and start working in October more or less, so I would have to go to the south... (Bay Area in this case). And a month later it is still too soon for us. If we want to do the K1 interview now and I go in mid-April, we would have to get married in July and could not fill for AoS until October or November, so .... calculate around 4 months without filling.

 The Bay Area is still far from the border. While there was a massive crackdown by ICE recently, it was focused on those working here illegally. As geowrian said, your overstay would be FAR from a priority. I think your biggest issue will be boredom since you won't be able to work until about a year from now if you do file for AoS in October or November. 

[Kirin2002 257]

Just now, Roel said:

Should have file for cr1 instead. Sounds like the spouse visa would work better for you. 

Why? I should still have sponsor, right? Also, the main problem is that my fiancé does not finish his posgrad until May and won't work until October. We were counting on his sister to fill for AoS but now she's kinda regretting it so we are trying to find another way.

[Kirin2002 257]

2 minutes ago, usmsbow said:

 The Bay Area is still far from the border. While there was a massive crackdown by ICE recently, it was focused on those working here illegally. As geowrian said, your overstay would be FAR from a priority. I think your biggest issue will be boredom since you won't be able to work until about a year from now if you do file for AoS in October or November. 

Totally. But at least we would be together. We saw each other for only 1 month in an entire year and we are desperate... Thank you so much for being so nice and helpful.