ESTA adjustment?

[ros4u 3]

Hello all, 

I recently got engaged to my bf and since he is visiting we would love to be together and do adjustment? Is anyone adjusting it now? Thank you for all your help. We want to be together soon! 

[Crazy Cat 45,117]

Keep in mind:

1.  A person cannot enter the US as a visitor with the intent to adjust status.  That is fraud.

2.  Your spouse will not be able to work or leave the US for, possibly, 6 months or more.

 

This is a common situation.  Step 1 is to marry.

 

[alliejourney 131]

Yes, as CrazyCat said above, intentionally traveling on an ESTA with intent to stay, marry, and adjust is fraud. ESTA is meant for tourism. The correct legal pathways would either be to begin a K1 fiance visa now, or marry while he is visiting and then pursue a spousal visa. Neither pathway would allow you to be together during the entire process.

Edited August 18 by alliejourney

[Dashinka 26,065]

16 minutes ago, ros4u said:

Hello all, 

I recently got engaged to my bf and since he is visiting we would love to be together and do adjustment? Is anyone adjusting it now? Thank you for all your help. We want to be together soon! 

Can you clarify if your BF is currently in the US?  

[alliejourney 131]

9 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Can you clarify if your BF is currently in the US?  

Good catch on the wording - I read it as though they were planning for him to travel here so that they could marry. But OP if he is already here and plans have changed, ignore what I said; what CrazyCat linked above is correct. Get married and then buckle in for the long adjustment process.

[ros4u 3]

Hello thanks for replying back. Yes he is here now 

[ros4u 3]

19 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Can you clarify if your BF is currently in the US?  

 

8 minutes ago, alliejourney said:

Good catch on the wording - I read it as though they were planning for him to travel here so that they could marry. But OP if he is already here and plans have changed, ignore what I said; what CrazyCat linked above is correct. Get married and then buckle in for the long adjustment process.

Yes he is here but then how long is taking the k1 process from UK. Do we marry an adjust? Or he goes back to his country and do k1? Thanks 

[alliejourney 131]

14 minutes ago, ros4u said:

 

Yes he is here but then how long is taking the k1 process from UK. Do we marry an adjust? Or he goes back to his country and do k1? Thanks 

There are pros and cons to K1. Honestly, in your situation, if he came over with the intention to go back home but things have changed because you're engaged now, I would probably just get married and adjust status. The only thing to note is that if he stays and adjusts, he will not be able to work until he gets his work authorization, which could take even up to a year. Without work authorization, he may also struggle with things like opening a bank account and getting a driver's license - he will really have very little independence and will rely on you financially. The situation would be the same if he were to go back to the UK and you pursued a K1 visa - once he comes here on a K1 visa, you will have to adjust anyway and be in the same situation you're in now. 

 

The other option is to get married and pursue a spousal visa, which would also entail him going back to the UK. The big pro of a spousal visa is that once he has the visa, when he arrives in the US he will be a green card holder and therefore will be able to work right away and have much more independence.

 

If you choose to adjust now through ESTA, you'll just need to be prepared to show that he did originally have the intention to go back home and that you did NOT commit fraud by coming on an ESTA with the intent to stay. 

Edited August 18 by alliejourney

[Dashinka 26,065]

13 minutes ago, ros4u said:

 

Yes he is here but then how long is taking the k1 process from UK. Do we marry an adjust? Or he goes back to his country and do k1? Thanks 

There are pros and cons to whatever path you choose.  Is he able to essentially stop his life right now for the next several months, go without leaving the US, or work?  If so, get married and adjust away.  If you want to move more slowly, I would recommend following a spousal visa path rather than a K1, but again that is your choice.

 

You have a couple of options, so you need to decide, but to answer your initial question, yes, plenty of folks are adjusting from ESTA/B2's.

 

Good Luck!

