What's happening with individuals on authorized stay getting detained/arrested at USCIS during their AOS interview? [merged threads]

[speedster 37]

4 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

Let's dive a little deeper here and clarify a couple things:

#1:  The case in the story is not a K-1 case....Reference, the mention of an I-130 (approved after detention).  As we all know, an approved I-130 conveys no immigration rights.

#2:  "Authorized stay" (after submission of a proper I-485) is not a legal status.  It is a POLICY of either the head of DHS or the Attorney General which prevents further accrual of unlawful presence.  It is not law.  Policies can be changed by the stroke of a pen.

 

Seems to me, some people (if the reports are accurate) who overstay are being detained until their status can be determined...i.e. Is the detainee applying as an immediate relative of a US citizen?.  Was a proper I-485 submitted?  

In the comments states a lawyer saying "They also arrested and detained 2 individuals in California (the same week) who entered on K-1 visas. They married and filed before the 90 days. But once the I-94 expires, you are considered an overstay. So they literally did everything the right way, but ICE used a loophole to boost their detention numbers. It’s absolutely batshit insane. I was totally beside myself when I found out about that."

[Ban Hammer 14,765]

1 hour ago, speedster said:

In the comments states a lawyer saying "They also arrested and detained 2 individuals in California (the same week) who entered on K-1 visas. They married and filed before the 90 days. But once the I-94 expires, you are considered an overstay. So they literally did everything the right way, but ICE used a loophole to boost their detention numbers. It’s absolutely batshit insane. I was totally beside myself when I found out about that."

if you are referring to this post
 

Quote

 

KFelts910

•17h ago

Even if you file before the visa expires, you are considered an overstay. They also arrested and detained 2 individuals in California (the same week) who entered on K-1 visas. They married and filed before the 90 days. But once the I-94 expires, you are considered an overstay. So they literally did everything the right way, but ICE used a loophole to boost their detention numbers. It’s absolutely batshit insane. I was totally beside myself when I found out about that.

Unless you are maintaining independent status through something like a non immigrant visa, you are likely going to become or already are an overstay. Filing the I-130 does not protect you, or give status. Filing the I-485 will protect you from accruing unlawful presence. But it will not protect you from being an overstay.

 

i see nothing in the above that indicates "KFelts910" is a lawyer.  where did you get the idea the poster of the above comment is a lawyer?  ah i think i found it - she claims to be one on her profile. 
and if the below is the individual, i suggest giving anything she says be taken with a grain of salt.

from github:
Immigration Lady Lawyer running a virtual law firm, raising kids, and an aspiring tech entrepreneur. Empowering clients by making legal services more ...



 

Edited 9 hours ago by Ban Hammer

[speedster 37]

10 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

if you are referring to this post
 

i see nothing in the above that indicates "KFelts910" is a lawyer.  where did you get the idea the poster of the above comment is a lawyer?
 

On their flair they stated that they are, reddit doesn't show flairs on mobile iirc

Edit: And their bio on reddit about about paid services

Edited 9 hours ago by speedster

[Ban Hammer 14,765]

4 minutes ago, speedster said:

On their flair they stated that they are, reddit doesn't show flairs on mobile iirc

Edit: And their bio on reddit about about paid services

having dug through that reddit thread, this is the part that needs to be posted
 

G. Properly Filed Adjustment Application – INA 245(c)(2) and INA 245(c)(8)

For purposes of the bars to adjustment, a nonimmigrant only needs to maintain his or her nonimmigrant status until the time he or she properly files an adjustment application with USCIS so long as the nonimmigrant does not engage in any unauthorized employment after filing the adjustment application.^[43] An applicant does not violate the terms of his or her nonimmigrant status merely by filing an application to adjust status as long as the application was properly filed when the applicant was in lawful nonimmigrant status.^[44]

the above is from:   https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-b-chapter-4

in short, the above has not changed since in the almost 2 decades i've been on this site.  file before the 90 days is up, and do not work until
one has authorization to do so.
i suspect this part is what is causing issues for many in that reddit thread

Quote

so long as the nonimmigrant does not engage in any unauthorized employment after filing the adjustment application.

 

[Ban Hammer 14,765]

7 minutes ago, speedster said:

On their flair they stated that they are, reddit doesn't show flairs on mobile iirc

Edit: And their bio on reddit about about paid services

maybe it's just me being a pessimist, but i'd beware of lawyers on reddit without a physical office address...........

[speedster 37]

3 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

having dug through that reddit thread, this is the part that needs to be posted
 

G. Properly Filed Adjustment Application – INA 245(c)(2) and INA 245(c)(8)

For purposes of the bars to adjustment, a nonimmigrant only needs to maintain his or her nonimmigrant status until the time he or she properly files an adjustment application with USCIS so long as the nonimmigrant does not engage in any unauthorized employment after filing the adjustment application.^[43] An applicant does not violate the terms of his or her nonimmigrant status merely by filing an application to adjust status as long as the application was properly filed when the applicant was in lawful nonimmigrant status.^[44]

the above is from:   https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-b-chapter-4

in short, the above has not changed since in the almost 2 decades i've been on this site.  file before the 90 days is up, and do not work until
one has authorization to do so.
i suspect this part is what is causing issues for many in that reddit thread

 

 

I'm talking about the situation here: 

which is different from what the main post case is. K1 arrived, They married and filed before the 90 days. Doing everything right, i see nothing about working without auth in that post, if you wanna show where it is.

 

2 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

maybe it's just me being a pessimist, but i'd beware of lawyers on reddit without a physical office address...........

i mean sure, but that person has been contributing in that community for a bit....same can be said about any information here. Community is made by people, including this forum where people (who aren't lawyers) give their experiences and information for other to take from.

[Ban Hammer 14,765]

15 minutes ago, speedster said:

which is different from what the main post case is. K1 arrived, They married and filed before the 90 days. Doing everything right, i see nothing about working without auth in that post, if you wanna show where it is.

 

but that does not mean they were not working without authorization before the filing or afterward - which would easily explain their situation.
i'm a pessimist - i see a lot in the news but certain things are left out - often important details that would reduce the outrage of the readers.

[TBoneTX 48,600]

48 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

a lot in the news but certain things are left out - often important details

This, I think, is for any one or more of 3 reasons at least:

  -- the source withholds information or fails to recognize details as important or crucial to release

  -- the reporter lacks knowledge about the process and doesn't know what crucial questions to ask

  -- the bosses of the network/publication/website have an agenda

Can anyone think of additional reasons?

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,485]

On 11/24/2025 at 6:17 PM, TBoneTX said:

Thread is moved from the "AOS from WS&T Visas" forum to the Current Events forum, where political topics are discussed.

Good job. You earned you mod pay for the month 

[TBoneTX 48,600]

1 hour ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

Good job. You earned you mod pay for the month 

Bad news.  You lost Rhodium status for the month.