Marrying your girlfriend while she is in the States on Tourist Visa

[scjones 0]

Hi,

I'm not 100% sure that this is the proper forum for this question but I'm new and thought it applied. I am dating a girl from Norway and I talked to an immigration lawyer about marrying her. He told me that one option was that if she was here on a tourist visa and we decided to get married while she was here, that would be ok. So he said we could get married while she was here and then immediately apply for permanent residency but she couldn't go home until residency was granted. This seems almost too easy to me and was wondering if this was a reasonable way to go about things. It seems way less complicated than other options but was just looking for some advice. Thanks a lot, this looks like a really useful site.

[When2RNLove 6]

Hi,

I'm not 100% sure that this is the proper forum for this question but I'm new and thought it applied. I am dating a girl from Norway and I talked to an immigration lawyer about marrying her. He told me that one option was that if she was here on a tourist visa and we decided to get married while she was here, that would be ok. So he said we could get married while she was here and then immediately apply for permanent residency but she couldn't go home until residency was granted. This seems almost too easy to me and was wondering if this was a reasonable way to go about things. It seems way less complicated than other options but was just looking for some advice. Thanks a lot, this looks like a really useful site.

The lawyer should have also mentioned to you, if she came here specifically as a tourist and you guys met and fell in love this would be acceptable. If she came here on a tourist visa specifically to marry you, this is consituted as visa fraud. I'm not saying this was you guys intentions, but seek guidance from someone more informed than that lawyer. He is already guiding you in the wrong direction. Furthermore, if you do seek AOS after marriage, she can go home after approval of Advance Parole, which allows a person to travel for short durations outside the US while the AOS is in process.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Mike N Julie

[scjones 0]

The lawyer should have also mentioned to you, if she came here specifically as a tourist and you guys met and fell in love this would be acceptable. If she came here on a tourist visa specifically to marry you, this is consituted as visa fraud. I'm not saying this was you guys intentions, but seek guidance from someone more informed than that lawyer. He is already guiding you in the wrong direction.

Well she has been here before twice to visit, and that's how we fell in love in the first place. But if she did come back and we legitimately spontaneously decided to get married while she is here, is that kosher? I'm certainly not trying to be involved with any sort of fraud, but I wasn't sure how this type of situation works. Thanks again.

[SunDrop 59]

Hi,

I'm not 100% sure that this is the proper forum for this question but I'm new and thought it applied. I am dating a girl from Norway and I talked to an immigration lawyer about marrying her. He told me that one option was that if she was here on a tourist visa and we decided to get married while she was here, that would be ok. So he said we could get married while she was here and then immediately apply for permanent residency but she couldn't go home until residency was granted. This seems almost too easy to me and was wondering if this was a reasonable way to go about things. It seems way less complicated than other options but was just looking for some advice. Thanks a lot, this looks like a really useful site.

Hi and welcome to VJ!

You've touched on a very sensitive and often heated subject with your first post

Technically, yes you can do what you're suggesting. However, the issue lays with the fact that entering on a VWP/ Tourist visa with the intent to marry and adjust status to LPR is considered misrepresentation. When entering on the VWP/ Tourist visa, she may be required to prove that she has strong ties to her home country, which demonstrates that she does not have any intent to stay. These can include a letter from an employer stating that she is expected back on such and such a date, proof of home ownership/ lease that is still valid, utility bills, ongoing enrollment in school...

Fact is, many do it and succeed. Risk is, that if it were decided during adjustment or she was asked at her Port of Entry (POE) if she intends to get married and she doesn't state her intentions, it could be considered material misrepresentation which can carry very severe penalties.

Because of this, no one on VJ is going to tell you to go ahead with this plan, as it could be considered a breach of VJ's ToS.

There is absolutely nothing stopping you from having her visit you on the VWP/ Tourist visa, get married, file for a CR1 visa while she stays in the US for as long as her visa/ VWP is valid and her returning to Norway to finalise the process via the US consulate in Oslo.

The benefits of not doing the VWP/ Adjustment route extend to beyond being able travel home but also for her to work. If you went the CR1 route, she would have a temporary GC stamped in her passport upon entry and be immediately eligible to travel freely and seek employment.

