Visa's and adjustment process

[Wiz_Fit 26]

Help!

 

Can't imagine this is a new issue but can not seem to find the right person to ask. Called USCIS, State Dept and a few consulates.

 

My wife and I got married a year ago in May. She arrived on a B2 Visa which is still "unexpired" date-wise. We filed for adjustment back last may and have not yet had our interview. We want to go to Mexico or Dominican for our anniversary. Checking over the visa requirements, as a Filipina she would normally need a visa unless she can legally enter the United states. Which before we got married she could via B2 visa. Now she can enter based on our AP/Adjustment status. Consulates from DR and Mexico telling us as long as her tourist visa is 'valid' or she can enter the US legally presently she needs no visa.

 

No one can confirm to us if her B2 visa is still valid or if the person checking at the border just looks at the date and waves her in, or if just her having a EAD/AP is enough? Anyone done a trip like this prior to getting their green card/stamp?

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

12 minutes ago, Wiz_Fit said:

Help!

 

Can't imagine this is a new issue but can not seem to find the right person to ask. Called USCIS, State Dept and a few consulates.

 

My wife and I got married a year ago in May. She arrived on a B2 Visa which is still "unexpired" date-wise. We filed for adjustment back last may and have not yet had our interview. We want to go to Mexico or Dominican for our anniversary. Checking over the visa requirements, as a Filipina she would normally need a visa unless she can legally enter the United states. Which before we got married she could via B2 visa. Now she can enter based on our AP/Adjustment status. Consulates from DR and Mexico telling us as long as her tourist visa is 'valid' or she can enter the US legally presently she needs no visa.

 

No one can confirm to us if her B2 visa is still valid or if the person checking at the border just looks at the date and waves her in, or if just her having a EAD/AP is enough? Anyone done a trip like this prior to getting their green card/stamp?

Dude, you wife's visa stopped being valid the minute she overstayed it.  If you have the AP then she is free to leave and come back. But if you do not have it then no she can not leave.

 

Also why would you call the State Dept and a couple consulates? This is a pretty simple answer.

Edited March 7, 2018 by cyberfx1024

[Wiz_Fit 26]

29 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

Dude, you wife's visa stopped being valid the minute she overstayed it.  If you have the AP then she is free to leave and come back. But if you do not have it then no she can not leave.

 

Also why would you call the State Dept and a couple consulates? This is a pretty simple answer.

Overstayed during adjustment... get that but as far as valid. it's still valid for quite a bit actually. My question is does the adjustment process flag some switch somewhere in a system to say "turn this off"? As stated as well, we already have a EAD and AP - so she can legally enter the US and has already done so.

 

So a simple question can be seen both ways, yes she can enter the country legally via AP.... or she could still enter via B2 if they didnt turn it off. (Which how disconnected the systems are, who's to say they do?) So yes, my wife can enter the US legally does that mean she would need a Visa for Mexico is a valid question, unless you mean of course she can go, she can come into the US legally duh.

 

Calm Down Greensboro and go grab some Bojangles.  Miss that back from when i lived there.

Mexico's response was as long as its still valid..... So more wondering if anyone had experience with this.

Edited March 7, 2018 by Wiz_Fit

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

1 minute ago, Wiz_Fit said:

 

When did she overstay it? it's still valid for quite a bit actually. My question is does the adjustment process flag some switch somewhere in a system to say "turn this off"? As stated as well, we already have a EAD and AP - so she can legally enter the US and has already done so.

So a simple question can be seen both ways, yes she can enter the country legally via AP.... or she could still enter via B2 if they didnt turn it off. (Which how disconnected the systems are, who's to say they do?) So yes, my wife can enter the US legally does that mean she would need a Visa for Mexico is a valid question, unless you mean of course she can go, she can come into the US legally duh.

Calm Down Greensboro and go grab some Bojangles.  Miss that back from when i lived there.

When she initially came here on the B2 visa they gave her a time limit for being in the country, which could be 2 weeks to 90 days. Just because you have a 10 year tourist visa DOES NOT mean you can stay here for 10 years. It gives you authorization to come here for short periods of time within that 10 year period. But the day that she overstayed her tourist visa then that expired. So go look in her passport for the date that she was supposed to leave because after that date then it was expired if she did not leave. Which means they basically turned off her B2 tourist visa as you say.

AP is a completely separate issue that your getting confused and mixed up with the tourist visa. As long as your wife has the VALID AP document then she is good to go when traveling in to and out of the country. If you still have not got her GC by the time her AP is about to expire then go make a Infopass appointment to get a stamp in her passport.

She can more than likely go to Mexico without any problems whatsoever.

 

I actually just moved back to NC from CA and I missed my Bojangles. I had some this morning actually for breakfast.

 

 

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

3 minutes ago, LizM said:

Even if the B2 visa is unexpired, I doubt that route is possible now that she's adjusting status. Did she get her AP approved? I guess if she did, technically she should be able to travel. I personally would probably be very careful though, just because of the situation of adjusting from a tourist visa, even if she neither overstayed nor had fraudulent intentions (of marrying) when initially receiving and traveling on the B2.

It looks like they were approved for AP even thought there is nothing on the timeline at all.  That route of coming back on the B2 is gone the minute she overstayed her visa.

[dentsflogged 352]

As others have said, the minute she overstayed the "leave to remain" given to her on entrance with her B2 visa, she can no longer return using that.

 

As to how they know - check online for her i94.  They can and do check those when you enter the country and scan the passport. I was looking at my i94 online the last time I was in the USA and they had record of the date I was leaving before I even left because airlines report their passenger manifests. 

 

If she has AP then she can use that.  Then again, it still does not guarantee her entry into the country, it's only a recommendation.  I haven't ever heard of anyone being denied entry on approved AP, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. 