[ros4u 3]

55 minutes ago, alliejourney said:

There are pros and cons to K1. Honestly, in your situation, if he came over with the intention to go back home but things have changed because you're engaged now, I would probably just get married and adjust status. The only thing to note is that if he stays and adjusts, he will not be able to work until he gets his work authorization, which could take even up to a year. Without work authorization, he may also struggle with things like opening a bank account and getting a driver's license - he will really have very little independence and will rely on you financially. The situation would be the same if he were to go back to the UK and you pursued a K1 visa - once he comes here on a K1 visa, you will have to adjust anyway and be in the same situation you're in now. 

 

The other option is to get married and pursue a spousal visa, which would also entail him going back to the UK. The big pro of a spousal visa is that once he has the visa, when he arrives in the US he will be a green card holder and therefore will be able to work right away and have much more independence.

 

If you choose to adjust now through ESTA, you'll just need to be prepared to show that he did originally have the intention to go back home and that you did NOT commit fraud by coming on an ESTA with the intent to stay. 

Thank you. are you currently doing K1 visa? and how long did it took you to get here and do you know who assigns the cases local offices? Thank you. Do you recommend any attorney? 

[ros4u 3]

54 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

There are pros and cons to whatever path you choose.  Is he able to essentially stop his life right now for the next several months, go without leaving the US, or work?  If so, get married and adjust away.  If you want to move more slowly, I would recommend following a spousal visa path rather than a K1, but again that is your choice.

 

You have a couple of options, so you need to decide, but to answer your initial question, yes, plenty of folks are adjusting from ESTA/B2's.

 

Good Luck!

Thank you! Can you share any timeline of current folks adjusting under ESTA.  

[Crazy Cat 45,117]

2 minutes ago, ros4u said:

current folks adjusting under ESTA.  

This falls under "Adjustment of Status From Work, Student, and Tourist Visas" forum area.  That's where this thread is currently shown.  There is no specific area for ESTA.

[alliejourney 131]

11 minutes ago, ros4u said:

Thank you. are you currently doing K1 visa? and how long did it took you to get here and do you know who assigns the cases local offices? Thank you. Do you recommend any attorney? 

My husband did a K1 visa. If you click on my profile you can see the details of our timeline, but we filed the initial petition in December 2022, my husband had his visa issued in May 2024 and immigrated here in June 2024, we married and filed for adjustment in August 2024, he received his work authorization in October 2024, and finally in July 2025 he received his green card. So, from filing to immigration it took ~18 months, and then an additional year on top of that until he had his green card. Personally, if I were to do it over, I would have done a spousal visa. However, like you, we wanted to be together as quickly as possible and we had the financial means to support him during the time he couldn't work, so things worked out for us.

 

As far as what cases go to what offices, I don't know the details off the top of my head but that happens automatically. Certain offices handle certain types of visas and then once you're in the adjustment phase it's whatever your most local field office would be.

 

If your case is straightforward I think it's DIY-able and you don't need an attorney. If you click on Guides at the top of this page, there are a wealth of resources to guide you through the process and get an idea of what each step looks like. 

Edited August 18 by alliejourney

[JD2 170]

40 minutes ago, ros4u said:

Thank you! Can you share any timeline of current folks adjusting under ESTA.  

May I suggest getting married now while y'all are together and filing for a CR-1 visa.  You can still visit on ESTA during the process for up to 3 months at a time.  My brother's wife did that from the UK and it went smoothly.  Adjustment is also a possibility assuming you did not intend to adjust before you came but the downside is the many months waiting for the work permit and not being able to leave the US while waiting for Advance Parole.  You can view timelines by navigating to the timelines section of Visa Journey.  I would not do the K-1.  Either adjust or do CR-1.  There's not much benefit to a K-1 over adjustment.

[Cw1977 216]

4 hours ago, ros4u said:

Hello all, 

I recently got engaged to my bf and since he is visiting we would love to be together and do adjustment? Is anyone adjusting it now? Thank you for all your help. We want to be together soon! 

Does he have a job in his home country? A car? A house/rent?