[pushbrk 12,569]

Hi,

I'm not 100% sure that this is the proper forum for this question but I'm new and thought it applied. I am dating a girl from Norway and I talked to an immigration lawyer about marrying her. He told me that one option was that if she was here on a tourist visa and we decided to get married while she was here, that would be ok. So he said we could get married while she was here and then immediately apply for permanent residency but she couldn't go home until residency was granted. This seems almost too easy to me and was wondering if this was a reasonable way to go about things. It seems way less complicated than other options but was just looking for some advice. Thanks a lot, this looks like a really useful site.

See the bold above. There's a chronological order to that part of the sentence. What you seem to be contemplating is, "We've already decided to fraudulently use her visitor privilege to circumvent US immigration law." It works when it works and it has tremendous consequences when it doesn't. Never lie to an immigration official or CBP officer.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Well she has been here before twice to visit, and that's how we fell in love in the first place. But if she did come back and we legitimately spontaneously decided to get married while she is here, is that kosher? I'm certainly not trying to be involved with any sort of fraud, but I wasn't sure how this type of situation works. Thanks again.

That is kosher - although you are already discussing having her come on a visit and get married while here - so I am not sure if your intent is as spontaneous as you suggest. It is not illegal to enter the US with the intent of getting married; what is illegal is having the intent of getting married and then staying in the US to adjust status from non-immigrant to permanent resident.

She is allowed to enter the US as a visitor with NO intent on getting married, then spontaneously deciding to marry and remain in the US to adjust status. As mentioned above, she needs to remain in the US until she either gets her green card or special travel permission known as 'advanced parole'. The process will include an interview and intent may come up at the interview so you would need to be prepared to show that there was no intent on getting married before she arrived in the US on this visit.

Another option is to consider the CR-1 visa. She would enter the US as a visitor, you would get married, then you would apply for permission to sponsor her to the US as your wife. She would leave the US after her visit and once your permission was granted, would pursue the spousal visa in her home country. When she got the visa, she would return to the US and get her green card.

Another option to consider is going the K-1 fiancee visa route. Again, she could visit but not remain. You would apply for permission to sponsor her to the US as your fiancee. Again, the visa is processed in her home country and when it is granted, she would enter the US and you would get married within 90 days, then apply to adjust her status to become an immigrant and get her green card. Again, once she entered the US on the K-1 visa she would not be able to leave (well, ok, she could leave but she would not be allowed back into the US) until she gets the green card or the advance parole.

Your lawyer was not being very forthright with you as he did not mention the problem with 'intent'. If you enter with intent, get married, apply to remain and the intent is discovered, there are serious repercussions that could include up to a life time ban on re-entry for misrepresentation. If the AOS is denied there is also no right of appeal and you would have to start the immigration process all over again with the CR-1, plus address overstay issues and possible misrepresentation issues.

So, as much as we would all love this process to be simple and allow us to be together while it is underway, it really isn't that easy.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Kathryn41

[scjones 0]

There is absolutely nothing stopping you from having her visit you on the VWP/ Tourist visa, get married, file for a CR1 visa while she stays in the US for as long as her visa/ VWP is valid and her returning to Norway to finalise the process via the US consulate in Oslo.

The benefits of not doing the VWP/ Adjustment route extend to beyond being able travel home but also for her to work. If you went the CR1 route, she would have a temporary GC stamped in her passport upon entry and be immediately eligible to travel freely and seek employment.

Excuse my ignorance again, but what sort of time period would be involved with her finalizing the process in Norway and being able to return and become a permanent resident?

[scjones 0]

See the bold above. There's a chronological order to that part of the sentence. What you seem to be contemplating is, "We've already decided to fraudulently use her visitor privilege to circumvent US immigration law." It works when it works and it has tremendous consequences when it doesn't. Never lie to an immigration official or CBP officer.

I am in no way looking for a shady route to get this done, I'm not looking to "fraudulently use her visitor privilege to circumvent US immigration law". I'm just trying to get information on the subject and frankly this route seemed a little shady to me. I came here to get some information, not to find out how to break laws.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

It is hard to predict an exact time. The process starts with you filing either an I-129f (fiance) or an I-130 (spouse) petition in the US. Approval for that phase may take as little as 2 months or as long as 6 months - generally, it is somewhere in between. Then the processing would move to the US Consulate in Norway responsible for immigration. Every Consulate is different in how quickly the process things. She would be required to obtain certain documents (long form birth certificate listing parents' names, passport with validity beyond 6 months, etc.), obtain police clearance records for everywhere she has lived for more than 6 months after the age of 18, have an immigration medical by an approved physician, then attend an interview. Phase 2 of the process is partially dependent on how quickly she is able to get her side of things done and notify the Consulate that she is prepared for an interview. Again, you could be looking at as little as 2 to 3 months to several months. It is generally a good rule of thumb to expect the proper immigration processes to take about 9 or so months. Some cases go faster and some go slower.

