F1 to AOS

[Lovely Nanda 0]

Hi everybody,

I am new here and have so many questions to ask you guys. I think I should tell you about my relationship backgroud with my boyfriend first.

June 2004: I met my boyfriend at the college in my home country. He was a part-time English teacher then.

July 2004: We started dating.

Oct.2004: I came to visit him with B1/2 visa. There is his name in my visa. I didn't tell the consular that he is my boyfriend, but he is a TA at UCSB who invited me to come over and look for grad school.

March 2005: I came to visit him and his family again with B1/2 visa before it was expried.

June-Sept. 2005: He and his family went to visit me in Thailand.

Dec. 2005: I got F1 visa to come to study here. I moved in with him immediately after arrival. I have been to school evey day.

March 2007: We got engaged!

June-August 2007: My boyfriend and I went to Thailand and other countries together.

August 2007: We came back to the States together. The immigration officer asked me if I had a boyfriend here. I said "NO" and he asked me to write down my email address!!! Isn't that funny?

Here are my questions:

1. Will I be able to marry him with my F1 visa?

2. Will it be risk for greencard denied?

3. Will I be considered to intended marry with F1 visa?

4. When can I get marry? I just came back on August 22.

5. Should I go back and get K1 visa?

Thanks you guys!

[TSC_2003_0918 0]

Well, you will get a lot of info from others on this site.

The first step is NOT to get engaged and NOT to get married on F1.

Besides, that...it may be a good idea to establish a separate place / apt. for you....and then start the process as if it is a new friendship leading to engagement. That is my very early / preliminary advice. You will get a lot of good advice soon.

[Nancy2015 2]

Here are my questions:

1. Will I be able to marry him with my F1 visa?

2. Will it be risk for greencard denied?

3. Will I be considered to intended marry with F1 visa?

4. When can I get marry? I just came back on August 22.

5. Should I go back and get K1 visa?

Thanks you guys!

1. Yes, you can marry anyone no matter what visa you have.

2. No one knows for sure.

3. In my experience, most immigration officers could care less about your intent. You wen to school, you complied with your F-1 status requirements, you got married in good faith - that's all they wanna know. But each case is different.

4. I'd wait a few months. Marrying too soon after your last entry may trigger some intent questions at your interview.

5. If that's what you're thinking about and can afford it - definitely.

One thing that bothers me - you lied to the immigration officer by saying you had no boyfriend in the US. It doesn't look good. Your adjudicating officer at the interview probably won't know that, but it still makes me feel uneasy.

K-1 will be the safest route to go for you. Lots of people adjust status form F-1 - I was one of them. But I met my boyfriend after I entered the country, and I never travelled outside the US since I came here in 2005 - so I didn't have to answer any questions at the POE about my relationships.

Find an immigration lawyer, they can give good advice. I personally would recommend a K-1 route.

[Nancy2015 2]

Well, you will get a lot of info from others on this site.

The first step is NOT to get engaged and NOT to get married on F1.

Besides, that...it may be a good idea to establish a separate place / apt. for you....and then start the process as if it is a new friendship leading to engagement. That is my very early / preliminary advice. You will get a lot of good advice soon.

You obviously know nothing about F-1, cause your advice is wrong and misleading. One can marry whoever they want on any visa - it doesn't change their status. It's the immigration prt that can be tricky, but the marriage itself and applying for adjustment of status are two separate issues.

The OP is free to marry. Even if she were illegal she would be free to marry. It's not a crime.

[Nyte 1]

Hi. Just wanted to take a moment to throw in my two cents.

First, my own story.

I met my wife back in 2001 when we were kids (young teenagers). She came to the US on the VWP and just experienced the USA for the first time. Two years later (after she graduated high school), she moved in with my family (parents and all) and went to college. She had been living with us ever since. In 2003, we started dating, but even when she would travel home and re-enter, we never had plans to marry. This is the critical part. Your intent upon entering the USA. When you came in on F-1, did you intend to marry your significant other? If so, that *may* be a problem. Looking at your timeline, it looks as if your last entry into the states was after you guys had gotten engaged, and that you may have mislead the officer at the border. Again, this *may* be a problem, but there's never a way to say for certain. Again, its all a question of your intent at the time you entered the country.... i'll leave it with that.

