Advice needed fast....AOS question

[SapphireDreams 71]

Please if anyone else has something to add .....Also still wondering if I can apply now for the AOS where I have ready filed our I-130 in late October????

It's really up to your own discretion. Did you have intent or not? That's not something we can decide for you or advise about. If you did (which you said you did), then you need to realize that if you get denied doing AOS, you have no other options. It's a risk you would have to take if you think you can prove you had no intent to get married.

[antda 13]

It's really up to your own discretion. Did you have intent or not? That's not something we can decide for you or advise about. If you did (which you said you did), then you need to realize that if you get denied doing AOS, you have no other options. It's a risk you would have to take if you think you can prove you had no intent to get married.

Agreed.....

It boils down to: Did you have intent or not? Only you (and the immigration officer interviewing you) can decide.....

Visitor to AOS is a risk...Choose wisely there...Or possibly face serious consequences if not approved...(for example, deportation, lifetime ban, etc...)

It worked for me, but again, I don't know if it will work for others or not...Each situation is different...

Either way, hope it works out well for you, whatever immigration path you decide to choose!

Good luck on your journey....

Ant

Edited January 5, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[Craig-n-Jacquie 0]

It's really up to your own discretion. Did you have intent or not? That's not something we can decide for you or advise about. If you did (which you said you did), then you need to realize that if you get denied doing AOS, you have no other options. It's a risk you would have to take if you think you can prove you had no intent to get married.

This is all very confusing to me....some say it's illegal to have intent to come to the US and get married and some say it's not????????????????? I just feel more and more confused about the whole situation all the time...maybe it's just me, I will have to go back and read again maybe I am reading it wrong.

Confused and more confused

[antda 13]

This is all very confusing to me....some say it's illegal to have intent to come to the US and get married and some say it's not????????????????? I just feel more and more confused about the whole situation all the time...maybe it's just me, I will have to go back and read again maybe I am reading it wrong.

Confused and more confused

Craig-n-Jacquie- Don't worry...We'll try to help there....As yes, the immigration process is confusing to everyone, regardless!

Ok...The intent portion is...

Did you just come here on a visit, for that purpose only, then UNPLANNED got married on a whim in the USA, and then stayed with no planning or wanting to immigrate here?....

Then you can do the Visitor to AOS....as you did not intend to immigrate here in the first place...

OR

Did you come here on a visit, and PLANNED on getting married here in the USA beforehand, and want to immigrate here afterwards?...

Then you can file for the other visas (k3, cr1, etc.), as doing otherwise would be illegal....as you did intend to immigrate here in the first place without the proper immigrant visa...

Hope this helps too. Good luck on your journey.

Ant

Edited January 5, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[trailmix 77]

Well he has already stated that he did not intend to stay there when he arrived, he did intend to get married then return to Canada.- which has nothing to do with immigration intent. Got married now wants to stay there.

But still doesn't have an answer to whether or not he can still file an AOS, even though he has already filed the I-130.

Here is, what I see, as the tricky part of your situation OP.

If you had no intent to move to the U.S., but you did intend to get married, where exactly were you going to live, you haven't answered that.

You say:

...Yes I came as a visitor, knew we were gonna marry but I was gonna return to Canada after three weeks

Then what?

[Craig-n-Jacquie 0]

Well he has already stated that he did not intend to stay there when he arrived, he did intend to get married then return to Canada.- which has nothing to do with immigration intent. Got married now wants to stay there.

But still doesn't have an answer to whether or not he can still file an AOS, even though he has already filed the I-130.

Here is, what I see, as the tricky part of your situation OP.

If you had no intent to move to the U.S., but you did intend to get married, where exactly were you going to live, you haven't answered that.

You say:

...Yes I came as a visitor, knew we were gonna marry but I was gonna return to Canada after three weeks

Then what?

We were gonna apply for the CR1 after I went back to Canada, my flight was actually cancelled the day I was scheduled to go back and decided to stay for six months which I thought was all legal. But now I am wondering if I can actually stay without having to go back that's why I was wondering if I could still possibly apply of AOS??? Appreciate all your help so much

[Danu 19]

Well he has already stated that he did not intend to stay there when he arrived, he did intend to get married then return to Canada.- which has nothing to do with immigration intent. Got married now wants to stay there.

But still doesn't have an answer to whether or not he can still file an AOS, even though he has already filed the I-130.

Here is, what I see, as the tricky part of your situation OP.

If you had no intent to move to the U.S., but you did intend to get married, where exactly were you going to live, you haven't answered that.

You say:

...Yes I came as a visitor, knew we were gonna marry but I was gonna return to Canada after three weeks

Then what?

Trailmix asks a valid question. If she was going to move up there and you decided to stay down there for example that would be one thing. If you were going to stay 3 weeks and then file your I-130 (which you already did) it shows you knew the proper way to go about things as well, and have intent to immigrate so you would not be able to file AOS as you have the intent to stay.

Its not illegal to get married in the states and stay if that wasnt what you planned to do, just got married on a whim like Ant did. Its the intent of immigrating that they question, not the intent of marriage. If you planned to get married and then go back then you either had one of the other plans in mind or you were both thinking of moving somewhere completely different. If there was an intent to move to the states even after returning to canada, you still had an intent to immigrate (just not one to circumvent the visa process) and by trying to file AOS now it would be seen as trying to circumvent that process and as others have said may result in a lifetime ban.