If you click on the link above that says Immigration timelines you can click on the various processes and see what the historical averages are. You could also look at the Guides listed above and see the steps involved in each process to give you an idea of what is involved. Finally you can check in the Portal for Norway http://www.visajourney.com/portals/index.php?country=Norway and click the links there for timelines and Consulate information to see country specific information.

[When2RNLove 6]

I am in no way looking for a shady route to get this done, I'm not looking to "fraudulently use her visitor privilege to circumvent US immigration law". I'm just trying to get information on the subject and frankly this route seemed a little shady to me. I came here to get some information, not to find out how to break laws.

scjones, I don't think you are attempting fraud at all. I just think you were given some bad info from that lawyer on how to go about the process. VJ is a very helpful forum, so do your homework here and you should be fine. I found VJ in 2008 and had to ask one question since. I would have banged my head into the wall had I paid a lawyer to do what I did all by myself.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Mike N Julie

[scjones 0]

scjones, I don't think you are attempting fraud at all. I just think you were given some bad info from that lawyer on how to go about the process. VJ is a very helpful forum, so do your homework here and you should be fine. I found VJ in 2008 and had to ask one question since. I would have banged my head into the wall had I paid a lawyer to do what I did all by myself.

So can anyone recommend the K-1 route as opposed to the CR-1 route or vice versa? Blah, I'm just so confused at this point

[Kathryn41 3,205]

So can anyone recommend the K-1 route as opposed to the CR-1 route or vice versa? Blah, I'm just so confused at this point

Yeah, it can be pretty overwhelming and confusing at first.

The pros of the K-1 visa is that you can start the process now so that it is finished earlier. The cons are that you can't get married until she gets the visa and then you have to get married in the US within 90 days which may be a challenge if you want a big wedding (it can be done). You have to apply for AOS (adjustment of Status) after you are married to get the green card and apply for permission to work and permission to travel while waiting for the green card approval at the same time. It is also the more expensive process of the two.

The pros of the CR-1 are that once she crosses the US border she has her green card and is allowed to work and to travel without requiring further permission. It is the cheaper of the two processes. The con is that you can't start the process until you are married so it may take longer to be together.

Those are the very 'basic' pros and cons. There are also others that may vary situation by situation. Read over the guides for the two processes and check out the links at the Norway Portal site I gave you. It has reviews from other VJ Norwegian/American couples about their visa processes.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Boiler 44,873]

Hi,

I'm not 100% sure that this is the proper forum for this question but I'm new and thought it applied. I am dating a girl from Norway and I talked to an immigration lawyer about marrying her. He told me that one option was that if she was here on a tourist visa and we decided to get married while she was here, that would be ok. So he said we could get married while she was here and then immediately apply for permanent residency but she couldn't go home until residency was granted. This seems almost too easy to me and was wondering if this was a reasonable way to go about things. It seems way less complicated than other options but was just looking for some advice. Thanks a lot, this looks like a really useful site.

My guess is that most lawyers would give you this advise.

And the most popular route.

Some people can not just up sticks.

[scjones 0]

Well this has been quite eye opening to say the least. I had no idea that it was so fraudulent but it did sound a little too good to be true. Guess I have a long expensive road ahead but it sounds like the K-1 route will work best for me. Thanks a lot for the advice and I may be getting to know you guys here in the future, it's just tough that it's so difficult to be with the love of your life. Thanks again everyone and take care.

Edited March 7, 2010 by scjones

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Good luck to you and your fiancee. I hope you do stay around and let us know how things are going on your K-1 journey. There are many individuals here with a wealth of knowledge happy to assist you through this process so please do feel free to avail yourself of their experience.

We've pretty well all been there, done that (got the t-shirt!) or are going through the process now, and are happy to help you navigate the murky waters of US immigration. We will also understand what you are going through and why it is so complicated when friends and family don't - that's a biggie .