Edited September 3, 2007 by Nyte

[Cécy 44]

Personally I don't see why it would be a problem. Yes they check for intent sometimes, but what matters more to immigration I believe is to have a bona fide relationship.

I lied several times going through immigration. I was coming to be with my boyfriend and would always say I was visiting family. We all know that an immigration agent at the border can misinterpret having a boyfriend/girlfriend and having the intent to be married. If they ask you something related to that (although I doubt it, I mean an email address changes), you can explain why you did it.

You are here on a F1, it allows you to travel right? I mean it's not like you came back to the US just to get married, you are studying.

As long as your student visa is valid you can stay here, so you don't have to rush into marriage. Take your time organizing it and have family come over for it.

You can never know if immigration will deny your case or not. I'd advise taking the time to read the guides: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

you are going to need to do certain things such as: getting a medical done, making sure he makes enough money (125% from poverty line) http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75835 if not you will need a co-sponsor.

Gather all the documents you need as well.

Good luck.

[Lovely Nanda 0]

Well, you will get a lot of info from others on this site.

The first step is NOT to get engaged and NOT to get married on F1.

Besides, that...it may be a good idea to establish a separate place / apt. for you....and then start the process as if it is a new friendship leading to engagement. That is my very early / preliminary advice. You will get a lot of good advice soon.

That migh be hard because when I first came in the counry, I put his address in my I 94. They always have record about where do you live anyway.

[Lovely Nanda 0]

Here are my questions:

1. Will I be able to marry him with my F1 visa?

2. Will it be risk for greencard denied?

3. Will I be considered to intended marry with F1 visa?

4. When can I get marry? I just came back on August 22.

5. Should I go back and get K1 visa?

Thanks you guys!

1. Yes, you can marry anyone no matter what visa you have.

2. No one knows for sure.

3. In my experience, most immigration officers could care less about your intent. You wen to school, you complied with your F-1 status requirements, you got married in good faith - that's all they wanna know. But each case is different.

4. I'd wait a few months. Marrying too soon after your last entry may trigger some intent questions at your interview.

5. If that's what you're thinking about and can afford it - definitely.

One thing that bothers me - you lied to the immigration officer by saying you had no boyfriend in the US. It doesn't look good. Your adjudicating officer at the interview probably won't know that, but it still makes me feel uneasy.

K-1 will be the safest route to go for you. Lots of people adjust status form F-1 - I was one of them. But I met my boyfriend after I entered the country, and I never travelled outside the US since I came here in 2005 - so I didn't have to answer any questions at the POE about my relationships.

Find an immigration lawyer, they can give good advice. I personally would recommend a K-1 route.

I afraid that I will also get K1 denied too. I read someone experience in this website, she engaged her British boyfriend here and applied for his K1. Then he went back to England to get an interview and got denied and brah brha..... So she had to move to England with him. It is so sad!

When the immigration officer asked me to write my email address for him, he acted like he got hit on me. He said I am so pretty, why don't I have anyone. He said he just want that for himself and he will keep in touch with me. So I think the whole thing is funny, but still get annoyed by that.

[Lovely Nanda 0]

Hi. Just wanted to take a moment to throw in my two cents.

First, my own story.

I met my wife back in 2001 when we were kids (young teenagers). She came to the US on the VWP and just experienced the USA for the first time. Two years later (after she graduated high school), she moved in with my family (parents and all) and went to college. She had been living with us ever since. In 2003, we started dating, but even when she would travel home and re-enter, we never had plans to marry. This is the critical part. Your intent upon entering the USA. When you came in on F-1, did you intend to marry your significant other? If so, that *may* be a problem. Looking at your timeline, it looks as if your last entry into the states was after you guys had gotten engaged, and that you may have mislead the officer at the border. Again, this *may* be a problem, but there's never a way to say for certain. Again, its all a question of your intent at the time you entered the country.... i'll leave it with that.

I don't know how they can prove your "intent" since it is very personal thought. I read that they will ask if you intend to marry here with a F1 visa, and if you say "NO," that's it!

My prove is that I go to school eveyday, enroll for 12 units every semester. I always keep my student status, so I don't know if that is eough.

