is my lawyer correct?

[veronicamaria 0]

Hi...i am in need!!!! i have been living in the US for the past 8 years, in an F1 visa....firstly i studied english, then i did my bachelor's degree, and i am now finishing my MBA. I got married almost 2 years ago, and due to the fact in which i am still a student, and my visa, I-20, and passport are under my single name, i haven't done any type of paperwork. I recently hired a lawyer, to start my process, but we have not started filing anything yet, due to the fact in which i previously bought a ticket to go back to venezuela for christmas. My lawyer did not start the process at all....but she called me a few minutes ago to tell me that i shouldn't travel.... to my surprise she says that if by the time i come back inmigration realizes that i married an american under my F1 visa, they would not allow me to get in. Because it will clearly demonstrate my intent to stay. Is that true? i have been in and out of the country twice since i got married...and had no problems regarding that matter....last time i came in they questioned my permission to work, but that only took a few minutes to clarify...i am really in danger ???? as i mentioned before, i have been on an F1 visa for the past 8 years, always worked legally, never been pulled over by police, and a currently full time student.....are they really going to send me back because i married an american???? please advice...

[veronicamaria 0]

Hi...i am in need!!!! i have been living in the US for the past 8 years, in an F1 visa....firstly i studied english, then i did my bachelor's degree, and i am now finishing my MBA. I got married almost 2 years ago, and due to the fact in which i am still a student, and my visa, I-20, and passport are under my single name, i haven't done any type of paperwork. I recently hired a lawyer, to start my process, but we have not started filing anything yet, due to the fact in which i previously bought a ticket to go back to venezuela for christmas. My lawyer did not start the process at all....but she called me a few minutes ago to tell me that i shouldn't travel.... to my surprise she says that if by the time i come back inmigration realizes that i married an american under my F1 visa, they would not allow me to get in. Because it will clearly demonstrate my intent to stay. Is that true? i have been in and out of the country twice since i got married...and had no problems regarding that matter....last time i came in they questioned my permission to work, but that only took a few minutes to clarify...i am really in danger ???? as i mentioned before, i have been on an F1 visa for the past 8 years, always worked legally, never been pulled over by police, and a currently full time student.....are they really going to send me back because i married an american???? please advice...

[veronicamaria 0]

Hi...i am in need!!!! i have been living in the US for the past 8 years, in an F1 visa....firstly i studied english, then i did my bachelor's degree, and i am now finishing my MBA. I got married almost 2 years ago, and due to the fact in which i am still a student, and my visa, I-20, and passport are under my single name, i haven't done any type of paperwork. I recently hired a lawyer, to start my process, but we have not started filing anything yet, due to the fact in which i previously bought a ticket to go back to venezuela for christmas. My lawyer did not start the process at all....but she called me a few minutes ago to tell me that i shouldn't travel.... to my surprise she says that if by the time i come back inmigration realizes that i married an american under my F1 visa, they would not allow me to get in. Because it will clearly demonstrate my intent to stay. Is that true? i have been in and out of the country twice since i got married...and had no problems regarding that matter....last time i came in they questioned my permission to work, but that only took a few minutes to clarify...i am really in danger ???? as i mentioned before, i have been on an F1 visa for the past 8 years, always worked legally, never been pulled over by police, and a currently full time student.....are they really going to send me back because i married an american???? please advice...

[YuAndDan 153]

There is a guide on VJ specifically for people in your situation:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

And yes you lawyer is correct, you are married to a USC and should have adjusted status a while ago. You can file for AP (I-131) along with AOS (I-485) and can use the AP document to re-enter the country after visiting home country.

[YuAndDan 153]

This is not a K-1 visa question, it is an Adjustment of Status question.

See duplicate post: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=95773

[eau_xplain 2]

Veronica,

That does not sound.

If you are still in the US, you can go ahead and file for Adjustment of Status (AOS) by filing out the I-485 packet. Check the guides on how to Adjust Status that's on this site.

[YuAndDan 153]

Veronica,

That does not sound.

If you are still in the US, you can go ahead and file for Adjustment of Status (AOS) by filing out the I-485 packet. Check the guides on how to Adjust Status that's on this site.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

[lucyrich 20]

Your lawyer is correct.