[Unlockable 7,315]

Everyone is giving you the correct advice. It is best if she stays put in the US until she gets her green card. Her B2 is not valid. Once she leaves the US she can trigger a ban.

 

Think of it this way. You have a drivers licenses. It has an expiration date on it a few years from now. If you got a bunch of tickets but never paid them or went to court for them, a judge can order your license to be suspended. So even though it is printed that your DL doesn't expire for a few years, it is no longer valid.

 

Your wife was given a certain time to leave and she didn't. So the B2 is kaput.

 

Find another place inside the US to honeymoon. Don't risk it.

 

[azblk 338]

She will not be able to reenter on B2 visa. If you have AP then she can use that.

[payxibka 10,045]

1 hour ago, NuestraUnion said:

Everyone is giving you the correct advice. It is best if she stays put in the US until she gets her green card. Her B2 is not valid. Once she leaves the US she can trigger a ban.

 

Think of it this way. You have a drivers licenses. It has an expiration date on it a few years from now. If you got a bunch of tickets but never paid them or went to court for them, a judge can order your license to be suspended. So even though it is printed that your DL doesn't expire for a few years, it is no longer valid.

 

Your wife was given a certain time to leave and she didn't. So the B2 is kaput.

 

Find another place inside the US to honeymoon. Don't risk it.

 

She has AP...  

[Wiz_Fit 26]

On 3/7/2018 at 2:39 PM, cyberfx1024 said:

When she initially came here on the B2 visa they gave her a time limit for being in the country, which could be 2 weeks to 90 days. Just because you have a 10 year tourist visa DOES NOT mean you can stay here for 10 years. It gives you authorization to come here for short periods of time within that 10 year period. But the day that she overstayed her tourist visa then that expired. So go look in her passport for the date that she was supposed to leave because after that date then it was expired if she did not leave. Which means they basically turned off her B2 tourist visa as you say.

AP is a completely separate issue that your getting confused and mixed up with the tourist visa. As long as your wife has the VALID AP document then she is good to go when traveling in to and out of the country. If you still have not got her GC by the time her AP is about to expire then go make a Infopass appointment to get a stamp in her passport.

She can more than likely go to Mexico without any problems whatsoever.

 

I actually just moved back to NC from CA and I missed my Bojangles. I had some this morning actually for breakfast.

Sorry for the long pause, had got tied up and just got back. My main question was your last sentence about Mexico and going without needing a separate visa. Sadly, when asking the Mexico Embassy or other places, all they say is the same that we wouldn't need a visa for her.

 

Think I mis-typed the answer based on some of the other replies. I am not asking/worried about entering the US after our travel. What I am asking is entry to Mexico/Belize/Etc with other countries who have the good neighbor policy or something that says "U.S. Citizens and Holders of U.S. Permanent Resident Cards/U.S. Multiple Entries Visas do not require a visa to enter."

 

What happens when we land in Mexico or somewhere else, do they look at the official stamp in her passport that's the US Visa valid until 2025 and say Ok good to go? Do we hand them her AP and Adjustment papers, and they then say good to go? To me, the AP should be good enough for saying multiple entry visa but not sure if other countries consider the AP a "Visa status" even though it grants multiple entries into the US.

 

We've already left the US and came back once about 4 months ago, so no worries about coming back, just takes bit longer in the airport.  In our area, Dallas has a 11-28 month wait apparently so wasn't to concerned with it when it was 11-13 months but, now with 28 months is a long time to go before we can go other places.

 

On 3/7/2018 at 2:39 PM, cyberfx1024 said:

 

 

 

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

1 hour ago, Wiz_Fit said:

Sorry for the long pause, had got tied up and just got back. My main question was your last sentence about Mexico and going without needing a separate visa. Sadly, when asking the Mexico Embassy or other places, all they say is the same that we wouldn't need a visa for her.

 

Think I mis-typed the answer based on some of the other replies. I am not asking/worried about entering the US after our travel. What I am asking is entry to Mexico/Belize/Etc with other countries who have the good neighbor policy or something that says "U.S. Citizens and Holders of U.S. Permanent Resident Cards/U.S. Multiple Entries Visas do not require a visa to enter."

 

What happens when we land in Mexico or somewhere else, do they look at the official stamp in her passport that's the US Visa valid until 2025 and say Ok good to go? Do we hand them her AP and Adjustment papers, and they then say good to go? To me, the AP should be good enough for saying multiple entry visa but not sure if other countries consider the AP a "Visa status" even though it grants multiple entries into the US.

 

We've already left the US and came back once about 4 months ago, so no worries about coming back, just takes bit longer in the airport.  In our area, Dallas has a 11-28 month wait apparently so wasn't to concerned with it when it was 11-13 months but, now with 28 months is a long time to go before we can go other places.

 

 

Quite frankly I think you are what IFing this to death. If you are so worried about using AP while going on vacation then have your wife don't go. But if you do use AP then take along the paperwork you have and the marriage license then you should be good to go. If you have the AP then you submit that with her passport to show proof that she will be leaving the country back to the USA.

 

She NO LONGER has a valid US tourist visa so please stop thinking that.

[Wiz_Fit 26]

For sure if'ing to death, but I imagine with some places being 1+ year, it can't be the first time its happened. Just looking for someone who may have done it.

 

Was gonna write up some witty remarks about the tourist visa, but I'll leave it for now since opinions are different.

 

 

[Unlockable 7,315]

2 hours ago, Wiz_Fit said:

For sure if'ing to death, but I imagine with some places being 1+ year, it can't be the first time its happened. Just looking for someone who may have done it.

 

Was gonna write up some witty remarks about the tourist visa, but I'll leave it for now since opinions are different.

 

 

There is currently an ongoing thread about tourist visas and AOS...