[Lovely Nanda 0]

Personally I don't see why it would be a problem. Yes they check for intent sometimes, but what matters more to immigration I believe is to have a bona fide relationship.

I lied several times going through immigration. I was coming to be with my boyfriend and would always say I was visiting family. We all know that an immigration agent at the border can misinterpret having a boyfriend/girlfriend and having the intent to be married. If they ask you something related to that (although I doubt it, I mean an email address changes), you can explain why you did it.

You are here on a F1, it allows you to travel right? I mean it's not like you came back to the US just to get married, you are studying.

As long as your student visa is valid you can stay here, so you don't have to rush into marriage. Take your time organizing it and have family come over for it.

You can never know if immigration will deny your case or not. I'd advise taking the time to read the guides: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

you are going to need to do certain things such as: getting a medical done, making sure he makes enough money (125% from poverty line) http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75835 if not you will need a co-sponsor.

Gather all the documents you need as well.

Good luck.

You are right. If you don't lie sometime, they will just block you since the beginning. I have to lie to the conseler because he wouldn't give me B1 visa if I told them that I was going to visit my boyfriend. There are so many women who got visa denied because of this reason. My boyfriend really hates his government because they don't like people to lie, but they make people lie.

By the way, when the immigration officer at the border asked for my email address, he acted like he got hit on me and want to contact me personally, but he never email me. So that is annoy.

Thanks for your advise, I will look carefully at the information you gave me.

[Nyte 1]

You are right. If you don't lie sometime, they will just block you since the beginning. I have to lie to the conseler because he wouldn't give me B1 visa if I told them that I was going to visit my boyfriend. There are so many women who got visa denied because of this reason. My boyfriend really hates his government because they don't like people to lie, but they make people lie.

By the way, when the immigration officer at the border asked for my email address, he acted like he got hit on me and want to contact me personally, but he never email me. So that is annoy.

Thanks for your advise, I will look carefully at the information you gave me.

We didn't have to lie, nor would we. Misrepresentation is a very, very bad thing, and if caught, you could end up in a lot of trouble.

My boyfriend really hates his government because they don't like people to lie, but they make people lie.

I understand his frustration with the government. I always try to remind myself that anything worth doing is often difficult, and that the reason the process can take so long and be such a pain is that its for the protection of the nation. Doesn't help much though

By the way, when the immigration officer at the border asked for my email address, he acted like he got hit on me and want to contact me personally, but he never email me. So that is annoy.

So at the POE, the officer asked for your contact information, and if I understand you right, hit on you? If he made you feel uncomfortable, he was absolutely out of line. What puzzles me though is the last part... about you being annoyed that he didn't email you...being that you're engaged and all, and you knew he was hitting on you.... Anyway, I won't go into that.

I wish you the best of luck with your AOS journey.

[PaulineA 1]

I'm sure the OP meant annoyed at the officer asking for her contact information, not the fact that he never e-mailed her.

Anyway, it is never a good idea to lie to these people. You can marry and do AOS, but you have to prove that you had no intentions of staying in the country. Maybe you are better off doing the K1 as someone suggested earlier.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

You entered the US on a valid visa.... you have attended the school.... so you lived with the person that you are going to marry.... so unless you only came to the US on a F1 visa to save you having to file for an immigrants visa you have done nothing wrong....

Do not file for a K1 visa... Do not leave the US.... Make an appointment to go and have a talk to an immigration lawyer to go over the facts of your case.... you will then know what risks there might be for you both.... and from there can make an informed desision about the best way for you to do your visa journey...

Good Luck

Kez

[Lovely Nanda 0]

So at the POE, the officer asked for your contact information, and if I understand you right, hit on you? If he made you feel uncomfortable, he was absolutely out of line. What puzzles me though is the last part... about you being annoyed that he didn't email you...being that you're engaged and all, and you knew he was hitting on you.... Anyway, I won't go into that.

I wish you the best of luck with your AOS journey.

That is because it makes me afraid that he just pretend that he like me to get my information and check it behind my back. If he emails me, I will just know that he really like me, and I will just tell him that I am not interested in him. That's it!

[Killer_Clown_2009 0]

You directly lied to the officer at the POE. See a lawyer before you try to adjust status.