The fact that you have behaved well while in the US in the past is certainly good, but irrelevant to the point being discussed here. An F-1 visa is only for someone who intends to leave the US at the conclusion of their studies. The technical term is that it requires you to prove nonimmmigrant intent. And you always carry the burden of proof; if you don't prove you intend to leave, they don't have to prove anything to deny you entry.

Marriage to a US Citizen spouse is evidence of immigrant intent. It may not always be 100% conclusive, but it's generally taken to be pretty strong evidence that you intend to stay in the US. If an officer discovers this, depending on the officer, you'd either have to have VERY strong evidence that you intend to leave the US, or you might run into an officer that will not be convinced by any evidence whatsoever.

Furthermore, you should be aware of the provision in the law regarding making a willfull misrepresentation or concealing a relevant fact. If you are found to have done this, you will receive a lifetime bar from entry to the US, with no waiver available. The penalty is very strong. You don't have to tell a lie to an officer to receive this penalty. If you merely conceal a material fact, that could be enough to trigger this harsh penalty. Entering on paperwork that says you're single when in fact you're really married might be taken to be concealing the relevant fact of your marriage.

If you leave the US in December, you have a difficult choice to make when you try to return a few weeks later. If you tell the officer about your marriage, there's a very strong risk that the officer will not let you enter on your F-1 visa, even though your visa is valid and your paperwork is in order. If you don't tell the officer about your marriage, there's a risk you'll face a lifetime bar for concealing a material fact. It might not be discovered until your paperwork is processed for your marriage based adjustment of status, but they'll be able to put the dates together, and they may want to know how you entered the US on an F-1 visa while married to a US Citizen.

[CB82 1]

Hi...i am in need!!!! i have been living in the US for the past 8 years, in an F1 visa....firstly i studied english, then i did my bachelor's degree, and i am now finishing my MBA. I got married almost 2 years ago, and due to the fact in which i am still a student, and my visa, I-20, and passport are under my single name, i haven't done any type of paperwork. I recently hired a lawyer, to start my process, but we have not started filing anything yet, due to the fact in which i previously bought a ticket to go back to venezuela for christmas. My lawyer did not start the process at all....but she called me a few minutes ago to tell me that i shouldn't travel.... to my surprise she says that if by the time i come back inmigration realizes that i married an american under my F1 visa, they would not allow me to get in. Because it will clearly demonstrate my intent to stay. Is that true? i have been in and out of the country twice since i got married...and had no problems regarding that matter....last time i came in they questioned my permission to work, but that only took a few minutes to clarify...i am really in danger ???? as i mentioned before, i have been on an F1 visa for the past 8 years, always worked legally, never been pulled over by police, and a currently full time student.....are they really going to send me back because i married an american???? please advice...

I have one little question. If you've been married for 2 years why didn't you file for permanent residence once you got married? As an F1 student you have to pay International rates on fees for studies which is a lot more expensive than a permanent resident. I'd of thought it would have been in your best interest to have adjusted status after marriage. Therefore you would have probably had your green card by now (if you don't get stuck in namecheck). You could have freely left and returned to the US without the risk of being denied entry. You could happily live with your husband without worrying about immigration until you had to remove conditions of residence and would have got the resident rates in college fees.

I personally would recommend filing the I-130 with I-485, I-131 and I-765 ASAP. Then when you get the AP approved you can travel back to Venezuela and won't have a problem coming back to the US. Also since you have been married for 2 years, once your green card is approved you will be issued a 10 year greencard and won't have to worry about removing conditions.

[veronicamaria 0]

i go to a private university ...so it didn't matter in regards to payment...somehow i was under the wrong impression that as long as i was going to school and i hadn't filed any paperwork, it was going to be okay for me to go in and out of the country....in fact i did it twice....but now i am really scared...and after reading you guy's comments...i will have to cancel my trip....i don't want to risk anything....

[veronicamaria 0]

Thank you very much....after reading your comments it really made me think...i don't want to risk anything ....my tickets are bought already but i will cancel them...i can show prof of an intent to go back...but what if???? i am not going to change it!

[CB82 1]

Good luck with your application.

To be married for 2 years and living with your husband for that long, you don't want to risk being apart if they don't let you back in.

Good luck