Mike V

If the marriage is valid in Utah, USCIS has no choice but to recognize it. You do have to meet AFTERWARDS to consummate the marriage, which we did a week and a half later. Recognition by the Philippines was another matter. They tried not to but ultimately concluded that they had no choice but to recognize them, because the Philippines had finally signed onto the 1961 Hague Convention in 2018. Your Philippine ROM (Report of Marriage) filing must include an original marriage certificate with an Apostille stamp as per the 1961 Hague Convention. Since Utah doesn't automatically change names with your marriage certificates, we've deferred the ROM for now to keep things simple.

Up above in the 5th post on this new thread is a link to the USCIS announcement: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-issues-guidance-regarding-family-based-immigration-policy and that announcement contains a link to their (presumably updated) policy manual: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual

The I-485 does not provide lawful status. They've looked the other way in the past (an "authorized stay") but are providing notice that they are not obligated to do so in the future.

Here's a link to the USCIS announcement: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-issues-guidance-regarding-family-based-immigration-policy The last bullet is the new gotcha: Clarifying that we may issue a Notice to Appear if the alien beneficiary is otherwise removable since a family-based immigrant visa petition does not grant immigration status or relief from removal.

Here's one link, it's had plenty of publicity: https://www.visalawyerblog.com/new-uscis-policy-seeks-to-intimidate-immigrants-applying-for-green-cards-by-threatening-deportation-proceedings/ People will wake up to it when they have to start looking for their recently sponsored relatives on the ICE detainee locator. It's all about the deportation numbers; the human cost doesn't matter to them.

The marriage suggestions are a bit outdated. The Trump administration announced earlier this month that you must now maintain valid visa status while your I-130 is being processed. If your current visa (e.g. tourist or J-1) expires in the meantime, you will be deportable. Are you qualified to teach anything? Computer usage / programming perhaps? There are a lot of teachers here on J-1 visas, perhaps you could snag another J-1 somewhere?

Tourist visas aren't a feasible option for many. The odds of my Filipina GF (no assets, subsistence level job) receiving a tourist visa to the U.S. was about zero. The embassy's response typically is "Thank you for your $240. Visa denied." We opted for the virtual wedding in Utah. Even if she did receive a tourist visa to get married, in today's environment there's a high probability that CBP would deny entry.