If you had no plans to get married and stay you could file AOS, you might be asked a few more questions about filing the I-130 when you have your interview, and I couldnt say how it will go. If you had the intent to get married and move down eventually anyway I wouldnt file AOS because its way too big of a risk. At this point it seems like it would be too big of a risk and I would suggest to keep on the path you already started as opposed to hoping and praying that everything will work out fine, because if you do end up with a ban due to it it will complicate things a lot more for you.

[antda 13]

You say:

...Yes I came as a visitor, knew we were gonna marry but I was gonna return to Canada after three weeks

Then what?

Then they decided to stay in the USA....

Plus they could get in trouble for going back to Canada as married, even though they came to visit as single...

Unless they file for the CR-1 or something like that....

It would take longer...But you can tie up the "loose ends" in Canada when you go back..and plan other things too...

So yeah, go the CR-1 route, since you had intent anyways...

Ant

Edited January 5, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[Danu 19]

We were gonna apply for the CR1 after I went back to Canada, my flight was actually cancelled the day I was scheduled to go back and decided to stay for six months which I thought was all legal. But now I am wondering if I can actually stay without having to go back that's why I was wondering if I could still possibly apply of AOS??? Appreciate all your help so much

Oh you replied while I was...with this info, No you can't. You planned to immigrate, if you did AOS you would face the risk of a lifetime ban due to trying to get around the immigration laws. You can still stay for the 180 day visiting time unless you were given a time to leave at the border by stamp however, but you will need to finish out the process you started.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Danu

[antda 13]

Its not illegal to get married in the states and stay if that wasnt what you planned to do, just got married on a whim like Ant did. Its the intent of immigrating that they question, not the intent of marriage. If you planned to get married and then go back then you either had one of the other plans in mind or you were both thinking of moving somewhere completely different. If there was an intent to move to the states even after returning to canada, you still had an intent to immigrate (just not one to circumvent the visa process) and by trying to file AOS now it would be seen as trying to circumvent that process and as others have said may result in a lifetime ban.

If you had no plans to get married and stay you could file AOS, you might be asked a few more questions about filing the I-130 when you have your interview, and I couldnt say how it will go. If you had the intent to get married and move down eventually anyway I wouldnt file AOS because its way too big of a risk. At this point it seems like it would be too big of a risk and I would suggest to keep on the path you already started as opposed to hoping and praying that everything will work out fine, because if you do end up with a ban due to it it will complicate things a lot more for you.

Explained there perfectly, Danu!!!....

Lol...couldn't get any clearer than that....

"Its the intent of immigrating that they question, not the intent of marriage."....exactly......

And since you had intent before by thinking to file the CR-1 route and actually filing the I-130 for the CR-1 which shows immigrant intent....

Well..then CR-1 is the route to go here.....

Ant

P.S. Don't worry, others here have gone through the CR-1 process here before..I'm sure they can be of great help to you too...

Edited January 5, 2010 by Ant+D+BabyA

[trailmix 77]

Oh you replied while I was...with this info, No you can't. You planned to immigrate, if you did AOS you would face the risk of a lifetime ban due to trying to get around the immigration laws. You can still stay for the 180 day visiting time unless you were given a time to leave at the border by stamp however, but you will need to finish out the process you started.

Yes exactly what I was trying to get at. Danu has explained it well.

You already had immigrant intent. Although you did not plan to stay there right now, you did plan to immigrate.

So that's a no to the AOS unfortunately. Don't know if you have already checked out the timelines - but the CR1 is around 11 months to a year from start to interview. Unless interview scheduling picks up a lot in Montreal over the next few months - which hopefully it will!

Edited January 5, 2010 by trailmix

[Craig-n-Jacquie 0]

Thanks so much....no confusion anymore....CR1 it is, thanks again for everything. Back to Canada I go in less than 90 days.

[Krikit 1,164]

Okay, now I am going to throw a wrench into the works. Sorry. *cringe*

My understanding, in this instance, is that the OP had no intent to come to the US to bypass the immigration process. She originally came here planning to marry then return to Canada to go through the CR-1 process. After arriving their plans changed. There was no intent, at entry, to bypass the immigration process. The intent was to visit and marry, but not stay. Have a read at the attached link. It looks to me like you can cancel the current petition and file for AOS. But don't take my word on it. Consult with a qualified attorney first. If I get a minute, I'll try to find some threads where some others were in the same situation. Did you take a look at the forum I linked for you in my previous post?

Link to "Ask a Lawyer" Archive

[trailmix 77]

Wrench thrower!!

I came to the same conclusion you came to krikit, originally.

The thing that concerned me is, he always had immigrant intent. Does ignorance of the fact that AOS exists make it ok to AOS? (I have no idea, just pondering). If the crucial issue is - was he trying to circumvent the visa process - and he truly did not know that AOS existed before he entered - then yeah, that might fly?

It would be a case where not doing your research paid off!

Edited January 6, 2010 by trailmix

[Krikit 1,164]

I think I missed the post where they didn't know about AOS'ing. Not that I'm aware if it makes a difference or not. Did you read the content on that link? It makes you go "Hmmm." I really want to take immigration law, now, just so I can definitively answer questions like this with a yay or a nay. lol